Coat - Allevamento d'Egitto

Coat

One of the most characteristic features of the Bergamo Shepherd Dog is its thick fur.
The coat is made up of three different types of fur:
- goat-like, on the front half;
- sheep-like, on the hindquarters and along the front legs;
- underfur, equally spread out over the entire body.
If the two main types of fur (goat-like e sheep-like) are well separated, the dog should have long, fluent hairs, on the front half of the body; on the second half of the body and along the front legs, due to the sheep-like fur which tends to felt, 'taccole' should be present.

                              

The name 'taccola' comes from Gai, the language of the shepherds, and 'tacola' means sheep.
If the dog works or is even just let out to run and play, or else is a pregnant female, he/she will keep this type of fur from getting any longer than about 10 cm.
Some subjects, such as those frequently found at dog shows, present an extremely thick and abundant mass of hair. These mustn't fool the spectator:
- if the dog is completely covered with 'taccole', it must be considered a flaw, for the correct proportions of sheep and goat fur is certainly altered;
- if the 'taccole' are exceedingly long, it is not a peculiarity of that dog but simply a sign that the dog doesn't get much exercise, which typical of elderly dogs.
It is likely to happen to the dog that lives in a fenced in area and that doesn't have the opportunity to move about much nor play.
The Bergamo Shepherd Dog so massively covered with fur is a case of recent times, the result of exasperated breeding in the way of obtaining a 'hypertype'.

The photographic documentation which has been collected in archives doesn't show a single subject entirely covered with 'taccole', in complete accordance with what has been said and written in that no subject is capable of agile movement or of doing its job for the impediment which such a heavy amount of hair represents.