The South Russian Ovcharka or South Russian Shepherd Dog is breed of flock guardian dog developed in the Russian Empire and in the Soviet Union. It is thought to derive from cross-breeding between local dogs of the Russian steppes and long-haired shepherd dogs brought to the area from Spain with Merino sheep. These may have been similar in appearance to the present-day Gos d'Atura Catala. It is a large dog: dogs stand no less that 66 cm at the withers and weigh at least 35 kg; bitches are about 4 cm smaller and weigh some 5 kg less. The head is long and of wedge shape; the ears are pendent and triangular. The coat is long, coarse and thick. It may be solid white, grey or pale ivory; or white with tinges of yellow, or white with patches of grey, pale ivory or wheat colour. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)