Like many tornjak owners say, once you have a tornjak, you'll always have a tornjak. From personal experience, we can confirm this is true. Tornjak is a lovely breed with an amazing character. With a tornjak you will never be bored. Whether it be more or less successful training sessions, tornjak's love for water or their expert ability to get dirty and ignore your disapproval, they will keep you entertained. They always have a plan, they are certain they know how things should be and you will find yourself compromising with them way more than you probably should. Their intelligence is unmatched in the dog world and even after years with our tornjaks, they still manage to impress us with just how bright they are.
They make great family dogs and adapt well to most environments, from working homes on the farm to urban areas as spoiled pets.
While tornjaks are a great addition to your family, there are some things every future tornjak owner should consider. Do I have enough space to house a large dog? If I do not have a fenced yard, am I willing to regularly walk and exercise my dog (minimum twice per day)? Am I willing to commit to owning, providing and caring for a living being for the next 10-15 years? Am I aware that tornjak is not a breed that excels at obedience and is extremely stubborn? Owning a dog is a big responsibility and any potential owners should consider the answers to all of these questions. Of course, we are always available for any questions, help and advice.
Simply put, no. While there are exceptions, tornjaks and other livestock guardian breeds are generally not a suitable first-time dog breed. They are large, powerful dogs with an independent nature and a stubborn character. They also require careful and thorough socialisation while young or behavioural issues can arise. While extremely smart, tornjaks still aren't ideal dogs for obedience since they mostly see no point in executing repetitive, "boring" tasks. Don't expect perfect recall from a tornjak. This and many other factors make tornjaks unsuitable for most novice dog owners.
Although we are a relatively new kennel, we have made an effort to study the breed thoroughly and made sure we have dogs of excellent quality. All our females have DNA profiles, health tests and x-rays of hips and elbows done before mating. Currently all dogs that were x-rayed have perfectly healthy hips and elbows (HD: A/A, ED: 0/0) All of our dogs have also been graded excellent by several judges (Palačinka has been graded excellent by 100+ judges). Our dogs travel and vacation with us. They are used to a lot of people, dogs, and have been in zoos, in trams, subways, buses, trains, etc. They are thoroughly socialized and through all the adventures we experience together, we have made sure that we have stable, calm dogs for breeding, as the standard requires. We regularly take part in dog shows with our dogs, where they achieve enviable results. The most successful is our Palačinka, who already has 2x World Winner, 1x European Winer, 1x vice European Winner, championship of 16 countries, grandchampionship of 8 countries and over 70 BOBs.
Chocolate or so called liver colour is a homozygous recessive trait that naturally occurs in some breeds, including the tornjak. Due to it being a recessive trait, it's rare and not often seen. The liver gene affects eumelanin (black pigment) only. So in liver dogs, all of the black in the coat will be turned to liver (chocolate), including the nose and the mucosa.
Due to its rarity, some people are under the misconception that this is not a desired colour in tornjaks and mistake it for depigmentation (which is an undesired trait and is manifested as lightly coloured eyes in non-liver dogs and pink nose and/or mucosa). The FCI standard and both BiH and Croatian standards, that existed before the tornjak was officially accepted by the FCI, ask for a wide variety of markings and colours which naturally occur in the tornjak. As any breed expert will tell you, all three standards also mention liver/chocolate tornjaks (pigmentation must be in harmony with the colour of the coat and can be from black to chestnut in colour), which means the colour has existed and been recognized since the beginning of planned breeding of the tornjak.
Some breeders still dislike and discredit chocolate puppies, falsely believing that they are depigmented. This is why we, as proud owners of a liver tornjak, believe it is crucial for us to educate people on this rare tornjak colour and present it in all its beauty. Another proof of just how wonderful and typical these dogs are, are numerous achievements that Palačinka Vala Liburna won against other tornjaks, and she's not alone! Fritula Vala Liburna, Acheron V.Cotopaxi Tor Bohemia, and Florentina Kubusiowe lasy are just some examples of other successful chocolate tornjaks.
Here's a list of useful links where you can learn more about tornjak, Slovene Club Of Large and Molosser Breeds (that tornjak belongs to) and breeding practices in Slovenia:
Vala Liburna Kennel: Lorena has written a bit more thoroughly about this lovely breed on her kennel's webpage. She's a renowned Croatian breeder and a tornjak judge.
Tornjak Pedigree Database: This is an online tornjak pedigree database where you can check dog's pedigrees, their breeders, etc.
KZS, Slovene Kennel Club: All information regarding Slovene breeding practices, dog shows, current pedigree litters, animal welfare laws, etc. can be found here.
SKVPM, Slovene Club for Big and Molosser Breeds: This is a Slovene club that represents the tornjak breed and most other livestock guardian breeds. More information regarding breeding exams, livestock guardian breeds, etc. can be found here.
FCI Tornjak Standard: Tornjak standard and breed requirements can be found on this webpage.
