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The Caucasian ovcharka or Caucasian Shepherd Dog is a breed of dog that is popular in Russia, Georgia, and other countries where shepherds need serious protection for their flocks and properties.
Appearance: A well-bred Caucasian Shepherd Dog should
be a healthy, strongly-boned, muscular and even-tempered
Moloss.
Some of today's bloodlines are prone to hip dysplasia,
obesity and excessive softness, as well as overly-vicious
temperaments. The ears of the Caucasian Ovcharka have
traditionally been cropped, although some modern dogs can be
seen unaltered. Even though any coat-types and colours exist,
the preferred show-types are the long-coated grey dogs with
some white markings allowed. No black or black-n-tan dogs are
accepted for show, but they do exist.
The minimum height is 24.5 inches with no upper limit. The
Caucasian Ovcharka is not a dog for everyone and requires
special handling by experienced large dog owners.
Self-determined and extremely strong with great intelligence,
this ancient guradian from the Caucasus can be quite a
challenge for inexperienced dog owners. If you want a cuddly
pet get another breed.
Temperament: Powerful and massive, the Kavkaz
Volkodav can prove to be a serious problem for an
inexperienced owner, because it respects and obeys only those
dominant members of the family that it deems superior to
itself. They are generally good with children, but will not
see them as their masters.
The great Kavkazec develops a strong bond with its owner,
but will rarely be completely submissive and blindly follow
orders, for this is truly a thinking dog which relies
primarily on its own instincts, sometimes even disregarding
its master's directions in certain situations. A breed with a
very quick reaction time and lightning-fast protection
reflexes, it has even been unfairly described by some as
somewhat of a "loose cannon". Still, with proper
care, handling and training, this is a well-behaved and
obedient family companion.
History: Located between the Black Sea on the West
and the Caspian Sea on the East, the Kavkaz (Caucasus)
mountain range of Eastern Europe represents a true melting pot
of various cultures due to a number of nations calling it
their home through the ages. Today these influences are still
strong and a rich source of cultural wealth of the region, as
well as numerous political conflicts. Encompassing the
territories of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Kabardino-Balkaria, Daghestan, Ossetia, Turkey, Chechnya,
Ingushetia and Iran, the Caucasus mountains are also home to
one of the oldest living Molossers, the magnificient Caucasian
Shepherd Dog.
In reality the term "Caucasian Dog" should stand
for a group of breeds and not for a single breed or a favoured
variant. There is a great variety of types among the Caucasian
dogs depending on their home region, but due to the ignorance
of many Westerners and strong national appetite of Russian and
pro-Russian dog fanciers worldwide, a single type bearing a
misleading name is being favored in the show rings and
literature, at the expence of truth and other breed variants.
The exotic-sounding misnomer Ovcharka is very popular in
the West, thanks to the efforts of the Russian Kennel Club,
even though it simply translates to "Sheepdog, Shepherd
or Shepherd Dog", making it very unpopular and often
insulting among the non-Russian nationals of Caucasian and dog
enthusiasts. Considered a Russian breed, the Caucasian
Ovtcharka is a part of the Troika, a threesome of recognized
Russian sheepdogs, the other two being the bearded
South-Russian Sheepdog and the controversial Central Asian
Shepherd Dog.
In order to understand the issues concerning the Caucasian
Shepherd Dog, a short historic overview is in order. Although
its first official Western Show-Ring appearance was in the
1930s in Germany, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog has existed since
ancient times and, like many Eastern Molossers, was introduced
to the bloodlines of many of today's World breeds throughout
history. The Armenian Plateau was one of the earliest cradles
of civilization and the first appearance of dogs of this type
is closely linked to that area.
The Armenian Gamprs are seen as a variant of the Caucasian
Shepherd Dog, and while that may be the case, it is also
important to note that the Gampr comes in two distinct
varieties, both of which are believed to be much older than
the modern Caucasian and Central-Asian Sheepdogs. Some believe
that the Caucasian Shepherd Dog was a result of crossing the
mountain Gampyrs with the spitz-type dogs in ancient times,
but this theory, although not without merit, is understandably
not very popular.
Most blame for the confusion surrounding the Caucasian
Shepherd Dog should be placed on the Soviet concept, which was
famous for erasing facts and re-writing histories of regions
under its rule. Even though it was officially non-nationalist,
the Soviet regime was obviously pro-Russian, which was
manifested through forcing Russian language and cultural ideas
on many non-Russian nations it controlled.
The Russian introduction to the Kavkaz came in 1859, which
goes against the theories claiming the ancient Caucasian
Shepherd Dog as an indigenous Russian breed. In this respect,
the Turks could lay more claim on the breed, seeing how they
ruled the region before the Soviets did and are known to had
used Caucasian dogs as guardians for their camps and forts as
far back as the 1700s. The same case could be made for
pre-Turkish rulers of the area, but this could turn into into
a vicious circle of "who came first?", further
complicating the issue. Politics and nationalism should never
mix with dog-culture, but unfortunately they do and oftentimes
have terrible consequences for the breed.
When Russians started importing Caucasus dogs to Moscow,
they separated them into two types, the mountain dogs
receiving the name Trans-Caucasian Ovtcharka after the
Trans-Caucasus region, consisting of Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan, while the shorter-haired and lighter-built type
steppe dogs were named the "Caucasian Ovcharka".
Because of the immense variation in sizes and temperaments
within the two "official" types, the Soviets started
a standardization programme which resulted in an official
standard change in the 1970s, when the Russian Kynological
Federation made the decision to promote a single type, under
the name of "Caucasian Ovtcharka", abandoning their
earlier definitions. They agreed that the "best"
type is the Georgian bear type, as favoured by Stalin. The
Russian-favored Georgian type is actually a hybrid, created by
crossing the Nagazi and Mt.Kazbek variants, both of which
still exist in Georgia.
The strong influence of some Central Asian bloodlines
shouldn't be ignored. Modern incarnation of the Russian show
type also has some St. Bernard, Sarplaninac, Leonberger, and
Moscow Watchdog blood running through its veins, courtesy of
ambitious Soviet breeders trying to create a more agreable
personality and colours in their "Ovtcharka". When
the Soviet military was developing the Moscow Watchdog in the
post WW2 years, they imported Georgian, Armenian and
Azerbaijan mountain dogs and crossed them with St. Bernards,
resulting in an excellent service dog, but also in a demise of
certain bloodlines of Caucasian dogs.
During the Cold War, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog was a breed
commonly seen wherever the Soviet Army was stationed, famously
used as patrol dogs guarding the Berlin Wall. Many of these
working strains have been crossed with German Shepherd Dogs
over the years, affecting both the GSD and the CO breed. After
the fall of the Wall, over 7000 of these dogs are believed to
had been disbanded and left behind, where they were adopted by
many German families and dog enthusiasts, becoming one of the
building blocks for the modern Caucasian Ovtcharka, along with
the Russian show type.
Because military bloodlines come in a variety of colours,
sizes and temperaments, they aren't favoured among some modern
Russian breeders who are pushing for a single type, the
aforementioned bear variant of the Georgian dogs, preferred in
shades of wolf-grey colours.
Modern times: The main Russian bloodlines can be
traced to Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Tambov, Orenburg,
Magnitogorsk, Cheljabinsk, Novosibirsk, Donetsk, Lugansk,
Ivanovo, Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, and Saint Petersburg, even
though there are many different Caucasian strains still found
in the Caucasus mountains. In recent years, the term
"aboriginal" is being used to describe older,
non-show mountain bloodlines, but this is very misleading and
often used as a trendy marketing ploy by some breeders.
Even though most dogs in the Caucasus are working hybrids
between various types, there are still some distinguishing
characteristics among regional variants. For instance:
The Georgian dogs are divided into the large, longhaired
and often multicoloured Mkinvartsveri Kazbek type and the
slightly smaller wolf-grey Nagazi dogs of medium-length
coat with longer muzzles, but there is also a separate
breed known as Tushetian Nagazi or Georgian Caucasian
Sheepdog in Georgia, which represents the original
Georgian population of the breed, with the pure white dogs
being the most valued.
Daghestan dogs are tall, wide-headed and athletic,
always short-haired and multicoloured.
Astrakhan type is found in the Kabardino-Balkarian
region and is believed to be a cross between the Russian
show type and the old Circassian and Kazbek dogs, but
Balkarian Molossers are also rooted in the Sarmatian
Mastiff.
The Turkish Caucasus dogs are divided into 4 types,
those being the Garban, the Akhaltsihnske type, the
Circassian variant and the Kars Dog.
The large, short-muzzled, shorthaired fawn, brown, red,
with or without white markings and extremely vicious
Garban (Gorban) was developed from the Kars and the
Kangal, as well as other Turkish dogs being crossed with
the Armenian and Kazbek types.
The Akhaltsihnske type was then created from the
Garban crosses with the Georgian Nagazi variant and
possibly Turkish Akbash, resulting in longhaired,
lightly built solid-coloured white, fawn and grey
dogs. The Circassian variant is believed to be a
result of crossing the Kangals with the Cherkes dogs
introduced to Turkey after the Russian-Circassian
wars.
The Kars Dog is a variety closely associated with
the Kars province of modern Turkey and is today seen
as a separate breed. The Armenian Gamprs are usually
slightly smaller than the Georgian dogs and are
shorter-necked and more squarely built, also allowing
for a great variety of colours, even brown or black.
The Azerbaijan Volkodav variant also comes in two types,
with the longhaired mountain and short-coated steppe dogs
both being smaller than Georgian and Armenian types,
always having black masks.
A result of matings between the dogs of southern Kavkaz
with the Sage Mazandarani and the Kars Dog of Turkey, the
Iranian Sage Ghafghazi is a lean, powerful and richly
coated mastiff, used as a caravan protector of the
Shahsavan nomads, who have been breeding it since the 17th
century. These Iranian Caucasians come in a variety of
colours, both solid and bicoloured.
There is also a rare shorthaired Kavkaz mastiff, known
as the North-Caucasian Volkodav, which is on its way to
receive a separate breed recognition.
Even the legendary Alaunt, the breed considered to be the
key progenitor of all bulldog breeds, is also originally
descended from this Caucasian stock of mountain dogs.
As mentioned above, most working Caucasian dogs are hybrids
between established types, as well as some lines of the
Central Asian dogs, in effect making the Russian show type
appear to be a superiourly-bred dog in the eyes of the West.
This is of course due to in part to the main difference
between the Eastern and Western ways; the dogs being bred
strictly for work in the East and primarily for show and
companion life in the West.
The fighting strains of the Caucasian Ovcharka can contain
blood of some European breeds too, from certain mastiffs to
even Pit Bull Terriers and Bandogges, but these crosses are a
minority in the breed. The Caucasian Molossers were used for
centuries to protect properties, guard livestock, kill wolves,
hunt bears and for many other duties, but today and especialy
in the West, they are most commonly employed as companion
animals and watchdogs.
Most prized as an aggressive property guardian, the mighty
Caucasian Ovcharka is an intimidating and committed protector
with no equal. The Caucasian Shepherd Dog is generally a low
activity dog, seemingly lethargic when not working, but
extremely agile and convincing when it feels its family is
threatened. Although certain strains are more vicious than
others, all Caucasians are very territorial and fairly
dog-aggressive, needing early and careful broad socialization,
as well as firm, but never forceful handling.
This wonderful ancient breed makes a good family dog, but
it isn't the same thing as a Newfoundland, a Bernese or a
St.Bernard and potential owners should be aware of the breed's
history and temperament before deciding to tackle the task of
raising a Caucasian Shepherd Dog.
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