According to Wikipedia:
This is an ancient breed from the regions of Central Asia. It is not the result of artificial selection: the native breed called alabai historically common among Central Asian peoples. Used by shepherds, as well as to protect and guard duty.
The Central Asian Ovcharka (/ɒvˈtʃɑːrkə/) is a large breed of dog recognized by FCI, as a Molossoid type dog breed of Soviet-era origin under Russian patronage.[1] Numerous breed representatives reside in Russia, and local kennel club officials refer to Central Asians as one of the most popular dog breeds in the country, rating them as the #1 breed in country around 2000.[2]
Well, we got one about three months ago to guard our livestock. She is amazing. And HUGE!
Since she is not too fond of the heat she spends a lot of the day sleeping in the washing room of the Little Farm and then runs around chasing coyotes ( who have eaten 11 of our cats over the years) all night which is her job. She is incredibly sweet and gentle ( and weighs 120 lbs right now and will grow to 150 by 3 years). She is now 9 months old and her name is Smokey. Such a smart dog – learned to sit, stay and heel without the leash in three weeks – can be VERY stubborn but realizes that I am the alpha dog and so we got that straight early on!
Here she is – and then she poked her head out of the doggie door to check if I was really going to take her for a walk or was just going outside myself. As you can see she has the intelligent eyes of a human. One smart dog ( I call her my horsie dog as she is truly enormous….and growing!)
The Breeders crop the ears of these dogs – looks rather weird but grows on you after time.
