General features, confirmation of the antiquity of the origin of the Tibetan mastiffs, their distribution, written mentions, recognition, the modern position of the species. The appearance of the Tibetan Mastiff or tibetan mastiff, like the snowy peaks of the Himalayan mountains from where they originate, is overshadowed by mystery and charm. They are called "Do-khyi" in their native Tibet, a name that has many meanings: "door guard", "house guard", "dog that can be tied" or "dog that can guard". Depending on the translation, the name represents an adequate true purpose for which the species were originally bred - to be a large protective animal with furious barking and intimidating appearance. However, the species are instinctively attractive. Their nature is to be patrons and protectors.
The Tibetan Mastiff is a strikingly large variety, stocky and solidly built. The dog has a huge head. Expressive brown eyes of medium size, almond-shaped and deep-set. A square muzzle with a proportionally wide nose. The thick lower lip hangs down slightly. The triangular ears fall off next to the head. The Tibetan mastiff has a straight topline and deep chest. The neck is slightly arched, thick and muscular, covered with a thick mane of hair. The limbs are strong and muscular. Hind legs with double dewclaws. The tail is carried in a curl on the back.
The Tibetan Mastiff has a thick double layer of long coarse hair and an abundant and soft undercoat. The "coat" is never soft and silky. Color - black, brown, blue, gray. All of them can be tanned over the eyes, on the sides of the muzzle, on the throat, limbs and paws. Sometimes white markings appear on the chest and legs. The coat is formed with a variation of golden hues. In the show scheme, the tibetan mastiff is presented to be judged without error in its natural state.
Confirmation of the antiquity of the origin of the Tibetan Mastiff breed
Historically, there has been a differentiation of the Tibetan Mastiff and it has split into two types. Despite the fact that the blood of both types originate from the same litters, they differ only in the parameter and structure. The first, smaller and more typical one is called "do-khyi", and the one that is larger, strong and bony "tsang-khyi". Other famous names for the species are bhote kukur (Tibetan dog) in Nepal, zangao (Tibetan big cruel dog) in Chinese, and bankhar (guard dog) in Mongolian. Regardless of how the breed is called, it is or should be a tibetan mastiff. Its history is long and glorious, spanning many centuries.
Truly, this canine species originated in prehistoric times. Of course, the exact genealogy of the Tibetan Mastiffs is impossible to know, as its existence predates the first surviving written records of breeding and probably even the invention of writing. The laboratory of the Agricultural University of Animal Reproductive Genetic and Molecular Evolution in Nanjing, China, conducted a tibetan mastiff study to determine when dog genetics became associated with wolves. Studies have revealed that although many breeds split from the "gray brothers" about 42,000 years ago, this happened with the Tibetan Mastiff much earlier, about 58,000 years ago. Therefore, it can be said that it is one of the first distinguishable types that developed simultaneously alongside the wolf for many years before other species began their own evolutions.
Large bones and skulls found during archaeological excavations dating back to the Stone and Bronze Ages indicate the Tibetan Mastiffs as a type present in early prehistoric civilization. Ancient chronicles first mention the breed in 1121 BC, when its representative was presented as a gift to the ruler of China as a hunting dog. Due to the rugged mountainous terrain of their home country, the early tibetan mastiff were geographically isolated from the outside world, living for generations in the close communities of the nomadic tribes of Tibet. Without external influences, isolation has allowed these animals for millennia to pass from generation to generation without changing their original form.
Distribution and use of Tibetan Mastiffs
Although not all Tibetan Mastiffs remained separate. Over the centuries, some of them have been donated or captured. These "runaways" will eventually cross paths with other native dogs and become the ancestors of many of the world's mastiff breeds. The species also accompanied the great armies of the ancient world, states such as Persia, Assyria, Greece and Rome. The Eurasian military expeditions of the legendary leaders Attila and Genghis Khan will lead the Tibetan type of these dogs further to the modern European continent. According to legend, each group of soldiers in Genghis Khan's army included two tibetan mastiffs, which were used as sentries. Their purpose was to stand guard and prevent the passage of unauthorized persons, especially at the pass, at the gates and the like.
Although the breed's true evolutionary direction, as with many very old dog species, is somewhat controversial, the historical background rests on the theory that the Tibetan Mastiff may have been the forerunner of all types of canines of the ancient world such as molossus or molosser. The term "molossus" is commonly used to describe several large varieties, as is the term "mastiff," but similar canines falling into these two categories have evolved quite distinctly and separately as unique breeds.
Well known in the Greco-Roman world, the now extinct Molussus breed was so named after the Mollossian mountain dwellers of ancient Greece, who became famous for keeping large, fierce and protective dogs. Since there are no true molossus left and there are few records of them, there is some scientific debate about their original appearance and use. Perhaps dogs were used to fight in the arena of the ancient world, as hunting companions, or guard animals.
It is known that with the migration of the Roman people and their culture to the distant corners of the then known world, dogs of the Molossian type also spread throughout the ancient continent. Although the molossus was later introduced not in its true form, it will become a vital link in the development of modern canine large species such as great dane, St. Bernard, great pyrenee, rottweiler, newfoundl and mountain dogs - great swiss and bernese. Documented stories and legends suggest that the Tibetan mastiffs were called “do-khyi” and were used by nomadic Tibetan mountaineers to guard their families, livestock and property. Because of their ferocity, these canines were usually confined during the day and released at night to patrol villages and camps. They drove off intruders and any wild beasts of prey wanting to fill their bellies. Early records also tell that lama monks living deep in the Himalayan mountains of Tibet used tibetan mastiff to protect their monasteries. These vicious guardians worked alongside smaller Tibetan spaniels to keep the temple safe. Tibetan spaniels, or "little lions," as they were then known, took up positions on the walls of the monastery and watched keenly around the perimeter for signs of incursions or new arrivals. When they spotted a stranger or something wrong, they betrayed their presence with loud barks, alerting the much larger Tibetan Mastiff, who then provided aggressive physical protection if necessary. Teamwork such as this is not uncommon in the dog world, for example, the relationship between a small bullet (puli) herding dog and a much larger komondor (komondor) is one and the same. Lacking the required parameters and strength, the former will warn the latter (whose task is to protect) about such a threat to the flock as wolves or bears.
Written references to Tibetan Mastiffs
Back in the 1300s, researcher Marco Polo described a dog that may have been an early representative of the Tibetan Mastiff, but it is generally believed that he himself did not encounter the breed, but could only hear about it from the stories of other travelers from Tibet. In the 1600s, the species is also mentioned, when Jesuit missionaries detailed information about the canines inhabiting Tibet: "extraordinary and unusual … black with long glossy hair, very large and tightly built … their barking is most disturbing."
Few Western travelers were allowed to enter Tibet until the 1800s. Samuel Turner, in An Account of an Embassy to the Court of Teshoo Lama in Tibet (early 1800s), recounts sightings of Tibetan Mastiffs. He's writing:
“The big house was on the right side, and on the left were cages made of wood, which contained many giant dogs that showed cruelty, strength and a loud voice. The lands of Tibet were considered their homeland. It is impossible to say for sure whether the dogs were naturally wild or spoiled by imprisonment, but they showed such a rapid rage that it became unsafe even to approach their cages, unless the caretaker was nearby."
In the 1880s, the writer Jim William John, in his narrative "The River of Golden Sand" about the journey through China and eastern Tibet to Burma, gave a detailed description of the Tibetan Mastiff in a rather original form. He noted:
“The chief had a huge dog, which was kept in a cage that was located at the entrance. The dog was very heavy, black-brown in color, with markings of a bright fiery color. The coat is rather long, but smooth, thick on the tail, and the limbs were even and tan. The large head looked inappropriate for the body, and the muzzle had overhanging lips. His eyes, which were bloodshot, were set deep, and his ears were drooping and flat in shape. Above the eyes and on the chest there were tan spots - scorch marks. He possessed four feet from the point of the nose to the root of the tail and was two feet and ten inches high at the withers …"
Popularization and history of recognition of the Tibetan Mastiff dog
There is little information about the Tibetan Mastiff in the "western world" outside of the spoken stories of travelers who returned from the east. In 1847, Lord Harding of India dispatched a large Tibetan dog named "Siring" to Queen Victoria, freeing the species from its centuries-old isolation from modern territory and society. Since the establishment of the Kennel Club (KC) in England in 1873, the "big dog from Tibet" has been called the "Mastiff" for the first time in history. The first official KC studbook of all known dog breeds included the tibetan mastiff in its records.
The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) brought two Tibetan Mastiffs to England in 1874. These individuals were presented at a show exhibition at the Alexandrinsky Palace, which was held in the winter of 1875. Over the next fifty years, only a small number of breed representatives were imported into the UK and other European countries. However, in the 18th century, the variety was shown in the Crystal Palace dog competition. In 1928, English Colonel Bailey and his wife brought four of these pets to the country. The soldier acquired them while working in Nepal and Tibet as a political officer.
Mrs. Bailey, in 1931, organized the Tibetan breeds association and wrote the first standard for members of the breed. These criteria will then be incorporated into the tibetan mastiff appearance standards recognized by the Kennel club and the Federation cynological international (FCI), a common organization for official dog breeds and their standards governing many different breeding clubs throughout the world.
Despite the fact that there are no written records of the importation of representatives of the variety into England during the Second World War and until 1976, Tibetan Mastiffs really made their way to America at this time. Members of the breed were first registered in the United States when two of the Dalai Lama's pets were sent as a gift to President Eisenhower in the 1950s. However, the founding of the American Federation of Tibetan Mastiffs did not come from these presidential individuals, but from "imports" sent to the United States from India and Nepal in 1969.
The American Tibetan Mastiff Association (ATMA) was formed in 1974, with the first officially recognized member of the variety being a Nepalese dog named Jampla Kalu from Jumla. ATMA is the official network and registry of the Tibetan Mastiff. At the 1979 National Special Show, these dogs will make their American debut.
The current situation of the Tibetan Mastiffs
Although animals are still bred to fulfill their ancient duties as shepherds by the nomadic peoples of the Chang-tang plateau, purebred Tibetan Mastiffs are difficult to find on much of their homeland side. However, outside of Tibet, representatives of the species continue to periodically breed with the aim of improving them. In 2006, tibetan mastiff was recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) and numbered in the Working Group. In 2008, the West minster kennel club show showed its first competitor.
Modern representatives of the Tibetan mastiffs are considered an extremely rare species and, according to experts, only three hundred individuals are located on the territory of the English state. These dogs are currently ranked 124th out of 167 officially recognized AKC breeds on the 2010 Most Popular Dogs list, increasing their competitive position.
In China, Tibetan Mastiffs are highly prized for their rarity and antiquity of genealogy. They are considered to be one of the oldest surviving canines that still exist today. These dogs are said to bring happiness to their owner. The variety is also a pure Asian breed, further enhancing its local appeal.
In 2009, a tibetan mastiff puppy was sold to a woman in China for four million yuan (roughly $ 600,000), making it the most expensive dog ever purchased. The trend of excessive prices paid in the Republic of China for the offspring of Tibetan Mastiffs continues, and in 2010 one of them was sold for sixteen million yuan. Subsequently, again in 2011, a representative with a red coat (red is considered very lucky in Chinese culture) was bought for ten million yuan.
For more on the history of the Tibetan Mastiffs, see below:
