# Tajik shepherd dogs



## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

I found this youtube channel that has some neat videos of Tajik shepherd dogs on open range with their flocks and shepherds. It's worth a watch.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOM_59mpMfM[/ame]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnPc44Z1_yM[/ame]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAupMdrmmCo[/ame]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBwJaTlZr_8[/ame]


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## hastyreply (Nov 10, 2012)

That was interesting. It looks like they crop tails and ears to show ownership.


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## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

They are beautiful!


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

They look like mutts with cropped tails/ears.


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

Thats funny, they would probably think the same about curs


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## wiscto (Nov 24, 2014)

TedH71 said:


> They look like mutts with cropped tails/ears.


Nah. They're a pretty widespread LGD out there from what I've seen. This guy breeds the Turkic line in the US. http://alabaiusa.net/aboriginal_dogs.htm


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

wiscto said:


> Nah. They're a pretty widespread LGD out there from what I've seen. This guy breeds the Turkic line in the US. http://alabaiusa.net/aboriginal_dogs.htm


Bingo! the CAO that most are familiar with is the over sized, heavy weight that's been marketed as either fighting dogs (which they are not) or personal protection dogs. 

What I found most interesting about the videos is not the appearance of the dogs but how they behaved. In the U.S everyone wants to have the baddest LGD around that kills everything that comes onto their 5 acres. Most are operating as estate guardians versus actual LGD's, but either ignorance or pride prevents most people from admitting that. Open the gate though and the dogs abandon their charges and go for a 2 day jaunt before they return home. In America we call that expanding their territory, in the rest of the world they would call it a cull because the flock is unattended. What the videos also demonstrate is that the dogs are very pack orientated and are not aggressive fighters, which is the current image of the CAO. When two groups of LGDs meet they do not attack and a blood bath breaks out like many Americans think should occur when their great Pyrenees sees another dog. Instead the dogs meet, there is a lot of gesturing, some growling and snarling the dogs communicate like any other pack of dogs would and they pass through each others territories with their shepherds with relatively little conflict.


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## wiscto (Nov 24, 2014)

JasoninMN said:


> Bingo! the CAO that most are familiar with is the over sized, heavy weight that's been marketed as either fighting dogs (which they are not) or personal protection dogs.
> 
> What I found most interesting about the videos is not the appearance of the dogs but how they behaved. In the U.S everyone wants to have the baddest LGD around that kills everything that comes onto their 5 acres. Most are operating as estate guardians versus actual LGD's, but either ignorance or pride prevents most people from admitting that. Open the gate though and the dogs abandon their charges and go for a 2 day jaunt before they return home. In America we call that expanding their territory, in the rest of the world they would call it a cull because the flock is unattended. What the videos also demonstrate is that the dogs are very pack orientated and are not aggressive fighters, which is the current image of the CAO. When two groups of LGDs meet they do not attack and a blood bath breaks out like many Americans think should occur when their great Pyrenees sees another dog. Instead the dogs meet, there is a lot of gesturing, some growling and snarling the dogs communicate like any other pack of dogs would and they pass through each others territories with their shepherds with relatively little conflict.


Yea I think you said it all right there. And as for them being mutts, there is a pretty wide variety of coloration, they're just a land race that has a healthy genetic diversity. I'm still trying to find it, but I read somewhere that the longer muzzled brindle dogs just pop up in litters once in a while. They aren't mutts, they're just a rare occurrence in a breed that is selected for temperament and leg/joint/gait before anything else.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

CAO? Just wondering.


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## wiscto (Nov 24, 2014)

TedH71 said:


> CAO? Just wondering.


Central Asian "Ovarchka". Central Asian Shepherd is generally what we call it here.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I also noticed the dogs acting like dogs. They did their typical social thing. They don&#8217;t see the other dogs as threats to the herd, although they might if another dog got close enough. I noticed also that the shepherds did the same thing we might do with dogs on a walk. Let them say hello, then get back to business. The sheep are all different colors, I didn&#8217;t expect to see that.


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## Kits&Kids (Feb 10, 2012)

They look like wanna be mixed breed Caucasian Oucharka. not that they cant do the job. That was a cool video


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