Oak'N Stone Kennels

01/16/2025

It is confirmed. Mira is with pups.
I'm putting her due date at February 19th. The measurements are showing she is 5 weeks pregnant but that is impossible because her last breeding was less than 4 weeks ago. It's just because CAO are so big that these pups insider her look further along than normal.

If y'all have been following us for a few years, you know that Mira here is an excellent mother. It was also a February when she had her last litter a few years back. That was the litter that we got Panda and Lothar from.

Like I had mentioned a few weeks back, we are not sure how long we will hold these pups before letting any go. These will likely be our tallest CAO produced to date. And we dont want anyone "power feeding" these pups because it will mess their joints up. Mira's line has a history of super fast growth and we want to keep the growth of these pups, nice and steady. Especially since Appa is the father and also a giant himself. So we may just raise these pups out until they are 4 or 5 months old before we release them. The only exceptions would be a new owner who commits to our feeding regimen that we would prescribe.

Cheers!

01/16/2025

Tulkas. The Ambassador of Russian CAO.

01/16/2025

Tulkas and his grandma, Mira. The affection.

01/16/2025

Bolg and Lothar having a serious disagreement in a serious moment, but only one here is 100% resolved in his serious intent. Body language is everything. Can you tell which one is convinced he is the dominant male?

01/15/2025

2 week Dry-aged version. It's what's for dinner.

01/13/2025

A short explanation on Alabai vs Central Asian Shepherd.

All Alabai are Central Asian Shepherds but not all Central Asian Shepherds are Alabai. Alabai are where the Central Asian Shepherds derived from. As others got hold of Alabai genetics and continued to breed their version, there were slight variations in the landrace breed. Once Russia got hold of these lines, they blew it wide open with bigger, stronger, dogs. Not necessarily "better". "Better" is completely subjective. But the Russians did make them bigger and stronger. Alabai are smaller with a more stabilized format. Alabai derive from Turkmenistan. Most folks do not have Alabai. They have a Central Asian Shepherd variant.

Some folks love the alabai. Some like the CAO variant. I am in the latter category. If I was on super large acreage and had flocks of sheep that needed guarded over a large range or in a ranch type setting, I would either go Alabai or "true" kangal. But since I am not and likely never will be, I don't want the Alabai. But what I do have purpose for is a more large, tenacious, and robust CAO, that not only has the visual intimidation factor that is second to literally none, but is stronger and more ferocious than the Alabai. This serves a small farm or estate, better for me and my interests.

To each their own. It's all preference. But I do love how some so called "purists" frown upon Russian CAO. Nowadays I stay away from those kinds of groups. When I used to debate them, the debates were short and sweet because I easily made them see that their view is purely subjective. Nothing wrong with the Alabai. They are just smaller and weaker. For me, they dont look as good either. And I'm not interested in that.

Now some folks, even the locals in Turkmenistan, don't even use the term Alabai for their dogs. And i would imagine that agravates the so called "purists" to no end, lol. Thus, really, all boils down to...wait for it....who you talk to. Yep! And that's why organizations like the AKC don't get all caught up in the debates. They just have a section for Foundation Stock Service with the breed saying Central Asian Shepherd. To which i am thankful for.

All that said, I do use hastags to draw attention to my posts to those folks who do not know the difference.
....but there is.

01/12/2025

01/11/2025

2 brothers out and about with 2 brothers.

01/11/2025

Tulkas' body language is that of the utmost curiosity... or the utmost mischievousness. You decide.

01/11/2025

Azog on duty.

01/10/2025

Ben of Hyde, the first registered yellow labrador in the world, retrieving trout. 1899

01/10/2025

He decided he was ready to take to the skies today, so I set him free.

01/06/2025

75 years ago, Charlie found his dog.