The Caucasian Shepherd Dog (Georgian: კავკასიური ნაგაზი) is a breed of dog that is popular in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and other countries where shepherds need strong protection for their flocks and properties.A well-bred Caucasian Mountain Dog should be a healthy, strongly-boned, muscular and even-tempered Moloss. Excessive softness or vicious temperaments are considered serious faul
ts for the breed. Generally healthy and long lived, as in other large breed dogs, hip dysplasia, obesity and occasional heart problems are known to occur. 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. The minimum height is 24.5 inches with no upper limit. The Caucasian Ovcharka is not a dog for everyone and requires responsible handling. Self-determined and extremely strong with great intelligence, this ancient guardian from the Caucasus can be challenging to own for inexperienced dog owners. These dogs are of two types: Mountain and plain. Plain dogs has shorter coathair and are visually higher because of less muscular built. Mountain ones has longer fur and are more musculary evolved. The breed's weight is 99–154 pounds (45–70 kg.), while height is 25–28 inches (64–75 cm.). Powerful and massive, the Caucasian Ovcharka 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 dog 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. 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 magnificent Caucasian Mountain 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 expense 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 Ovcharka is a part of the Troika, a th*****me 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 Mountain Dog, a short historic overview is in order. Although its first official Western Show-Ring appearance was in the 1930s in Germany, the Caucasian Mountain 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 Mountain 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 Mountain 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. Kavkazskaya Ovcharka is also known as:
Kaukasische Schaferhund
Pastore Del Caucaso
Gampr (Armenia)
Nagazi (Georgia)
Caucasian Shepherd Dog
Caucasian Mountain Dog
Caucasian Sheepdog
Kavkaski Ovcar
Kavkaz Dog
Kavkaz Mastiff
Kavkaz Volkodav
Kavkazskaya (...kiaia) Ovcharka
Russian Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka
Ovtcharka (Owtcharka)
Sage Ghafghazi
Volkodav
