CAUCASIAN OVCHARKA
Also known as: CO, Nagazi
HISTORY BRIEF: The Caucasian Ovcharka is indigenous to the mountain regions of the Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani Union Republics; the Kabardino-Balkar, Daghestan and Kalmyk Autonomous Republics, and the steppe regions of the northern Caucasus and the Astrakhan district. For hundreds of years the Caucasian Ovcharka (Mountain Dog) has functioned as a guardian dog. Their faithfulness, protectiveness, and ferocity when called upon to defend is legendary.
DESCRIPTION: The Caucasian Ovcharka is a powerful, athletic dog, strongly muscled and heavily boned in proportion to height. Three coat lengths are accepted, all double-coated and thick. Coat colors include shades of agouti gray, fawn, and reddish, often with a dark mask, sometimes with white markings. Solid white dogs with dark pigmentation occur occasionally in the breed. Females: weight 99+ pounds; height 25-28 inches. Males: weight 110+ pounds; height 27-30 inches. WORKING CHARACTERISTICS: Caucasian Ovcharka are independent and can be a more dominate dog with moderate energy. CO's tend to be patrollers. They are highly reactive, very territorial and not for inexperienced owners. Unfortunately, few Caucasian Ovcharkas are selected or used for livestock guardian dogs today and it can be very difficult to find COs with the appropriate temperament and LGD behaviors. Caucasian Ovcharkas today are generally bred to be overly large and are from dog fighting or military lines and are not shepherd's dogs. RESEARCH THE BREEDER THOROUGHLY! Caucasian Ovcharkas may not have a measured response to a threat. They are not well suited for remote or range situations because they need more human interaction and management, however, because of this, they are usually more people orientated than some LGD breeds and are thus more trainable. COs may be dog aggressive and have higher than usual prey drive. Because they bond closely with their owners, re-homing can be difficult. NOT FOR THE INEXPERIENCED OWNER. |
HEALTH: Caucasian Ovcharka are subject to certain genetic and hereditary diseases and should be screened for these conditions before breeding. Please click the links below to learn more.
Caucasian Ovcharka are also subject to:
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CAUCASIAN OVCHARKA MENTORS
Theresa Wegner
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