Georgian Shepherd

The Georgian Shepherd (Georgian: ქართული მთის ძაღლი) also known as Georgian Mountain Dog is a molosser-type livestock guardian breed of dog with ancient working origins in the Georgia Caucasus.[1]

Georgian Shepherd Dog
Georgian Shepherd
Other namesGeorgian Mountain Dog
Common nicknamesQartuli Nagazi or Nagazi
OriginGeorgia
Traits
Weight Male 60 kilograms (130 lb) - 100 kilograms (220 lb)
Female 50 kilograms (110 lb) -80 kilograms (180 lb)
Height Male minimum 70 cm (28 in) -
Female minimum 65 cm (26 in)
Coat Thick double coat—thick undercoat
Color any color, white
Litter size 3–10 puppies
Life span 11–12 years
Kennel club standards
Cynological Federation of Georgia standard
NotesNational animal of Georgia.
Dog (domestic dog)

There are two kinds of Georgian livestock guardian dogs: the short haired "Lion" type, typically pure white or white with dark patches on its coat and the long hair "Bear" type are typically dark brown to black head and lighter brown covering the rest of the coat.

In Georgia they are known as, Qartuli Nagazi. The short hair "Lion" type is considered to the oldest or Aboriginal variant of the breed, with the pure white being the rarest coat color. The "Lion" variant was predominantly found in the north-east regions of Georgia: Kazbegi, Khevsureti, and Tusheti, but is also found in the adjacent mountainous border areas of Russia and Azerbaijan.

Description

Because of their morphology and lineage, Georgian shepherds fall into the Molosser category. Male Georgian mountain dogs should be at least 65 centimetres (26 in) in height at the withers; females should be at least 60 centimetres (24 in) in height.[2] Physically, these dogs are strongly-boned, muscular, and athletic, with a large head and powerful legs. Georgian mountain dogs tend to be assertive, brave, and alert. Shepherds traditionally used Georgian mountain dogs for defending sheep from predators.

History

The Cynological Federation of Georgia has had a strict battle with the Russian federation of Cynologs about Caucasian Shepherd dog.

In 2012, the International Cynological Federation was to have decided which national breed would be the Caucasian Shepherd Dog as a result of this heated discussion.

After the removal of most of the Qartuli Nagazi from Georgia, Georgian enthusiasts with support from the Ministry of Environment began expeditions to the regions of Georgia to describe and take photos of the remaining Georgian shepherds. Georgia started advertising the breed using television broadcasting and printing articles about Georgian shepherds in order to popularize the breed.

Following the Soviet collapse, Georgia began to popularise this dog. Today, the goal is to breed another rare Georgian shepherd, Georgia's ancient white shepherd.Georgian shepherds are still used in dog fighting.

gollark: I find it pretty weird that coltrans thinks mine is maybe 14.
gollark: I would probably do that anyway.
gollark: It wouldn't seem like your inference was good in cases 1 and 2.
gollark: Really? Interesting.
gollark: What if I'm not thinking about this very hard and doing maths work?

See also

References
  1. "Ancient Times And Origins". Kennel director in Finland. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2008-08-08.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  2. "Georgian Mountain Dog history". Cynological Federation of Georgia. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.