Tibetan Mastiff: are they really so gigantic, or is it all a marketing gimmick (8 photos)

They say God created the cat so that man could pet the tiger. Well, man, in turn, created Tibetan mastiffs - so that he could pet the lion! And not just pet him, but live with him side by side, love him, feed him, admire him and not give him away to anyone.





It's time to get acquainted with the most ferocious and evil, the calmest and kindest, and the most controversial dog breed straight from the mountain peaks of Tibet. Let's find out what they really are!



Lion and pug.

Throughout their long history, these woolen dogs have become overgrown with so many myths that now you can’t understand what really happened and what was invented to popularize the breed. Probably the very first misconception about the breed is related to the size of the dogs. Many kennels and breeders promote Tibetans as exceptionally huge and powerful watchdogs. What do we really have?





This one needs to be protected - from moths, first of all.

Looking at the mastiff standard, we read in black and white that the minimum height at the withers is only 61 centimeters for girls and 66 for boys. For comparison, large male German Shepherds grow up to 65 centimeters at the withers. Naturally, with such height, the weight of mastiffs will be in the range of 30-50 kilograms - half less than what people say about our heroes. Here are the grandiose Tibetans!



God, who put the child in the same cage with the lion?!

The second misconception is related to the purpose of Tibetan mastiffs. More precisely, with the purpose of modern mega-woolly, overweight and saggy parodies of the good old guard breed. If you think that having such a watchdog means providing yourself with reliable security, congratulations, you fell for a marketing trick. Yes, perhaps somewhere deep in their genes these mastiffs know how to protect them, but given their physical characteristics and state of health, after a couple of years of life the dogs will have to be carried in their arms.



- Dad, I want to be held in your arms! - But you already weigh fifty kilos! - I don’t know anything, I want to be held in my arms!

Therefore, if you have read about the 2000-year history of the sacred Tibetan breed and are imbued with its spirit, take a closer look not at those advertised woolen bumpkins, but at real old-type dogs. Of course, they don’t look like they do in photoshopped pictures, they’re not as fluffy and gigantic, but these bobbies will do their job right.



Yes, this dog is a real old-type Tibetan mastiff. As you can see, he has nothing in common with modern giants.

True, you will have to tinker a lot with raising such a beast. A serious Tibetan will only accept an equally adequate and strong-willed owner who can calmly but thoroughly establish rules of behavior. Otherwise, the animal itself will decide how to behave and the person will walk the line.



The same dog that “just sniffs.”

It was their ancestors who, in time immemorial, protected man and his home from wild animals and uninvited guests. Moreover, they guarded and stored it, and did not pretend and lie at every rustle. The Mastiff is very sensitive and is well aware of its own strength - real dogs of this breed do not strive to immediately rush into battle and tear the enemy to pieces. They skillfully weigh their strengths and use violence only as a last resort. But if necessary, a Tibetan will fight for his masters to the last drop of blood.



Such a plush can kill only with his hugs!

This is how the dogs were originally intended, and the mountain climate polished the Bobi like a diamond. It is noteworthy that the DNA of Tibetan mastiffs contains the EPAS1 gene, which belongs to a unique and long-extinct group of canids that lived in the Himalayas. Today, carriers of this gene are also Himalayan wolves, animals that are no less unique. Thanks to EPAS1, both dogs and wolves live comfortably in the mountains, without experiencing oxygen starvation and other negative consequences.