Among the representatives of the shepherd dogs there are giants and babies. The former include primitive Central Asian and Caucasian breeds, the latter include Welsh Corgi Pembroke. Among dog lovers, there has been a long debate about which is the largest shepherd. The results of the controversy are described in the article.
Alabai. General information
Representatives of this breed are real monsters: huge, with a large head and powerful jaws, they look frightening. With such a dog, you don’t want to enter into a conflict, when you see him, you want to find yourself as far as possible. A photo of the largest shepherd in the world is presented below.
Alabai is the largest dog. This conclusion was made by lovers of large breeds. "Caucasian" is somewhat inferior to its counterpart in size, although it seems larger due to fluffy wool.
Origin
What is the name of the breed of the largest shepherd, you now know. This is Alabai, or Central Asian Shepherd. The breed has been known to mankind for several thousand years.
It was formed on the territory stretching from the Caspian Sea to China and from the Southern Urals to Afghanistan. The conclusion suggests itself: Russia is involved in the appearance of the Alabaevs, although Central Asia is considered their homeland.
According to the data on the origin, it is known that the “Central Asians” - the largest shepherd dogs - are closely related to the Tibetan dogs.
Breed standard
FCI classifies the Alabaev as guards belonging to the group of mountain dogs (molossians).
General impression: the dog is large, very harmonious, slightly stretched. The muscles are well developed.
The minimum height of a male is 70 cm, bitches 65 cm. The average weight ranges from 80 kg, there are representatives of the breed weighing 90-95 kg.
The head is large, rather massive, colloquially called "bearish". The cranial part is flat, as well as the forehead, the occipital protuberance is well developed, but almost invisible due to musculature.
The transition from the forehead to the muzzle is pronounced, smooth. The muzzle is short, massive, dull.
The eyes are round, set deep, dark in color.
The nose is large, black.
The jaws are wide, the lips are thick, fit snugly to them.
The teeth are large, white, scissor bite.
The body of the dog is well balanced, the neck is massive, somewhat short. The back is straight and long, the loin is short and wide, the croup is muscular, the rib cage is round.
The limbs are long, powerful.
The skin is thick and supple.
The coat is thick, with a well-developed undercoat. The coat is coarse and short to the touch.
The standard allows any color other than blue and brown.
This is what the largest shepherd bred in Central Asia looks like.
Character
The breed is completely unsuitable for beginners. Alabai is a strong and stubborn animal, it is able to prove its superiority to a weak master. By weakness is meant not only physical strength, but also the soft nature of man.
The Central Asian Shepherd Dog needs constant monitoring. Representatives of the breed are smart and independent, they will not follow the owner’s command if they think that it is inappropriate. Alabai can make decisions contrary to the will of the owner. A weak person will be indignant and try to subdue the dog by force, the dog’s attack on him will be the apotheosis. Alabai is stronger physically, he will win. For a man, the battle will end in disastrous, at best, bites, and at worst, fatal outcomes.
After reading this characteristic, you can be scared. A dog looks more like a monster than a friend of a person. This is a misleading impression, because with the right, consistent training, the representative of the breed seems very docile. He is friendly towards the owner and members of his family, willingly gets along with children and tolerates other pets. The breed was bred for protection, the attitude towards strangers in dogs is appropriate. Once a Central Asian shepherd dog sees a stranger on its territory, it will immediately turn into a formidable fighter. Seeing the appropriate behavior on the part of an outsider, he will refrain from attacking and will warn about his intentions with a menacing growl. For a reasonable person, this is enough to stop their path through the territory of the largest shepherd in the world.
They begin to raise a representative of the breed from childhood, he needs socialization. Trained only on a treat or a toy, Central Asian shepherd dogs do not tolerate physical impact, quickly stop it.
Life span
Unfortunately, Alabai rarely live up to 12 years due to their size. The larger the dog, the less it lives, representatives of the breed are no exception. They are released 10-12 years, but many Alabai die before this time.
Caucasian Shepherd Dog
Do you know that the “Central Asian” and “Caucasian” are siblings? Their common ancestor is the Tibetan Great Dane. Together with nomadic tribes, large and powerful dogs appeared on the territory of modern Dagestan almost 4000 years ago. Further the paths of the Alabaev and the “Caucasians” diverge: the first went with the owners in the territory described above, the second settled in the modern Caucasus.
It was necessary to survive there, the sedentary tribes were not going to babysit four-legged companions. No one took care of the dogs, they were only fed. Sick, the dog was dying, it was replaced by other representatives of the breed.
The mountains of the Caucasus are a separate issue, their climate makes them perish from the cold or grow wool. Shepherd dogs chose the second, long hair contributed to survival in harsh climatic conditions.
Over time, representatives of the breed spread throughout Russia. Now they are used as service dogs and for protection.
The largest Caucasian shepherd, born in 2008, lived in Ukraine, in the city of Odessa.
General characteristics of the breed
FCI classifies members of the breed as guard dogs belonging to the mountain (Molossian).
General view: a tall, large, well-built dog with a massive skeleton, the body is slightly stretched.
Minimum male height is 68 cm, bitches 64 cm. Male weight starts from 50 kg, bitches can weigh from 45 kg.
The head is large, massive, with a wide skull and a flat forehead.
The muzzle is wide, with massive jaws and a large nose. The transition from the forehead to the muzzle is weakly expressed.
The eyes are oval, widely spaced, dark in color.
Jaws are large, strong, well developed. The lips are dry, tight to the jaws, the bite can be straight or scissor-like.
Body wide, muscular, neck of medium length, very powerful.
The chest is wide and deep, well developed.
The back is straight and wide, the lower back is short, somewhat convex.
The croup is wide and round.
The limbs are long, straight, muscular.
The tail reaches the hock, set high.
The skin is thick, without wrinkles and creases.
The coat is straight and rough, at least 5 cm long. There is a dense undercoat.
Any color is allowed except solid black, liver or blue.
Caucasian shepherd character
The largest Caucasian shepherd is presented in the photo below. This is a male named grizzly. How does the owner deal with such a beast? There are three rules that must be followed by all breed owners:
The dog cannot be rushed.
The Caucasian Shepherd does not like to be shouted at.
Beat a representative of the breed is unacceptable.
“Caucasians” are distinguished by their beauty and proud disposition; they are smart, stubborn and independent. If the dog decided that he should act in a certain way that is different from the point of view of the owner, he will do it his own way.
Having a puppy of a Caucasian shepherd, one should take into account his temperament. These dogs are phlegmatic. In other words, it takes a little longer to train an animal than for another breed.
Classes start from an early age, the puppy should be interested in fulfilling commands. To achieve this, use a treat or a toy, physical impact is unacceptable.
For beginner dogs, it is better to pay attention to other breeds, Caucasian shepherds require experience when handling. With proper training, they become loyal and obedient companions that respect the owner. The breed is friendly to family members, but absolutely does not tolerate strangers. Unlike the Alabai, characterized by tact, the "Caucasian" will not stand on ceremony with a stranger who has fallen into his territory. A huge dog attacks so swiftly that a person does not have time to understand what happened. That is why representatives of the breed are not suitable for maintenance in city apartments, they will begin to protect not only the premises, but also the territory on which they walk.
Recall that the photo of the largest Caucasian shepherd in the world is in the next section.
Dogs are patient with children, but turning a Caucasian shepherd into a nanny is a bad idea. The dog has security qualities, it perfectly copes with the functions of a guard. The nanny out of her is disgusting, because she is able to put in place a child that is out of control. Therefore, it is necessary to control the communication of the child and the formidable dog.
Life span
Below in the photo is a Caucasian shepherd, the largest dog named Grizzly. The representative of the breed lives in Odessa, it is scary to approach him, because the dog weighs more than 100 kg. Now the grizzly is very old, the life span of the breed is 9-12 years. He was born in 2008, almost 11 years old.
German Shepherd
We talked about the largest Caucasian shepherd, found out her name, weight and place of residence. Now it remains to deal with the "Germans" - smart and friendly.
The dog takes an honorable bronze place in the list of large breeds. Her story began more than a century ago, when the retired German cavalryman Max von Stefanitz decided to create a universal breed. A man needed a dog that was distinguished by perfect obedience, protective and shepherd qualities.
April 3, 1899 is the birthday of the German Shepherd. On this day, von Stefanitz, along with his friend Arthur Mayer, went to the dog show, where he acquired a male, who became the ancestor of the breed.
In the 70s of the XX century there was a split among lovers of German shepherds. Some remained adherents of Max von Stefanitz, while others gave preference to show breeding shepherds. They were brighter, with beautiful heads and differed in their balance in communicating with strangers, in contrast to working breeding.
At the moment, there is a work line and a show. The first does not participate in exhibitions, the second is designed specifically for them.
Differences in character
We omit the description of the breed standard, because in the photo you can see how a dog of working breeding looks, and how - a show.
As for the main characteristics, the advantages of the former include:
strong psyche;
high concentration on the host;
ability to work and not get tired;
cautious attitude to strangers, up to aggression;
high intelligence;
devotion to the owner.
Representatives of the show class can boast:
Working dogs are designed for sports training. When her representative is forced to spend days in an empty apartment, he begins to get bored. Temperament requires the release of energy, because the shepherd working breeding - choleric. A bored dog becomes irritable, aggressive, smashes an apartment and ceases to obey the owner.
The problems did not pass the show-level dogs. Many of them are cowardly, unreasonably barking at a person, being in a passive-defensive reaction. Show-class German shepherds often have mental problems: it is difficult for them to concentrate on the owner for a long time, dogs quickly get tired during training.
The biggest "German"
The largest German shepherd lives in the nursery Charming Bear. The height of the female is 65 centimeters, although the maximum bar, according to the breed standard, is 59 cm.
Conclusion
The article presents photos of the largest shepherd dogs. Recall that in the first place among them - Alabai, in second - the Caucasian Shepherd. Representatives of breeds are suitable for experienced owners, it is desirable to keep them in a private house with a huge aviary, from childhood, you need to engage in education, training and socialization.
With German shepherds the situation is somewhat simpler: they are obedient, easy to train, unlike "brothers". However, representatives of this breed also have their own nuances.
Getting a dog of any breed, it is important to understand all the responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the owner, as soon as the puppy appears in the house.