This strong, powerful and surprisingly hardy dog is rarely seen in Russia. In recent years, several specialized nurseries have appeared on the territory of our country, where a Bulgarian (Karakachan) shepherd is bred, but there are still too few of them.
This is probably due to the fact that these animals can be exported outside Bulgaria only if there are a large number of accompanying documents.
From the history of the breed
Bulgarian Shepherd is one of the oldest shepherd breeds in the Balkans. She is not yet officially recognized in the world, but is well known outside of Bulgaria. This is the achievement of the Kennel National Club.
The Bulgarian Shepherd Dog, a photo of which can be seen in many cynological publications, is a relative of such breeds as the Illyrian Shepherd Dog (Charplanina), the Serbian, Romanian, Greek, Central Asian and Caucasian Shepherd Dogs. All these animals are large, powerful, distrustful of strangers, unpretentious and hardy.
For the first time, a Bulgarian shepherd (description of the breed) is mentioned in the records of Prince Uturgurov, which date back to the sixth century. He describes a large, white with black or red spots, a dog, with hanging ears and a high tail. Dog handlers are sure that this is the ancestor of a shepherd Bulgarian dog. Since ancient times, people engaged in sheep farming in the Balkans. Therefore, they needed a reliable defender of huge flocks.
It could be a large dog, fearless and very strong. For many centuries, very stringent requirements were imposed on the selection - as a result, the Karakachan dog (Bulgarian shepherd) experienced a difficult natural selection.
At the beginning of the XX century, Bulgaria was experiencing a serious crisis in sheep breeding - the number of sheep was reduced, and the shepherd dogs were “unemployed”. Many of them died, some scattered around the neighborhood in search of food, some individuals were sold to neighboring countries, some of the animals moved to the houses of shepherds. The breed was endangered.
But the fate of these powerful animals interfered with the Bulgarian dog handlers. In December 1983, the National Club of Endangered Breeds appeared in the city of Pazardzhik. Today these dogs are the pride of Bulgarian dog handlers. Several large nurseries are engaged in its breeding. But more than others, Ticho Elit is known - a nursery owned by the famous breeder Stefan Popov.
He became the founder of the National Club. This enthusiast gave his life over 40 years to the revival of the gene pool of this amazing breed, the preservation of its best representatives. Today, this dog is no longer in danger of extinction. The National Club in the homeland of this breed has more than 2600 breeding animals. Each year, more than three hundred puppies are born in the country. At the national exhibition held in 2015, 168 beautiful representatives of Karachak were represented.
Recognizing a new breed (even having such a long history) MKF is a laborious and long process. Bulgarian dog handlers sent for approval the breed standard for more than twelve years ago. But there is a necessary condition - for recognition of FCI eight independent lines and a minimum of 2000 animals registered in the stud book must be presented.
External features
The Bulgarian Shepherd Dog, a photo of which you can see in our article, has a very impressive appearance. She has a massive head, with a smooth transition from the forehead to the muzzle, powerful jaws, large and strong teeth, a short muscular neck, a wide chest, and a well-developed respiratory system. These shepherd dogs are naturally endowed with excellent eyesight, smell and hearing.
The legs are strong and set straight. The paws are not very large, and the pads on them are rough, dark in color. An important feature of this breed is the fifth dewclaw. The fluffy tail is located quite high relative to the line of the back. When the dog is not calm, he rises high, resembling a fluffy crescent. Bulgarian Shepherd has a loud and loud voice. With it, animals warn shepherds of danger. The height of the male at the withers is 65 cm. The bitches are slightly smaller - 60 cm.
Wool
This working dog has a thick and dense fur coat. Wool is made up of straight and coarse hair. They have an average length of at least 7 cm. The undercoat is well developed. Such wool requires regular brushing. It is necessary to teach a dog to this from puppyhood, so that in the future this procedure does not turn into torment for both the owner and the animal.
Another unique feature of this breed, which will not allow it to be confused with any other. Shepherds stop one-ear faithful four-legged helpers. Dogs - right, bitches - left. This is explained by the desire to combine control over the natural set of ears, which must certainly be hanging, and the strict expression, which is achieved by stopping. Puppies who are preparing for an exhibition career keep their ears in a natural state.
Color
The Bulgarian shepherd can have a different color, but is most often found white, with red or dark spots. Much less common are the animals of the original red ednose color. They are distinguished by spots of red color, meat-colored nose and bright amber eyes. Such a dog looks very impressive and is appreciated by connoisseurs of this breed.
Character
These beautiful dogs are excellent watchmen and guards. However, it should be noted that they have a somewhat peculiar idea of their “work” - they actively protect the territory and property of the owner, as they consider it their property. If an outsider comes to visit the owner in the presence of the owner, then the Bulgarian shepherd will react to its appearance quite loyally, albeit with caution. She will not let the stranger out of sight, watching him from the side. Unlike representatives of other breeds of dogs, the Bulgarian Shepherd almost never gets used to one guest, even if he will visit your house very often. Therefore, the dog will carefully observe even a close friend of the family, and in the event of even an insignificant quarrel, without hesitation, it will rush to the owner's protection. If for some reason a frequent guest tries to enter the house in the absence of the owner, the attack of the dog is inevitable.
Bulgarian Shepherd: photos, puppies
If you want to have such a charming puppy, then you need to know that he needs to allocate quite a lot of free space for games. These fidgets love to naughty, frolic and splash out their irrepressible energy. It is important for owners to know that these adorable babies should be accustomed to people from a very young age, otherwise they will be considered the enemies of all people. They will have a desire to constantly bark at strangers, and as soon as possible they will try to bite. Such behavior is alien to a well-bred dog - it can become aggressive only when the owner's family or he himself is in danger.
At the age of 1.5 months, puppies of this breed are cute black and white “cubs”, but already at this time they show a strong and independent character. From the first days of the appearance of the puppy in the house, it is necessary to pay more attention to the upbringing of the animal, which will become the key to successful training in the future.
Since the Bulgarian Shepherd is a leader by nature, it recognizes only a strict and strong-willed owner. Therefore, while training with your pet, do not allow indulgence, at the same time you can not stoop to stiffness or rudeness. This dog is smart, it lends itself well to training, because it quickly remembers the commands and understands well how to behave in a particular situation.
Attitude towards children
The Bulgarian Shepherd Dog (reviews confirm this) can be an excellent family dog if it was adopted as a puppy or teenager. Growing up with the owner’s child, she will consider him a member of her family and become a devoted friend to him. At the same time, she does not tolerate familiarity and not very friendly games of young children, and she can even give change. Therefore, do not consider these dogs as nannies.
Having grown up with children, the Bulgarian Shepherd dogs are very attached to small owners. This is due to the "popular selection" of this breed - often the children of shepherds grew up with these large dogs. A dog growling at a child was mercilessly destroyed.
Attitude towards animals
With other animals living in the house, Bulgarian Shepherds rarely find a common language. This is understandable. They rightly consider the protected area their property, to understand that the cat that appears in the house, for example, is also part of the family, it is not easy for them. Therefore, it is advisable to exclude the residence of this dog on the same territory with fighting dogs or cats.
And one more detail - these dogs tend to dominate, so they can be aggressive towards animals of the same sex.
Health
Bulgarian shepherd nature awarded good health. They are very rarely ill, specific diseases are absent. According to Bulgarian dog handlers, not a single case of dysplasia has been recorded in this breed. Life expectancy with proper care reaches 14 years.
Bulgarian (Karakachan) Buffy Shepherd Dog
Modern statistics claim that in Russia the most popular pet is a cat. But Russian President Vladimir V. Putin loves dogs very much. He has three of them: Labrador Connie, the beautiful Akita Inu Yume and the magnificent Bulgarian Buffy Shepherd. All dogs live in the presidential residence Novo-Ogaryovo.
Labrador Connie is a female person. She was born in 1999, when V.V. Putin became the official successor to B.N. Yeltsin. The dog was presented to Putin in 2000 by S. Shoigu. Many Russians are interested in whether Connie is alive, because her age is very respectable. Especially a lot of such questions began to appear after the president’s photo appeared on the press for a walk with Buffy and Yume. Connie is alive, but she is already very old, moves slowly and cannot play with young animals.
Buffy presented the Bulgarian Shepherd Dog to our president, Boyko Borisov (Prime Minister of Bulgaria). Vladimir Vladimirovich was so happy about the gift that he kissed the puppy at the presentation ceremony. The gift of the baby was called Yorgo, but the new owner did not like this name. A competition for the best name for a dog has been announced . He won the competition Dima Sokolov - a five-year-old Muscovite.
Bulgarian Shepherd Dog is a strong dog that was formed in harsh conditions. We hope that it will develop in Russia, while maintaining its outstanding protective qualities, and will find many loyal fans in our country.
Owner reviews
Despite the fact that there are not many owners of such animals in our country, they leave reviews about their pets in nurseries. The vast majority of owners believe that this is really a reliable and loyal guard, on which you can leave your property.
In relation to the owner and his family - this is the cutest, kind and affectionate creature, despite its rather frightening appearance. The owners of these animals especially note the importance of early socialization of these dogs in order to exclude the appearance of un motivated aggression.