Karakachan Dog
Encyclopedia
The Karakachan is a breed
of dog
that originated in Bulgaria
as a mountain livestock guardian dog
. Other names are Karakachan Shepherd and Thracian Mollos. The dog is named after the Karakachans
, Balkan nomadic shepherds. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they have preserved some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe: the Karakachan sheep, Karakachan horse and the Karakachan dog.
In the past, this Mountain dog
was widely used in Bulgaria as a border army watchdog. Nowadays it is used primarily as a livestock guardian dog and property guard dog
. The most numerous populations of working purebred livestock guarding Karakachan dogs are found in Bulgaria and the United States. The Karakachan was officially approved as a Bulgarian old native breed in 2005. The Karakachan dog may be a descendant of ancient Balkan domestic dogs, possibly since the time of the Thracians
. In ancient Thracian treasures, figures were found of big, longhaired guardian dogs with curled tails. The Karachan is part of the origin of the Bulgarian Shepherd dog, with which it should not be confused.
Bellow is presented the text of the official breed Standard.
, the oldest inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula, renowned as stock-breeders, whom Herodotus
describes as the most numerous people after the Indian one. The dog is named after the Karakachans
. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they managed to preserve some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe - the Karakachan sheep, the Karakachan horse, and, of course, the Karakachan Dog. It is with this name that the Karakachan Dog appears in the works of some of the classics of Bulgarian literature, namely Yordan Yovkov, Georgi Raitchev and Yordan Radichkov. In 1938 H.B. Peters wrote about it in the German cinologycal magazine "Zeitschrift für Hundeforschung" [Zentralblatt für Kleintierkunde und Pelztierkunde "Kleintier und Pelztier", Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Leipzig]. . The first researcher of the breed was Todor Gajtandjiev, who proposed the standardization of the breed in the 1970s. The Karakachan Dog's bravery and dignity, together with its incredible loyalty, make this dog an invaluable friend and helper.
Important proportions: The length of the body measures the same as the height at withers + X%
- in male dogs X = 4-10%
- in bitches X=6 - 15 %
- the height at the elbow = 52-55% of the height at withers
- the length of the muzzle = 43-45% of the length of the head.
Behaviour / temperament: proud, domineering, wary to strangers, brave and intelligent dog of tough, steady and independent character. It's got a typical deep solid bark.
Cranial region: The skull is broad and massive; the upper profile is slightly rounded with a shallow furrow on the forehead; the occipital bone is slightly pronounced. The supercilliary arches are only slightly developed. The axes of the muzzle and the cranial region are parallel.
Stop: Visible but not emphasized.
Facial region:
Muzzle: Massive, widening at the base, shorter than the cranial part of the skull. Tapering very gradually from its set to the nose leather, ending flat.
Nose leather: Large and well-pigmented. Wide nostrils.
Lips: Thick and close-fitting. The upper lip covers the lower. Well-pigmented.
Jaws (teeth): Strong jaws. 42 teeth - 20 in the upper jaw and 22 in the lower jaw. Large and white teeth, well adapted to each other. Scissor bite or pincer bite.
Eyes: Small, deep and obliquely placed in the skull, with the lateral angles higher than the medial ones. Dark or hazel depending on the colour of the coat. The rim of the eyelid is dark pigmented. Expression is grim, confident, intelligent and firm.
Ears: Rather small, low set, V-shaped, pendant, close-fitting to the skull.
Neck: Short and powerful. Well-connected with the body and head. Angled at approximately 30o to the upper line. No pendant folds apart from a slight dewlap along the ventral part of the neck.
Upper line: Horizontal, straight.
Withers
Well-pronounced, long and muscular.
Back
Straight, broad and well-muscled.
Loins
Of medium length, broad, well-muscled. Pronounced above the upper line.
Croup
Of medium length, broad and slightly sloping. Rounded and muscular.
Chest
Deep and broad but not barrel-shaped. Reaching deep at least to the points of elbow.
Under line and belly
The belly is muscular, taut and slightly tucked up.
Not very high set. It reaches to the hock joints but can also be short by birth. The coat on tail is long and rough. In repose it hangs low or the tip is curved(Fig.2). In movement or when the dog is alert, it is carried over the back in sabre form or curled(Fig.3).
Forequarters: Straight, parallel, massive.
Shoulders and upper arm: Long and broad. Tightly joined to the body, well-muscled. Angle between shoulder blade and shoulder bone is approximately 105°.
Elbow: Close-fitting to chest.
Forearm: Long, bone-sturdy.
Carpus: Strong and broad.
Pastern: Slightly sloping. Broad and strong.
Front feet: Large, round, with taut, compact toes. Arched and hairy. Elastic dark pads. Toenails are thick and strong, preferably dark-coloured.
Hindquarters: Parallel, powerful, with moderate angulation.
Thigh: Of medium length, broad, well-muscled.
Lower thigh: Long, broad and muscular.
Hock: Broad and taut. The tibial-tarsus angle is about 140°.
Long reaching. Preferred movement is the springy trot.
Thick, elastic and closely fitting. No flabs apart from a slight dewlap along the lower (ventral) part of the neck. The nose leather and the visible mucus membranes should be black-pigmented and for red-white dogs should be brown.
Quality of hair: In terms of hair length there are two types distinguished:
longhaired - length of coat on the body should measure over 12 cm.
shorthaired - length of coat on the body, neck and limbs measures up to 12 cm.
Over the neck, withers, croup, at the back of legs, and on the tail the hair is long and rough. The topcoat is straight and stiff. Over the head and the front part of the legs the hair is short and close-fitting. Heavy undercoat.
Colour of hair: Two or tricolour, with spots. Most desired are clearly defined dark spots on white or big white spots on dark.
Size: Males: 63–75 cm.
Bitches: 60–69 cm.
Bitches: 30–45 kg
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
- head insufficiently massive and broad
- pointed muzzle
- stop insufficiently pronounced or too prominent
- occipital bone too protruded
- eyes protruded or round
- ears set high or not close-fitting to the head
- lack of pigmentation
- neck long or too short
- prominent dewlap on the neck
- narrow or shallow chest
- soft back
- rounded back
- tail low set
- crooked legs, O-shaped or X-shaped
- pasterns too sloping or straight
- hock angles sharp or straight
- brindle
coloration
- black mask
- resemblance to other breeds: Caucasian Shepherd Dog, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Sharplaninets, Landseer, etc.
- overshot
- undershot, with gap between the incisors of more than 3 mm.
- phlegmatic temperament
- timid temperament
- unreasonable aggressiveness
- one-colored coat
- straight tail
- soft and/or curly hair
- no undercoat
N.B. Male dogs should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
The Karakachan belongs to the rare livestock
protection breeds. The dogs are effective at flock protection against predation and theft. Since 1998, there have been three cases of successful predator attacks in the flocks provided with dogs for this project. In one flock of 650 sheep, four had been killed, but this was due to the shepherds dividing the flock in half during grazing, and one half had been left without dogs.
The Karakachan dog is strictly territorial. It accepts the flock as its territory, wherever it is. Being close to the flock, they become visibly aggressive if the flock is threatened. If a stranger tries to remove an animal from the flock, the dogs will become seriously aggressive. However, when a flock is passing through a village the dogs walk calmly without paying attention to people. There is another reason for the lack of accidents: the tradition of guarding livestock
with big, aggressive dogs has always existed in Bulgaria
. Everyone knows about them and people simply avoid the flocks, so conflicts do not occur. Also there are dogs, which are not really aggressive towards people, but in the same time are excellent guards against other animal predators. The trends in breeding
these dogs are to produce offspring less aggressive towards people.
Karakachan dogs are large, long-haired, massive dogs with a well-developed musculature and well-expressed sexual dimorphism
. Males are a minimum of 65 centimetres in height; females at least 60 cm. Karakachan dogs are used as herding dogs to escort and guard sheep and goat
herds in Bulgaria. From 2004, Karakachan dogs guard successfully livestock on many farms in the U.S.
to Russian PM Vladimir Putin
as a gift in 2010.
Dog breed
Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....
of dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
that originated in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
as a mountain livestock guardian dog
Livestock guardian dog
A livestock guardian dog is a domesticated canine used to defend livestock against predators. LGDs are commonly referred to as "sheep dogs" since they most often have guarded flocks of sheep, but most are capable of guarding other species of livestock. They are classified as pastoral dogs...
. Other names are Karakachan Shepherd and Thracian Mollos. The dog is named after the Karakachans
Sarakatsani
The Sarakatsani are a group of Greek transhumant shepherds inhabiting chiefly Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania and the Republic of Macedonia. Historically centered around the Pindus mountains, they have been currently urbanised to a significant degree...
, Balkan nomadic shepherds. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they have preserved some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe: the Karakachan sheep, Karakachan horse and the Karakachan dog.
In the past, this Mountain dog
Mountain dog
Mountain dog is a generic form of canidae, dog, dog breed or landrace typically from mountain environs.They are often a working dog, particularly a livestock or flock guardian or farm dog. By and large, these dogs tend to have a claimed Molosser dog in their genetic heritage...
was widely used in Bulgaria as a border army watchdog. Nowadays it is used primarily as a livestock guardian dog and property guard dog
Guard dog
A guard dog, an attack dog or watch dog is a dog used to guard against, and watch for, unwanted or unexpected people or animals. The dog is discriminating so that it does not annoy or attack familiar people.-Barking:...
. The most numerous populations of working purebred livestock guarding Karakachan dogs are found in Bulgaria and the United States. The Karakachan was officially approved as a Bulgarian old native breed in 2005. The Karakachan dog may be a descendant of ancient Balkan domestic dogs, possibly since the time of the Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
. In ancient Thracian treasures, figures were found of big, longhaired guardian dogs with curled tails. The Karachan is part of the origin of the Bulgarian Shepherd dog, with which it should not be confused.
Breed standard
The official breed standard was written in 1991 and approved in 2005 by the State Commission for Animal Breeds within Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Bulgaria. The breed has Certificate for recognition № BG 10675 P2.Bellow is presented the text of the official breed Standard.
History
The Karakachan dog is one of Europe's oldest breeds. It is a typical Mollos, created for guarding its owner's flock and property; it does not hesitate to fight wolves or bears to defend its owner and his family in case of danger. Its ancestors started forming as early as the third millennium BC. The Karakachan dog is a descendant of the dogs of the ThraciansThracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
, the oldest inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula, renowned as stock-breeders, whom Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
describes as the most numerous people after the Indian one. The dog is named after the Karakachans
Sarakatsani
The Sarakatsani are a group of Greek transhumant shepherds inhabiting chiefly Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania and the Republic of Macedonia. Historically centered around the Pindus mountains, they have been currently urbanised to a significant degree...
. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they managed to preserve some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe - the Karakachan sheep, the Karakachan horse, and, of course, the Karakachan Dog. It is with this name that the Karakachan Dog appears in the works of some of the classics of Bulgarian literature, namely Yordan Yovkov, Georgi Raitchev and Yordan Radichkov. In 1938 H.B. Peters wrote about it in the German cinologycal magazine "Zeitschrift für Hundeforschung" [Zentralblatt für Kleintierkunde und Pelztierkunde "Kleintier und Pelztier", Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Leipzig]. . The first researcher of the breed was Todor Gajtandjiev, who proposed the standardization of the breed in the 1970s. The Karakachan Dog's bravery and dignity, together with its incredible loyalty, make this dog an invaluable friend and helper.
Appearance
- in male dogs X = 4-10%
- in bitches X=6 - 15 %
- the height at the elbow = 52-55% of the height at withers
- the length of the muzzle = 43-45% of the length of the head.
Behaviour / temperament: proud, domineering, wary to strangers, brave and intelligent dog of tough, steady and independent character. It's got a typical deep solid bark.
- Head:
Cranial region: The skull is broad and massive; the upper profile is slightly rounded with a shallow furrow on the forehead; the occipital bone is slightly pronounced. The supercilliary arches are only slightly developed. The axes of the muzzle and the cranial region are parallel.
Stop: Visible but not emphasized.
Facial region:
Muzzle: Massive, widening at the base, shorter than the cranial part of the skull. Tapering very gradually from its set to the nose leather, ending flat.
Nose leather: Large and well-pigmented. Wide nostrils.
Lips: Thick and close-fitting. The upper lip covers the lower. Well-pigmented.
Jaws (teeth): Strong jaws. 42 teeth - 20 in the upper jaw and 22 in the lower jaw. Large and white teeth, well adapted to each other. Scissor bite or pincer bite.
Eyes: Small, deep and obliquely placed in the skull, with the lateral angles higher than the medial ones. Dark or hazel depending on the colour of the coat. The rim of the eyelid is dark pigmented. Expression is grim, confident, intelligent and firm.
Ears: Rather small, low set, V-shaped, pendant, close-fitting to the skull.
Neck: Short and powerful. Well-connected with the body and head. Angled at approximately 30o to the upper line. No pendant folds apart from a slight dewlap along the ventral part of the neck.
- Body:
Upper line: Horizontal, straight.
Withers
Well-pronounced, long and muscular.
Back
Straight, broad and well-muscled.
Loins
Of medium length, broad, well-muscled. Pronounced above the upper line.
Croup
Of medium length, broad and slightly sloping. Rounded and muscular.
Chest
Deep and broad but not barrel-shaped. Reaching deep at least to the points of elbow.
Under line and belly
The belly is muscular, taut and slightly tucked up.
- Tail:
Not very high set. It reaches to the hock joints but can also be short by birth. The coat on tail is long and rough. In repose it hangs low or the tip is curved(Fig.2). In movement or when the dog is alert, it is carried over the back in sabre form or curled(Fig.3).
- Limbs:
Forequarters: Straight, parallel, massive.
Shoulders and upper arm: Long and broad. Tightly joined to the body, well-muscled. Angle between shoulder blade and shoulder bone is approximately 105°.
Elbow: Close-fitting to chest.
Forearm: Long, bone-sturdy.
Carpus: Strong and broad.
Pastern: Slightly sloping. Broad and strong.
Front feet: Large, round, with taut, compact toes. Arched and hairy. Elastic dark pads. Toenails are thick and strong, preferably dark-coloured.
Hindquarters: Parallel, powerful, with moderate angulation.
Thigh: Of medium length, broad, well-muscled.
Lower thigh: Long, broad and muscular.
Hock: Broad and taut. The tibial-tarsus angle is about 140°.
- Gait/movement:
Long reaching. Preferred movement is the springy trot.
- Skin:
Thick, elastic and closely fitting. No flabs apart from a slight dewlap along the lower (ventral) part of the neck. The nose leather and the visible mucus membranes should be black-pigmented and for red-white dogs should be brown.
- Coat:
Quality of hair: In terms of hair length there are two types distinguished:
longhaired - length of coat on the body should measure over 12 cm.
shorthaired - length of coat on the body, neck and limbs measures up to 12 cm.
Over the neck, withers, croup, at the back of legs, and on the tail the hair is long and rough. The topcoat is straight and stiff. Over the head and the front part of the legs the hair is short and close-fitting. Heavy undercoat.
Colour of hair: Two or tricolour, with spots. Most desired are clearly defined dark spots on white or big white spots on dark.
- Height at the withers:
Size: Males: 63–75 cm.
Bitches: 60–69 cm.
- Weight: Males: 40–55 kg
Bitches: 30–45 kg
- Faults:
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
- head insufficiently massive and broad
- pointed muzzle
- stop insufficiently pronounced or too prominent
- occipital bone too protruded
- eyes protruded or round
- ears set high or not close-fitting to the head
- lack of pigmentation
- neck long or too short
- prominent dewlap on the neck
- narrow or shallow chest
- soft back
- rounded back
- tail low set
- crooked legs, O-shaped or X-shaped
- pasterns too sloping or straight
- hock angles sharp or straight
- brindle
Brindle
Brindle is a coat coloring pattern in animals, particularly dogs, cats, cattle, guinea pigs, crested geckos and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger's coat...
coloration
- black mask
Melanistic mask
A melanistic mask is a dog coat pattern that gives the appearance of a mask on the dog's face. The hairs on the muzzle, and sometimes entire face or ears, are colored by eumelanin instead of pheomelanin pigment. Eumelanin is typically black, but may instead be brown, dark gray, or light gray-brown...
- Eliminating faults
- resemblance to other breeds: Caucasian Shepherd Dog, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Sharplaninets, Landseer, etc.
- overshot
- undershot, with gap between the incisors of more than 3 mm.
- phlegmatic temperament
- timid temperament
- unreasonable aggressiveness
- one-colored coat
- straight tail
- soft and/or curly hair
- no undercoat
N.B. Male dogs should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Effectiveness
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
protection breeds. The dogs are effective at flock protection against predation and theft. Since 1998, there have been three cases of successful predator attacks in the flocks provided with dogs for this project. In one flock of 650 sheep, four had been killed, but this was due to the shepherds dividing the flock in half during grazing, and one half had been left without dogs.
The Karakachan dog is strictly territorial. It accepts the flock as its territory, wherever it is. Being close to the flock, they become visibly aggressive if the flock is threatened. If a stranger tries to remove an animal from the flock, the dogs will become seriously aggressive. However, when a flock is passing through a village the dogs walk calmly without paying attention to people. There is another reason for the lack of accidents: the tradition of guarding livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
with big, aggressive dogs has always existed in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. Everyone knows about them and people simply avoid the flocks, so conflicts do not occur. Also there are dogs, which are not really aggressive towards people, but in the same time are excellent guards against other animal predators. The trends in breeding
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
these dogs are to produce offspring less aggressive towards people.
Karakachan dogs are large, long-haired, massive dogs with a well-developed musculature and well-expressed sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
. Males are a minimum of 65 centimetres in height; females at least 60 cm. Karakachan dogs are used as herding dogs to escort and guard sheep and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
herds in Bulgaria. From 2004, Karakachan dogs guard successfully livestock on many farms in the U.S.
Creation of new breeds
The Karakachan dog is also used for the creation of new breeds. In the last 15 years, the Karakachan dog has been used by some amateur dog fans in Bulgaria to create a new big show breed, the Bulgarian Shepherd dog, with which the Karakachan dog should not be confused. These are cross-breeds of Karakachan dogs with giant breeds such as Caucasian Ovcharka, Central Asian Ovcharka, Moskow watchdog, Saint Bernard, Landseer and Newfoundland. The goal is to create giant, heavy dogs similar in coloration to the native Karakachan dog. These new dogs are bred mostly as a pets.Popular Culture
The Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov gave a Karakachan dog, called BuffyBuffy (dog)
Buffy is a dog, owned as a pet by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. It was given to him by his Bulgarian colleague Boyko Borisov during a visit in Sofia on 13 November 2010. Buffy is a Karakachan Dog and it was born in Boyko Borisov's personal nursery in August 2010 under the name Yorgo...
to Russian PM Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
as a gift in 2010.