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dogs and cats

My next LGD

Todd Parr

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Location: Wisconsin, zone 4

posted 6 years ago

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She is the puppy in the front of the picture. Alabai from Russia

Dasha.JPG

"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do."

James Freyr

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posted 6 years ago

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Super cute!

"Study books and observe nature; if they do not agree, throw away the books." ~ William A. Albrecht

Chris Kott

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Location: Marmora, Ontario

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posted 6 years ago

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What's her story?

-CK

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Todd Parr

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Posts: 1793

Location: Wisconsin, zone 4

posted 6 years ago

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I'm getting her from a breeder in MI that imported the parents from Russia. They are considered to be one of the oldest dog breeds in existence. She is just over a month old now and will be ready for me to pick her up about Mar 6th.

"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do."

Chris Kott

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posted 6 years ago

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Tibetan mastiff or Caucasian mountain shepherd dog?

-CK

EDIT: Sorry, Alabai, I missed that somehow. That's the Central Asian Ovtcharka.

Todd Parr

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Posts: 1793

Location: Wisconsin, zone 4

posted 6 years ago

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Chris Kott wrote:Tibetan mastiff or Caucasian mountain shepherd dog?

-CK

EDIT: Sorry, Alabai, I missed that somehow. That's the Central Asian Ovtcharka.

Yeah Chris, also called the Central Asian Shepherd, but that isn't a very apt name, because they have never really been used a shepherd dogs. There just isn't a very good translation for the word. I don't use Ovtcharka because I don't know how to pronounce it correctly :) I'll learn how from Katerina when I pick the dog up. Anyway, her name is Dasha, so that's easy enough to pronounce.

"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do."

James Freyr

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posted 6 years ago

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I just read all about Central Asian Shepherds on wikipedia and they sound like just the kind of LGD I'll be looking for here in the not too distant future. I believe Dasha will make a fine LGD for your needs!

"Study books and observe nature; if they do not agree, throw away the books." ~ William A. Albrecht

Todd Parr

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Posts: 1793

Location: Wisconsin, zone 4

posted 6 years ago

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James Freyr wrote:I just read all about Central Asian Shepherds on wikipedia and they sound like just the kind of LGD I'll be looking for here in the not too distant future. I believe Dasha will make a fine LGD for your needs!

Thanks James. Alabai's are said to make really good personal protection dogs as well as LGD, and Dasha will really be a pet with additional duties :) I haven't trained a PP dog for a while, so it will be fun to do some of that work again, as well as just adding another family member.

Dasha's parents and litter mates can be seen here: Guardian Dog

"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do."

Todd Parr

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Posts: 1793

Location: Wisconsin, zone 4

posted 6 years ago

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Nearly old enough to move to her new home:

Dasha

"People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do."

Todd Parr

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Posts: 1793

Location: Wisconsin, zone 4

posted 6 years ago

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So far, I'm very pleased with the choice to go with an Alabai as a LGD. At 10 weeks, she has low prey drive, and interacts well with my cats and doesn't even pay much attention to the chickens. She is a little curious, but not aggressive towards them at all. She is obviously not allowed to be around them without supervision yet, but she is doing really well for a puppy of this age, much better than I expected. Dasha is a pretty independent puppy, as I expected from a LGD.

At 9 weeks old she was 24lbs, so I expect she will end up in the 125-130lb range. Her mother is 128lbs currently and I would expect about the same from her, but she may be a little larger. 130lbs is a size I am happy with. It's large enough that I don't need to worry about her with predators, but small enough that she should be able to move really well and have great endurance.

Dasha_1.jpeg