All About
Caucasian Shepherd Dog

The Caucasian Shepherd Dog is not for novice dog owners. While they are capable of being loving, loyal family dogs and fierce protectors, they are also naturally distrustful of strangers and do not take well to dogs or other animals that they aren't familiar with. In general, they are low energy and laid back, but they are also highly territorial and never back down from a fight, even if that means taking on a bear or a wolf. Although Caucasian Shepherd Dogs are intelligent, they can also be quite stubborn, which may make training difficult. They need firm boundaries, patience, and consistency. This training should begin as early in life as possible, and socialization is practically a must. Proper socialization training has to be done to overcome the breed's apprehension around new people and animals, which can result in aggression. However, with humans they are familiar with, the Caucasian Shepherd is quite loving and loyal and will make for a lifelong guardian and protector.

You are going to want to feed your Caucasian Shepherd Dog a formula that will cater to his unique digestive needs throughout the various phases of his life. You should continue the food your breeder recommends until your puppy is at least 6 months old (unless there is a compelling reason to change). Reputable breeders will help you ensure that your puppy receives proper nutrition with quality foods that help him/her grow in a healthy way. When it’s time to change, many dog food companies have breed-specific formulas for small, medium, large and extra-large breeds. Caucasian Shepherds are a large-extra-large breed. A good general rule is to avoid kibbles with low-quality ingredients, as these are not digestible.

What you feed your dog is an individual choice, but working with your veterinarian and/or breeder will be the best way to determine frequency of meals as a puppy and the best adult diet to increase his longevity. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.

The Caucasian Shepherd has a variety of coat types, from very long to short. Longer-coated dogs need to be groomed daily. Grooming can be a wonderful bonding experience for you and your pet. Their strong fast-growing nails should be trimmed regularly with a nail clipper or grinder to avoid overgrowth, splitting and cracking. Their ears should be checked regularly to avoid a buildup of wax and debris which can result in an infection. Teeth should be brushed regularly.

The main form of care that Caucasian Shepherd Dogs need is weight control through appropriate diet and exercise. You should discuss these with your veterinarian or nutritionist. Beyond that, Caucasian Shepherd Dogs should have their teeth brushed two to three times a week and cleaned professionally as recommended by your vet. Ears should be checked for signs of debris or wax build up at least once a week and cleaned as needed. Failure to do so may result in ear infections. Nails should be clipped as needed to prevent breaking and injury. You may also need to keep an eye out for drool and wipe it away when necessary to avoid getting your home covered in slobber.

Like all breeds there may be some health issues. Some dogs may be faced with these issues in their lives, but the majority of Caucasian Ovcharkas are healthy dogs.

Working with a responsible breeder, those wishing to own a Caucasian Ovcharka can gain the education they need to know about specific health concerns within the breed. Good breeders utilize genetic testing of their breeding stock to reduce the likelihood of disease in their puppies.

The Caucasian Shepherd Dog is one of the oldest, most ancient Molasser breeds, and the origin of these gigantic, protective dogs is a bit of a mystery. They hail from the Caucasus Mountain region and have been around for more than 2,000 years. Some believe they came from wolves that were domesticated, while others believe their ancestry includes Mastiffs and other breeds. Many experts claim that the Caucasian Shepherd Dog is descended from sheepdogs that migrated from Tibet, but some modern archaeological evidence suggests the breed dates back to Mesopotamia. Wherever they originally came from, Caucasian Shepherd Dogs made invaluable companions to the shepherds of the Caucasus region for centuries. They fiercely guarded flocks of sheep and their owners from dangerous wildlife such as wolves, jackals, and bears. They needed to be fearless, strong, and intimidating while being resilient to cold weather and harsh conditions. Shepherds bred the qualities they needed into their dogs, and because the Caucasus Mountain region is so vast, many different variants of the breed emerged, though the Caucasian Shepherd Dogs that developed in Georgia came to be the breed standard that is recognized by most kennel clubs today. Sometime in the 1900s, the communist USSR started using Caucasian Shepherds as prisoner guard dogs and used them to develop other breeds in army kennels. In the 1960s, East Germany put the breed to work as border patrol dogs along the Berlin Wall. When the wall came down in 1989, some 7,000 patrol dogs were dispersed, and many were given to families in Germany to live out the rest of their days. Today, Caucasian Shepherd Dogs are mostly family companions, watchdogs, and property guardians, though they are still used by shepherds to tend to flocks. They have retained many of their cautious, standoffish, and sometimes aggressive traits, so they need early socialization and firm training to avoid incidents. It is likely that breeders will try to weed out some of the less desirable tendencies from the breed as it becomes more popular.