Tibetan Mastiff
A Tibetan livestock guardian that works at night and sleeps through the day. It blows its entire coat once a year rather than shedding steadily through it.
Photo by Koefbac, CC BY-SA 4.0
Overview
The Tibetan Mastiff is a livestock guardian from the Himalayas, kept to protect flocks and villages from wolves and leopards, and it works at night. It is heavily coated with a substantial mane and it is built for altitude and extreme cold.
Unusually among dogs, females come into season once a year rather than twice, timed so puppies arrive before winter, which is a primitive trait.
Temperament
Independent, territorial and profoundly self directed. Tibetan Mastiffs are devoted to their own families and completely indifferent to instruction from anybody.
They are nocturnal by inclination and they bark at night, which is the job and which neighbours notice. They are aloof with strangers and can be seriously protective. They are not obedient dogs, they do not want to please, and they are among the most difficult breeds to keep in a suburban setting.
Care and grooming
A thick double coat with a mane that needs brushing weekly and daily during the single enormous annual moult, which lasts weeks and produces an extraordinary volume of hair.
Hip and elbow dysplasia and hypothyroidism occur, and canine inherited demyelinative neuropathy has a DNA test. Ten to twelve years is good for the size.
Living and exercise
An hour a day plus territory to patrol and serious fencing.
They are best suited to rural properties with land and tolerant neighbours. Heat is a real problem for a dog built for the Himalayas.
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