NATIONAL CAUCASIAN OVCHARKA (MOUNTAIN DOG) RESCUE

NATIONAL CENTRAL ASIAN OVCHARKA RESCUE

 A FEW GOOD SARPLANINAC

And some truly great Tibetan Mastiffs

Sequoia

Luka

Niki

Hanz

Fritz

Ozzie

Zane

Lightfoot with one of the Central Asian shepherd puppies we're fostering

Ozzie & Zane in April, 2005.  Ozzie really needed a playmate and Zane absolutely LOVES to play!

Mishka

Mishka & Bruce in 2002

Boby, our newest rescue as of 2/07

Archer

Nadine

Don't even THINK about messing with AlmaBear when she's wearing this expression :-)

Boby

Two of our "mangy puppies" on the road to recovery

Rodash, a 13 year old CO whose owner "just wanted a place for him to stay so he could visit him while moving"......right.

It is axiomatic that these breeds are not for everyone

2/2008:  If one more dimwitted, inexperienced, supercilious, self-proclaimed "expert" writes that Caucasians are inherently dog aggressive, I'd like to find a way to jump through the ether and smack him or her into next year.   Inherently aggressive toward invasion of their territory?  Absolutely!  But that has nothing whatsoever to do with dog aggression.

One of the real pleasures in this rescue has been the fact that most of the dogs coming into rescue have NOT been aggressive toward other dogs.  This enables me to allow at least several if not a whole group of dogs to run and play together during exercise time.  And this has been true not only of most of the Caucasians but also the Sarplaninac, Tibetan Mastiffs, Great Pyrenees, Anatolians and Central Asians from working lines as well as a few other breeds we've had here.  The exceptions have been some of the Central Asian Ovcharkas that we knew came from fighting lines and a couple of Great Pyrenees from a puppy mill. 

And even as it is with people, I most assuredly do not expect every dog to get along with every other dog.  After all, how many people get along with every person they meet? Again, that is NOT a sign of dog aggression any more than it would be a sign of people aggression in humans.  It can be called anything else........how about bad vibes, for heaven's sake?!

It seems to be reaching epidemic proportions for people who own one Caucasian to suddenly sprout instant expertise regarding the entire breed.  Or for someone to take a single truism and then build lies or fairy tales or ridiculous suppositions around it.  The latest that I've heard floating around the internet, aside from the above is that ALL Caucasians are male dog aggressive.  I love that one: what I want to know is, how has the breed managed to continue to procreate and even exist if this is true????? 

First meeting for two females. And did they ever  have fun playing!!

Mikko and Bison (both males) at first meeting. Bison had to be taught how to play.

Another rumor is that they can't work as livestock guardians.  Hello?????  If a Caucasian has the correct temperament to be an outside guardian and has the typical low prey drive, then chances are he can work with livestock.   They are territory guardians: If you put livestock in their territory they will guard it.  They will guard whatever you put in their territory.........This is not rocket science!

2/2007: Well, this is just so-o-o special!  Now we find that the New York Times is just as much into sensationalism as National Geographic with their ridiculous "Designer Dogs" special.  I have no idea if the Times reporter was writing this article with tongue firmly in cheek, or if he actually believed what he was being told.  When it comes to dog fighting, always follow the blood sport lovers and the money trail. 

Central Asian and Caucasian Ovcharkas in Russia and Central Asia are not being fought or *tested* to determine their suitability as livestock guardians and therefore their ability to drive off a wolf.  Most of those dogs wouldn't recognize a sheep if it bit them in the arse, and if they did spot one, they would automatically assume it was dinner, given the high prey drive the dogs from fighting lines exhibit.  It is just possible that they are being fought for their suitability as stud dogs but other than that, they are being fought for the sheer enjoyment of this blood sport and for the money.

Please understand that there truly are dogs who love to fight and no doubt a lot of these are that type, but to believe that after the fight, they will return to their flock guarding duties is ludicrous.  A flock of sheep is not normally guarded by only one dog, but requires team effort on the part of two or more dogs, especially if there is heavy predator pressure in the area of that flock.  Of course it makes total sense to take a fighting dog and park him out in the pasture with other livestock guardian dogs.....NOT!!!!!  If a wolf  or coyote did show up, the fighting dog would still be too busy slaughtering all the other dogs in the pasture to pay any attention to that runty little predator. 

And true working livestock guarding dogs do not need to be *tested* to see whether they will drive off a wolf or any other predator.   Any breeder worth the powder to blow him or her to Hades can determine which of their puppies has the ability to be a true livestock and/or farm guardian.  That said, not every puppy from working lines will be suited to livestock guarding work, but may do better in the capacity of a family protector, especially if the puppy shows a strong propensity for dealing with children.  The occasional puppy may work well in agility or (very rarely) in therapy dog work, but as a rule if you're looking for a dog suited for that type of work, please do stick to the breeds that have a long track record of success in those activities.     

1/2004: Given the ongoing notoriety of the Caucasians due to the irresponsible misrepresentation of the breed on the National Geographic channel, please be advised that there are no out of control dogs like those shown on TV in rescue. Please be further advised that even if we did have an out of control dog in rescue, we would not choose to place that dog with an owner incapable of controlling it. As a matter of fact, we would not place that dog at all until - and if ever - it is controllable.

We are personally livid about the show because it has caused two shelters, one in NJ and one in VA, to refuse to release Caucasians to rescue and have euthanized them instead. We also deeply resent the fact that neighbors who have had a Caucasian next door are suddenly terrified that the nice dog they've known all along "may turn into a terror" and that Caucasian owners are being forced to give up their dogs because of pressure from frightened neighbors. We had nine (9) Caucasians end up in shelters or rescue between February and August 2004 and that is ludicrous given the number of dogs of this breed there are in this country.

We take all of the rescues to places like PetsMart and our Vets' office and expect them to be civilized in public, regardless of how territorial they are when back on "their property".  Please note that we said "civilized".  At no point are Caucasians social butterflies and we would be doing the breed a tremendous disservice by claiming that!  For the most part, they do not take kindly to strangers rushing toward them wanting to cuddle the "big dog".  It is often difficult to stop people from crowding them and forcing their attention on them.  Most of the dogs react by taking a step back and twisting their head out of harms way, as it were.

Kolia, our official rescue poster boy,  loved to go out in public and meet new people and dogs in spite of his severe dysplasia and arthritis. He was quite the ambassador for the breed!  Luka was a big favorite of the transporters who assisted with getting her from Nebraska to Washington several years ago, in spite of her desire to take over the driver's seat whenever a driver stepped out of the car :-)))

If you're ever in the Pacific Northwest, please feel free to give us a call and stop by to see all the dogs in rescue. We would welcome the opportunity to show you how they really are!

The various faces of rescue: everything from severely dysplastic to old and blind to young puppies gets dumped in shelters....... ........and the reasons can be as varied as: "moving, can't take the dog",  "we're going on vacation and don't have any place to board the dog, so we need to get rid of him", and my favorite:  "I didn't know he'd get this big"....huh??????	KOLIA IN DECEMBER 2004
Nino in April 2003	LIGHTFOOT in April 2005

Zane in August, 2004	And the joys of rescue.  To see a dog come into rescue looking like the picture on the left: poor boy was terrified of any human.... .....and several months later have him look like the two pictures below, loving every minute of the "pool" time and no longer afraid of us.
Ozzie & Zane in April, 2005	Zane in May, 2005

So many people have asked the reason for the adoption fees: I'm going to try to explain it without going into too much detail.  Rescue involves so much more than just making a few phone calls and having someone else pull a dog from a shelter or asking them to foster a dog from an owner who can no longer keep him.  Each dog must be checked by a veterinarian, and usually spayed or neutered, as well as being brought up to date on shots and tested for heartworm and other parasites.  The costs can become prohibitive.  

The state of California has an awesome law that I wish all other states would also adopt:  shelters cannot release dogs to rescues or to adopters without the dogs being altered. 

Then comes the time for evaluation, when he is introduced to the other dogs and we can determine if he may be allowed to run and play with any other dogs, or if he views them all as chew toys.......  And then we take him out in public to see how well socialized he is and what further work is needed.  Some dogs stay with us for years before finding the perfect home and some will be with us for their remaining years, because most people do not want or cannot afford to adopt a senior large breed dog.  We also get the occasional pairs like Nino & Niki or Biff & Ivy who cannot be separated because they are so dependent upon one another.

Then, if the perfect home does come along for a dog, the question of transport arises.  With these breeds, they will often not fit into the largest crates the airlines will accept and if they do, the cost of that form of transport is truly frightening!  There are numerous volunteer transport lists but getting dogs clear across the country can be a real adventure :-)

More to come.....as long as there are irresponsible breeders and owners......we shall have rescue dogs!

Kolia was a shining example of the MKY/RUSDOG Kennel breeding, which despite a court-ordered puppy mill shutdown in Pennsylvania, has cropped up once again in Pennsylvania.  Kozlak and Sally are also from this same puppy mill.  Two other dogs went straight into forever homes after being posted, though one of those required hip surgery before she was even 1 year old.....and I hear the puppy mill's website claims I'm lying about these being her dogs.  Hmmm, someone else must have been using her name to sell these dogs and issuing phony papers for them!  Yep, right, and we all just fell off that well-known turnip truck!   

Czar was from a kennel named Golden Fleece in Washington state, which now appears defunct. (The good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise!)

Bruce is one of several dogs found in shelters who have come to rescue from a kennel owned by Tovmas Grigoryan in Frazier Park, California. 

Am I naming these kennels in hopes of shaming them into doing the right thing and taking back their dogs if the owners can no longer keep them?  You betcha'!

Am I naive enough to think for a moment they would be this ethical? Surely you jest!

Animal rights is mental illness masquerading as philosophy

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.   Matthew 25:40