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Tibetan Mastiff

History

The Tibetan Mastiff is the largest of the Oriental breeds as well as one of the most beautiful. Although historically thought of as the guard dog of the villagers and nomads, they have also been companions to Kings, Queens, and Presidents, as well as the Dali Lama. Here in the U.S. they have proven themselves as guard dogs, herding dogs, sled dogs, and most importantly, as family companions. The Tibetan Mastiff is the forebearer of many of today's AKC breeds, including the Newfoundland, St. Bernard, Great Pyrenees, and English Mastiff. They were bred for centuries with little regard for conformation, but solely for their working capabilities, leaving only the most agile and tractable dogs of tested strength, stamina and courage. Unwittingly, the villagers were approximating the choices that mother nature would have made. By this natural selection, the Tibetan Mastiff escaped many of the genetic problems prevalent in man-made and man-molded working breeds of today and is little changed from the Tibetan Mastiff of ancient times. Perhaps the best way to help you visualize the Tibetan Mastiff is to compare him with common breeds with which you are undoubtedly familiar. He is similar in temperament to the Akita and Rottweiler in that he is generally reserved with strangers, trustworthy with children and gentle and affectionate with his family. However, unlike the Akita and Rottweiler, the Tibetan Mastiff is generally well dispositioned toward other dogs, although he will not back down if challenged. His coat is like that of the Newfoundland in that t is double with a dense undercoat and water resistant guard coat of medium length. However, it is not that the St. Bernard in that it is large, blocky, has pendant ears, and a broad skull and muzzle. However, his jowls are not so excessive as to be constantly wet with drool. His movements is similar to that of the herding breeds in that it is free and effortless and is not the stilted or ponderous gait we see so often in other Mastiff breeds. His large, but not giant size (26-28 inches at the shoulder, 90-125 lbs. for dogs; 24-26 inches at the shoulder, 75-90 lbs for bitches) is ideal for sentry work where guarding instincts must be combined with agility, speed and endurance; and as a family pet as he is large enough to take abuses from small children, but not so large to injure them unintentionally. His size combines the advantages of the giant breeds, i.e., impressive stature, formidable appearance and great strength, without the disadvantages, i.e., shortened lifespan, clumsiness, general lethargy and a high incidence of hip dysplasia.

GENERAL APPEARANCE *** Powerful, heavy, well built, with good bone. Impressive; of solemn but kindly appearance.

CHARACTERISTICS *** A companion, watch and guard dog, slow to mature only reaching its best at 2-3 years in females and at least 4 years in males.

TEMPERAMENT *** Aloof and protective.

HEAD AND SKULL *** Fairly broad, heavy and strong. Skull massive, with strongly defined occiput and stop. Proportions from occiput to stop and stop to end of nose equal, but nose may be a little shorter. Muzzle fairly broad, well filled and square, viewed from all sides. Broad nose, well pigmented, well opened nostrils. Lips well developed with moderate flews. Some wrinkling, in maturity, on head, extends from above eyes, down to corner of mouth.

EYES *** Very expressive, medium size, any shade of brown. Set well apart, oval and slightly slanting.

EARs *** Medium size, triangular, pendant, carried low, dropping forward and hanging close to head. Raised when alert. Ear leathers covered with soft, short hair.

MOUTH *** Scissor bite - Jaws strong, with perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. Upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Level acceptable. Essential that dentition fits tightly, to maintain square form of muzzle.

NECK *** Strong, well muscled, arched. Not too much dewlap. Shrouded by thick upstanding mane.

FOREQUARTERS *** Well laid shoulders, muscular, strongly boned. Straight legs with strong, slightly sloping pasterns, and well covered all over with strong hair.

BODY *** Strong, with straight back, muscular, almost imperceptible croup. Chest rather deep of moderate breadth, with reasonable spring of rib, to give heart-shaped ribcage. Brisket reaching to below elbows. Body slightly longer than height at withers.

HINDQUARTERS *** Powerful, muscular, with good angulation from well bent stifle and strong low set hocks. Hindlegs, seen from behind, parallel. Removal of dewclaws (single or double) optional.

FEET *** Fairly large, strong, compact. Cat-feet having good feathering between toes.

TAIL *** Medium to long, but not reaching below hock joint. Set high on line with top of back. Curled over back to one side. Well feathered.

GAIT MOVEMENT *** Powerful, free, always light and elastic. At speed will tend to single-track. When walking appears slow and very deliberate.

COAT *** Males carry noticeably more than females. Quality of greater importance than quantity. Mainly fairly long, thick, with heavy undercoat in cold weather which becomes rather sparse in warmer months. Hair fine but hard, straight and stand-off. Never silky, curly or wavy. Heavy undercoat, when present, rather woolly. Neck and shoulders heavily coated, giving mane-like appearance. Tail bushy, densely coated, hindlegs well feathered on upper rear parts.

COLOR *** Rich black, black and tan, brown, various shades of gold, various shades of grey, also grey with gold markings. Tan ranges from a very rich shade, through a lighter colour. White star on breast permissible. Minimal white markings on feet acceptable. Tan and gold markings - appear above eyes, on lower part of legs, and tip of tail.

SIZE *** Dogs * Dogs * 66cms (26 inches) minimum. Bitches * 61 cms (24 inches).

FAULTS *** Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which this fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Note *** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.