Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Napping 88 - Kuvasz "cousin" in Israel

This is Elva, a young Caucasian Shepherd, taking a nap in Israel. "Elva" means "thunder" in Georgian.

If anyone was wondering why the FB info is not written in Hebrew, the owners are originally from Georgia in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Their language is Kartuli.

The information below is from Wikipedia.

The Caucasus mountains are home to one of the oldest living Molosser breeds, the Caucasian Mountain Dog. There is a great variety of types among the Caucasian dogs depending on their home region, but a single type has come to be favored in the show rings and literature, at the expense of other breed variants.

Georgian dogs are tall, heavier and wide-headed as usual. Georgian dogs are divided in two types white short haired dogs (Kazbek types) and long haired dogs.

Historically, the Caucasian Molossers were used for centuries to protect properties, guard livestock, kill wolves, and hunt bears. Today, especially outside the Caucasus, they are employed as companion animals and watchdogs. Most prized as a property guardian, the Caucasian shepherds are good protectors. 

The Caucasian shepherd is rather intelligent; however, they can be insolent and refuse to listen at times. They also can be fairly aggressive towards people they do not know and with incorrect handling this can be problematic. This can be overcome by proper training. 

The Caucasian Mountain Dog is a low activity dog, seemingly lethargic when not working, but agile and convincing when it feels its family is threatened.