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A photograph of this loveable pooch
can be seen in our Photo pages.
The Asians are one of the lesser-known
guardian type dogs. They were the result of breeding Akbash, Komondor,
and other European guardian types together, and possibly from
an ancestoral mating of nomadic guardian dogs with the European
wolf. They are bred closely enough to develop a standard height
and look, but never close enough to institute inbreeding problems.
The idea behind this outcross is solid.
People became tired of 'hothouse flowers' in the dog breeds. A
fully utilitarian breed is needed, and it is compared to having
an 'old fashioned all around farm dog'. A dog that hasn't had
sense and reasoning bred out of it, so that it can realize when
to use force, and when to be observant only. Preferably, a large
breed that has not had structure and temperament faults bred in.
Some dog fanciers felt that a new breed was needed to fit the
job description, and so, Asian Shepherds came about. For more
detailed information, read Circle
Z's fascinating information on their web page about how the
breed actually came into existence.
A dog was given to a UN Ambassador
from traditional herding stock in Mongolia. Not wanting to impair
the breeding potential, the delegate forwarded the animal to Circle
Z Ranch. Today, they have imported a domestic stock, blending
the best Guardian capabilities to create their dream of 'all around
farm dog'. Recently, they have begun experimental work with a
professional trainer/handler who specializes in tracking and scent
hounds. The outcome of using Asians for work in rescue is very
exciting.
Circle
Z Ranch
Don and Pril Zahorsky allowed us
to purchase Sheba in January of 1998. (NOTE: Their web site is
not usually hard to access but if you have problems, then go to
http://www.dogzone.com first.
Find the Breeder Section, and click on "A" for Asian Shepherd.
The Circle Z site will then load properly. )
At one year old, Sheba was practically
full grown, weighing in at 125 lbs when we took her home. We live
roughly 450 miles apart, and quite a climate change for an outside
dog. Central Texas does not have the cold winter temperatures
that Northern Oklahoma has, and Sheba had a full undercoat of
dense 'wool'.
The first week was the first time
she had been separated from her family and I wouldn't take the
chance of her trying to find her way home again. With her long
dark-tipped guard hairs, buff undercoat and black mask, Sheba
looks strikingly like a wolf or hybrid German Shepherd/wolf cross.
Off our own property there is a real danger she would have been
destroyed for this reason. Kenneling her was the only solution,
but she quickly learned to obey leash commands, and that my arrival
meant leaving the dog run.
We raise dairy goats, and dogs are
their sworn enemy. Sheba's kennel was a goat pen surrounded by
my dairy herd. When she remained calm and interested, the reaction
was acceptance by the milking herd, which is extremely unusual.
She is a quiet, sensitive dog, and understood that barking and
quick movements would send the goats into frenzied flight. The
first week was a trial for all of us. Sheba refused to soil her
kennel, so before work the last thing I did was walk her around
the 'choice restroom facilities', and in the evening, the first
thing when I got home again, also. She spent that week either
on a leash, in her kennel, or inside the house. She hated them
all equally! She refused to budge from behind a chair in the living
room. Refused food and water while inside the house, so it was
with both relief and trepidation that I finally let her have the
run of the farm. Immediately, she ran off!
She disappeared in the underbrush
for several hours, probably to stretch her legs, and find her
own 'choice restroom facilities' at long last. Like the typical
'redneck joke', we live in a trailer house temporarily, and Sheba
has made the underside her doghouse. Snob Dog Sheba does not appear
to be outwardly affectionate. When I first had to handle her,
she resisted petting and wanted no part of people's attention.
Aloof best describes her. I was used to dogs who are very demonstrative
and hyper when they are getting attention. I had to rethink my
dog! Sheba is actually very affectionate. The proverb of 'Still
waters run deep' certainly fits Sheba!
After our week of trials, she accepts
the other people here, but has totally bonded to me. If I'm in
the house, she's off duty, but when I walk outside (a thousand
times per day), she's instantly at my side. Inside the goat pens,
she has learned to walk very slowly toward my milk parlour when
attempting to join me. The goats usually ignore her unless something
catches her eye and she lets out a bark or two before leaving
their areas. With that, they all mob together and act like a demon
has possessed their friend.
Rug Dog
In Guardian duties, most breeds guard
by presence alone. Should an intruder attempt to harm their flocks,
the dogs would be all action and ready to fight to defend. Normally,
they're stretched out in the shade, or making a slow, meandering
patrol around the perimeters. Sheba is no exception. We can hear
her deep-throated bark coming from distant points around the farm
at night, but when she's visible, she is making every attempt
to look like a rug dog.
Stealth Dog
When a delivery truck or a strange
vehicle drives onto the property, Sheba disappears! Recently,
I realized what she is doing. She moves outside the 'danger zone',
and circles around to get a side view while she still can maintain
cover. (Stealth Dog!) The Fed-Ex driver was about to step out
of his van when he looked up to see Sheba looking down her long
black nose at him. She was motionless and not making a sound,
but he realized she meant business! As she matures, she seems
to be becoming more protective of her family.
Construction Dog
This is Sheba's first summer in Texas,
and we picked a hot dry one to introduce her to our area. She
has designed and constructed an elaborate series of levees and
pools from the run off drip water out of our air conditioning
unit. She has a temporary catch basin that is just a small depression
in a sandy soil. The drip keeps this basin full of water, and
the gradual seepage into other, larger hollows in the sand keep
the soil surface cool and damp. Sheba guards her 'creation' as
closely as she guards the property! Our other dog does not have
her engineering skills, and she will look on in horror as he 'remodels'
her enterprise.
Bad Dog
Not all is wonderful with these dogs,
however. Pril mentioned they are not for novice dog owners, and
I think she's right. Sheba certainly seems to be always trying
to 'outthink' me. She went through a destructive period early
this year. Possibly growing out of puppyhood, and needed a place
to divert mischieviousness, she chewed with a vengeance! Actually,
had we been a bit more alert, much would have been eliminated.
John realized Sheba only chewed the things I had recently handled.
I could turn the lawnmower off to go get a drink inside, and when
I returned to work, the pull cord had been ripped off the mower!
That fixed, and 10 minutes later, a tie wrap was missing!
The height of her destruction came
when we were preparing to pull a stock trailer to Florida. It
had been a day of 'everything going wrong that can go wrong'.
Working on the trailer lights and tires right up until time to
load and go, we didn't notice that Sheba worked on the electric
system, too! She had quietly mouthed the terminals for the ele
plug on the truck, pulling the plug off and causing at least another
hour's delay.
She's big enough to tear up something
by just tasting of it. I bought a spanking new (heavy) tractor
battery, and it wasn't unloaded off the truck 5 minutes before
she had it in the yard and the carry handles chewed off. She has
laid claim to a pair of John's heavy steel-toed work boots. When
I notice her about to look 'inquiringly' at something, I pick
up a boot and show it to her. I haven't noticed anything lately
with 'fresh' tooth marks on it, but very little around the yard
has escaped being marked by Sheba's fangs!
As she matures, she seems to be trying
to understand that I do not want her to turn the farmstead into
matchsticks. The 1998 heat spell has helped curb her playfulness,
and hopefully, by the time it turns cool again, she'll be past
her 'terrible twos'.
September 98 update:
This summer has been hot and hard
on everyone. The thick furred dogs especially were hard hit. Midday
dips in the stock ponds, and lounging close to the a/c units helped
them maintain. Hot spots did occur on both dogs. Antibiotics treated
the infections, but just clipping the affected areas allowed air
to circulate and dry the skin and provided almost instant relief.
I also distilled a comfrey 'tea' solution and spritzed her daily
with that after scrubbing the dust and loose hair off the areas.
She probably earned her keep without
our even being aware of it. One afternoon I was getting ready
to open the yard gate to drive through when I noticed a very 'fresh'
coyote carcass laying beside the gate! Also, Sheba has been 'exposed'
to llamas! We brought our 3 females
home midsummer, and enlarged their grazing penspace to include
much of the house yard. Sheba's entry to the yard is now inside
the llama runs. After a few investigations, they have concluded
they're all a part of the farmstead, and accept each other. The
only time there is argument is when I'm doling out treats and
hugs to the llamas and Sheba always makes certain she gets her
share. (carrots?, yes, she'll even munch on carrots along with
the llamas if I'm handing them out.)
Text
and images copyright 1998 Martha
Wells
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