Dog breed · People's Republic of China
The Tibetan Mastiff is a large Tibetan dog breed. Its double coat is medium to long, subject to climate, and found in a wide variety of colors, including solid black, black and tan, various shades of red (from pale gold to deep red) and bluish-gray (dilute black), and sometimes with white markings around its neck, chest and legs. According to the American Kennel Club, male Tibetan Mastiffs have a weight of [dose — ask your vet] (90-150 lbs) while females are [dose — ask your vet] (70-120 lbs).
Temperament: As a flock guardian dog in Tibet, and in the West, it uses all the usual livestock guardian tactics (e.g., barking, scent-marking perimeters) to warn away predators and avoid direct confrontations.
As a socialized, more domestic dog, it can thrive in a spacious, fenced yard with a canine companion, but it is not an appropriate dog for apartment living. The Western-bred dogs are generally more easy-going, although still somewhat aloof with strangers. Through hundreds of years of selective breeding for a protective flock and family guardian, the breed has been prized for being a nocturnal sentry, keeping would-be predators and intruders at bay, and barking at unidentified sounds throughout the night. Leaving a Tibetan Mastiff outside all night with neighbors nearby is not recommended. They often sleep during the day, making them more active, alert, and aware at night.
Like all flock guardian breeds, they are intelligent and stubborn to a fault, so obedience training is recommended (although it is only mildly successful with some individuals) since this is a strong-willed, powerful-bodied breed. Unless they are to be used exclusively as livestock guardians, socialization training is also critical with this breed, because of their reserved nature with strangers and guardian instincts. They can be excellent family dogs, depending on the family; owners must understand canine psychology and be able and willing to spend a lot of time and devotion to training their dogs. Lack of consistency can result in the creation of unpredictable dogs. The protectiveness of Tibetan Mastiffs requires alertness and planning by the owner, in order to avoid mishaps when the dog is merely reacting as a guardian. The breed is not recommended for novice dog owners.
Appearance: It typically retains the hardiness which would be required for it to survive in Tibet, Ladakh and other high-altitude Himalayan regions.
Instinctive behaviors, including canine pack behavior, contributed to the survival of the breed in harsh environments. It is one of the few primitive dog breeds that retains a single estrus per year instead of two, even at much lower altitudes and in much more temperate climates than its native climate. This characteristic is also found in wild canids such as the wolf and other wild animals. Since its estrus usually takes place during late autumn, most Tibetan Mastiff puppies are born between December and January.
Its double coat is long, subject to climate, and found in a wide variety of colors, including solid black, black and tan, various shades of red (from pale gold to deep red) and bluish-gray (dilute black), often with white markings. As of 2014, some breeders had begun marketing white Tibetan mastiffs.
The coat of a Tibetan Mastiff lacks the unpleasant big-dog smell that affects many large breeds. The coat, whatever its length or color(s), should shed dirt and odors. Although the dogs shed somewhat throughout the year, there is generally one great molt in late winter or early spring and sometimes another, lesser molt in the late summer or early autumn. (Sterilization of the dog may dramatically affect the coat as to texture, density and shedding pattern.)
Health: Many breeders claim a life expectancy of 10–16 years, but these claims are unsubstantiated. Some lines do produce long-lived dogs. Other, more closely inbred lines, produce short-lived, unhealthy dogs. The breed has fewer genetic health problems than many breeds, but cases can be found of hypothyroidism, entropion, ectropion, distichiasis, skin problems including allergies, autoimmune problems including demodex, Addison's disease, Cushing's disease, missing teeth, malocclusion (overbite, underbite, dry mouth), cardiac problems, seizures, epilepsy, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), cataracts, and small ear canals with a tendency for infection. As with most large breeds, some will suffer with elbow or hip dysplasia.
Canine inherited demyelinative neuropathy (CIDN), an inherited condition, appeared in one of the prominent lines of Tibetan Mastiffs in the early 1980s. Unfortunately, known carriers were bred extensively and are behind many lines still being actively bred. Because the mode of inheritance appears to be as a simple recessive, continued inbreeding can still produce affected puppies.
Hypothyroidism is fairly common in Tibetan Mastiffs, as it is in many large "northern" breeds. They should be tested periodically throughout their lives using a complete thyroid "panel". However, because the standard thyroid levels were established using domestic dog breeds, test results must be considered in the context of what is "normal" for the breed, not what is normal across all breeds. Many dogs of this breed will have "low" thyroid values, but no clinical symptoms. Vets and owners differ on the relative merits of medicating dogs which test "low", but are completely asymptomatic.
History: Originally these dogs were used to protect Buddhist monasteries and monks of Tibet from animals such as bears, wolves and snow leopards.
The Tibetan Mastiff is a phenotypically distinct dog breed that was bred as a flock guardian in the high altitudes of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateaus.
Meer Izzut-oollah (1872) wrote of the Tibetan Mastiff:
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