BELIEVED to be the most ancient guardian breed of dog in the world and as the name suggests it originates from Central Asia.  From the Caspian Sea  in the West to China in the East and from Southern Russia to the North to Northern India in the South, Central Asia played a key part in the cradle of civilisation and the Neolithic Revolution.  The Agricultural Revolution is marked as the main epoch in human history between 8500 and 7000 BCE, here humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals.  And with this came the need to develop a dog to protect livestock from predators and be a home guardian of all the countries throughout Central Asia.

 

Many believe the Central Asian Ovcharka is the ancestor of all breeds.  Certainly the Tibetan Mastiff often thought to be the oldest breed is a descendent of the Central Asian Ovcharka not its ancestor.  There are many theories as to the true historical origin of the mollosser type dogs.  What is undeniable is the following list of ancient breeds carry too many similarities of each other to simply say its coincidence: 

 

 

       The Armenian Gampr                 The Sage Koochee          Ancient type Bully Kutta                ( Pinto) Kangal

                                                                     Our own Central Asian Ovcharka Angel

                                                                       

 

  

They are all undeniably related to each other and to the ancient mollosers, cousins if you will.   The Central Asian Ovcharka however is a breed in its own right thanks mainly to being bred under a Russian written FCI standard (No. 335 Sredneasiastskaia Ovtcharka translated as Central Asian Ovcharka) with working tests and experienced judges in the fore. 

 

The Central Asian Ovcharka may have a standard but it is more correct to say it currently describes a collective group of breeds (a landrace).  This is because there are so many different types in existence varying in size, coat, colour and temperament.  Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and so on all have their own type of Central Asian Ovcharka.  But until these nations create there own standard which is very doubtful this ‘breed group’ will remain in the UK under the name Central Asian Ovcharka (CAO).

 

Chiefly the Sage Koochee of Afghanistan, Alabai of Turkmenistan, Sarmatian Mastiff  and the rare Tobet of Kazakhstan are partly standardised by breed fanciers searching for separate recognition.   Unfortunately having personally seen the Sage Koochee in Afghanistan being used for dog fighting with the British Army in 2006 I doubt their natural state will ever return.  And the other countries don’t own the breed to show and standardise like the West its bred to work and do the job its had for thousands of years.

 

The Central Asian Ovcharka has been shaped by nature more so than man.  It would be foolish to say that man has not had any influence but it is a reflection of the job it was born to do, “Protect its flock at all costs”

 

 

Written by Richard D Mosley

Ovcharkas UK

Central Asian Ovcharka UK Club Chairman

Breed Temperament

 

The Central Asian Ovcharka is a calm, fearless flock guardian.  Independent, they stand their ground and do not back down.  They are good with all members of their own family.  Outside the home they may try to dominate other dogs and are wary of strangers, they are exceptional guardians and will act as such.

 

They like to bark at night and this may present a problem if you have close neighbors. Therefore socialization is a must for the Central Asian, unless they are being used as an out and out flock guard.  It is a myth that the CAO does not get along with cats, dogs and other animals.  If socialised properly and as long as the animal is not a threat to their charge they are very friendly welcoming dogs. Throughout the CAO's 11'000 year history it has lived with families of Turkmen tribes, Afghan people,  and greeted strangers when they lived with nomadic tribes.  If you respect the CAO and its family it will return the favour.  Thus they are family dogs and want to seek interaction with them during their daily life.  But they are a very large flock guardian so are not a breed for everyone. They need an owner who understands the flock guard type and the temperament that comes along with it.

 

This is not a breed for the timid, or weak owner.  The objective in training this dog is to achieve a pack leader status.  It is a natural instinct for a dog to have an order in their pack.  When we humans live with dogs, we become their pack.  The entire pack cooperates under a single leader.  Lines are clearly defined and rules are set.  Because a dog communicates his displeasure with growling and eventually biting, all other humans MUST be higher up in the order than the dog.  The humans must be the ones making the decisions, not the dogs.  Understanding and adopting this is the only way your relationship with your dog can be a complete success.

Breed Size and Weight 

 

Height:  Dogs 28-36 inches.  Bitches 25-30 inches

 

Weight:  Dogs 60-90 kg.  Bitches  45-70 Kg

 

Some males and females are even larger. There is NO! max height or weight for this breed.

 

 

Grooming 

 

The CAO do not require a lot of grooming. Weeds and brush tend to not stick in the heavy, double coat, and mud, once dried, brushes right out. These dogs shed their coats heavily in the spring. The coat should be brushed extra at this time to remove the dead hairs. The rest of the year they are light shedders, with easy coat care. 

  

It's "Ovcharka", not "Ovtcharka" ....

The word "Ovcharka" is a Russian word, usually shown in the Cyrillic alphabet, that does not have a direct English translation. It is therefore often TRANSLITERATED, a process of writing the alphabetical characters in another language (such as English) in a way that represents the same sound or sounds. Transliteration is done by rules, and there are accepted international and national rules for it promulgated by the United Nations. Applying the these rules, there is only ONE CORRECTLY SPELLED transliteration of the word "Ovcharka" into English language, as follows:O-V-CH-A-R-K-AIn other Roman character languages, we see the word Ovcharka transliterated and spelled without the 'h" or with a "t" because transliteration of Cyrillic characters into Roman characters is a language-specific exercise under the rules, so the spelling may be different depending on the target language. That is why the transliteration of the Cyrillic character that looks like an oddly shaped "y" becomes "tch" in German, "c" in Serbian, and "ch" in English, per the United Nation rules.A flawed argument recently put forth on the internet is that "tch" is somehow more "phoenetically" correct than "ch". The soft "ch" sound of the words "Michigan" and "Charlotte" were sited as examples of why the word "Ovcharka" should be spelled with a "tch" contrary to UN transliteration rules. However, these soft "ch" words, "Michigan" and "Charlotte", are French derived place names and are not representative of English pronunciation. A "ch" sound, in typical English usage, for example the words "change", "charred", "chased", "chilled", is a hard "-ch" sound.Therefore, it is not necessary to add a "t" in front of the "ch" for a hard "ch" sound pronunciation. The spelling "tch" does not make the word phonetically correct. In English, "tch" would be voiced "ovt-charka", which is clearly wrong. Hence, the UN of Congress rule:OVCHARKA

 

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