 When you meet one, it is impossible to confuse it with any other breed, and you can certainly understand why its vigilance, speed, power and calmness have allowed it to excel in its role as a great protector.
The Caucasian Shepherd Dog is a hardy and massive dog, but of harmonious build. He has a powerful bone structure and a very good musculature. This gives him a rather imposing and dissuasive appearance. It is a large dog, with a robust, even coarse constitution. He reminds one a little of a bear, by his massive features. With his very large skull and his slightly shorter and less tapered muzzle ending in a large black nose, he commands respect. His black oval eyes are small and deep-set and his ears small, hanging and set high. His heavy bone structure and straight, broad, muscular back give him a heavy gait. As is often the case in nature, males tend to be slightly larger than females.
They are very hardy, undemanding dogs with the ability to adapt to a variety of thermal and climatic conditions. But if it can support a big dry cold, it does not like the big heat nor the heat wave. There is no maximum weight or size limit for this breed, the important thing being general harmony and the health of the dog.
There are currently three types of Caucasian Ocharka Dogs that can be recognized by their coat and associated with their region of origin.
The "mountain" type: longer topcoat. The long hair on the neck forms a mane, on the back of the legs, fringes and breeches. The thick coat, which covers the tail on all sides, makes it big and bushy.
The "steppe" type: covered with a thick coat, very short, without mane, fringes, breeches or tail plume. It is also slimmer and more slender.
The "intermediate" type: long hair, but without mane, fringes, breeches or plume.
The accepted coat colours of the Caucasian Shepherd are straw, white, reddish brown and brindle with generally grey areas of rather light reddish shading. It often has a characteristic black mask.
Beware ! The adorable ball of fur that you welcome into your home will grow and get bigger. Once adult, the average weight of the male can be between 60 and 80 kg, that of the female between 50 and 60 kg. |
