Tibetan Mastiff

The history of the Tibetan Mastiff - the large guardian dog of Tibet - is hidden in the mists of legend, along with the people of the high Himalayan Mountains and the plains of Central Asia. Accurate records of the genetic heritage of the dogs are non-existent.
Even so, history has reserved a special place for the Tibetan Mastiff. They are considered by many to be the basic stock from which most modern large working breeds have developed. Even though a great deal has been written about them since the mid-1880's there are few specific details available. Some Tibetan Mastiffs evolved as lighter "mountain" dog types and others as "Tsang Kyi", heavier mastiff types.
Earliest written accounts place a large dog around 1100 BC in China. Skulls of large dogs date from the stone and bronze ages. Ancestors of today's Mastiff breeds are believed to have accompanied the armies of the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans and later, traveled with Attilla the Hun and Genghis Khan as far west as Europe. During these centuries, it is believed that the Tibetan Mastiff remained isolated in the mountain valleys of the Himalayas to develop into the magnificent animal so highly prized by the people of Tibet.
oday in Tibet, Nepal, and other Himalayan regions, a pure Tibetan Mastiff is hard to find. However, when available, they are mostly used as livestock guardians well adapted to the rigors of high mountain living. Traveling with the caravans of the Tibetan sheepherders and traders, the dogs are expected to defend the herds and tents of their masters against predators such as wolves and snow leopards. Others are used as homestead guardians, chained to gates and rooftops.
Prior to the early 1800's, few Westerners were allowed into Tibet so little was known about Tibetan dogs. In accounts of visits to Tibet by early travelers, very little mention was made of the dogs they encountered. In 1800 Captain Samuel Turner, in his "An account of an Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet" mentioned his experience with huge dogs. Unfortunately he did not offer a deion of the dogs.
In 1847, Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India, sent a "large dog from Tibet" called "Siring" to Queen Victoria. England had its first dog show in 1859; and in 1873, The Kennel Club was formed with the first Stud Book containing pedigrees of 4027 dogs. In the official classification made by The Kennel Club (England), the "large dog from Tibet" was officially designated the "Tibetan Mastiff" for the first time.