TIBETAN MASTIFF

MADE BY-HARSHAL KALE

POINTS COVERED IN THE PRESENTATION:-

1.ETYMOLOGY2.APPEARANCE3.TEMPERAMENT4.HEALTH5.HISTORY

1.ETYMOLOGYThe Tibetan Mastiff also known as do-khyi (variously translated as "home guard", "door guard", "dog which may be tied", "dog which may be kept"), reflects its use as a guardian of herds, flocks, tents, villages, monasteries, and palaces, much as the old English ban-dog (also meaning tied dog) was a dog tied outside the home as a guardian. However, in nomad camps and in villages, the do-khyi is traditionally allowed to run loose at night.The guardian type with which the modern Tibetan Mastiff breed was known across the ancient world by many names. Bhote Kukur inNepali as bhote means someone from Tibet and kukur means dog. In Mandarin Chinese, the name is '藏獒 ' (Zang'Ao), which literally means Tibetan Mastiff or Tibetan "big ferocious dog". In Mongolia, it is called bankhar.The name Tibetan mastiff is a misnomer; it is not a true mastiff. The term "mastiff" was used primarily because it meant "large dog".

2.APPEARANCECurrently, some breeders differentiate between two "types" of Tibetan Mastiff, the Do-khyiand the Tsang-khyi. The Tsang-khyi (which, to a Tibetan, means only "dog from Tsang") is also referred to as the "monastery" type, described as generally taller, heavier, and more heavily boned, with more facial wrinkling and haw than the Do-khyi or "nomad" type. Both types are often produced in the same litter with the larger, heavier pups being more rare.Males can reach heights up to 32 inches (81.28 cm) at the withers, although the standard for the breed is typically in the 25- to 28-inch (61- to 72-cm) range. Dogs bred in the West weigh between 105 lb (47.6272 kg) and 180 lb (82 kg)—although dogs in the upper range are often overweight.

3.TEMPERAMENTThe native type of dog, which still exists in Tibet and other areas of the Himalayas (in North India, Bhutan and Nepal), and the Westernized purebred breed can vary in temperament, but so can dogs of identical breeding, within the same litter, raised in the same household. Elizabeth Schuler states, "The few individuals that remain in Tibet are ferocious and aggressive, unpredictable in their behavior, and very difficult to train. But the dogs bred by the English are obedient and attached to their masters." Other observers of the dogs in Tibet have not found them to be particularly ferocious or aggressive—and not all Western-bred dogs are either obedient or attached to their masters.

4.HEALTHUnlike most large breeds, its life expectancy is long, some 10–14 years—at least in some lines. 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, skin problems including allergies, autoimmune problems includingdemodex, missing teeth, malocclusion (overbite or underbite), cardiac problems, epilepsy ,progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), cataract, and small ear canals with a tendency for infection. As with most large breeds, some will suffer with elbow or hip dysplasia.