Central Asian Ovcharka

The Central Asian Ovcharka (CAO) is an ancient breed that is said to have originated in the Caucasus, the details are mainly uncertain however. Many specimens still live in countries like Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and others, and are used as livestock guardians and guard dogs. Dog fighting is also still popular in these countries today and the CAO is also sometimes used in these events.

The Soviet government understood the natural qualities of several breeds in the region including the CAO that clearly had many valuable working breed qualities. They imported many good representatives to Russia and studied them. The Soviets developed the breed and used the dogs to protect military facilities across the country. Few ordinary Russian citizens owned these dogs but when the Soviet Union collapsed this changed. ¹

With the changes that the collapse of the USSR brought about, dozens of private kennels were created for the CAO and their population began to grow. More representatives were gradually imported from the Caucasus and at the same time some damage was done due to uncontrolled breeding and lack of selection.

Today, the CAO is one of the most popular breeds in Russia. They are used both for dog exhibitions and for private use, mainly guard duty. Their good temperament, easy maintenance, working qualities and the ability to live outdoors withstanding cold winters have made them popular among the broad population. The main goal for the CAO is to protect it's territory. While the dogs normally remains relatively calm, if threatened they are able to attack and take down any intruder on its territory.

The Central Asian Ovcharka is no doubt one of the most powerful dogs and certainly ranks in top positions among other dog breeds out there weighing in on average at 150 pounds. It's close relative the Caucasian Ovcharka has many similar traits but is considered more aggressive and the top guard dog in the world. Like any dog however it requires proper training from an early age in order to carry out its duties effectively.

Training I believe should be divided into several parts, a) obedience; b) attack and c) general preparation

a) Obedience training

Obedience training is critical to training. The CAO is territorial but can also be very dominant, both male and female. Although each dog is unique, untrained CAOs have a tendency to protect their food and sometimes act in a dominant way. My dog for example would sit down and growl in a threatening way which is frightening considering the size and strength of the dog.

This is why it is important to train the dog starting from 3-4 months of age. The commands are simple, such as to "sit", "down", "stand" etc. The commands themselves are not important. It is the fact that the dog should understand that you are the "boss".

b) Attack

In many western countries today this is no longer practiced. In the United Kingdom, they have the Guard Dogs Act of 1975 which essentially disallows guard dogs to be used. ² In many countries however, guard dogs are still able to carry out their original function of protecting their owner and his property by any means possible. In order to do so they need to be trained to attack and exert damage to the intruder. The training is primarily psychological because dogs need to be prepared for any situation such as the intruder fighting back, screaming etc.

Training for the Central Asian Ovcharka is typically carried out starting from 18 months of age although some limited work may be done earlier in order to stir distrust to strangers, a valuable quality in the breed. At this age they are taught how to effectively bite the intruder and not to react to distractions such as screaming, gun fire, obstacles, strikes and threatening behaviour. Such training allows to test the dog's qualities and prepare it for its duties of guarding its territory.

c) General preparation

Dogs need to experience as much as possible during their early years in order to be confident and not to react to distractions. A dog that lived tied to the fence for the first two years of it's life is not a good guard dog because almost certainly it will be mentally unstable. It has not experienced different environments and therefore when it does face a situation where it has to on its own fight off an intruder it may panic if it is not prepared.

Critically, CAOs are dogs that do not rely on its owner to work such as many breeds like the German Shepherd do. They do not need commands but understand what the threat is and proceed to eliminate it. This is what makes the breed so effective as a guard dog. The owner may not be anywhere around and may not be able to give the commands. The CAO has the ability to work independently or as part of a dog pack of CAOs to protect a territory from any human or animal. The CAO does not listen to commands and it cannot be lied to, working to protect using its own judgement. This is why the Central Asian Ovcharka is one of the top guard dog breeds in the world today.

1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asian_Shepherd_Dog
2 - http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1975/cukpga_19750050_en_1