immense areas of land and flocks or herds!) However, the parent club website maintains a list of Pyr breed- ers who breed livestock guardian dogs. Much like other working dogs, the coat of the working Pyr does not often see a bath or brush. The show dog, on the other hand, is kept bathed, brushed, and unstained by foliage or dirt. To that end, too many show dogs are shown with coats blown-out via forced air, giving an unnatural or “stand-off” look to the coat. The two Hungarian breeds of live- stock guardian dogs, the Komondor and the Kuvasz, were developed in- dependently. A Komondor-type dog was brought to the Hungarian region by the Cumans in the 12th and 13th centuries, and a Kuvasz-type dog was developed by the Magyars circa the 9th century. A declared Hungarian national trea- sure in its native country, the Komon- dor is a livestock and property guard- ian. The breed is related to the South Russian Ovcharka, Puli, Pumi, Mudi, and Polish Lowland Sheepdog. It is used primarily in the regions of lower elevations with drier climates. The corded coat of the adult Ko- mondor provides protection against predators, weather, and vegetation. The coat of a working Komondor looks much like that of a sheep from a distance, allowing the dog to blend in with and look like its guarded flock of sheep. In the US, the breed is sometimes used as a guardian of sheep or goats against predators such as coyotes, cougars, and bears. The breed has a natural tendency to pro- tect farm, ranch, and its human and animal inhabitants. With such numbers representing the breed in the show ring, it is dif- ficult to ascertain whether there has been morphological, type or style departures from those dogs used in everyday guardian work. Certainly, the show dogs we see are tidied up considerably as compared to their working coun- terparts. The question is whether the cords on a working specimen are allowed to grow to such lengths
as seen in a mature specials dog/ bitch, or are kept naturally or forc- ibly trimmed to accommodate a working environment. The Kuvasz, like the Komondor, was also developed in the Hungarian re- gion. It was used primarily in the damper, higher elevations as a live- stock (sheep) guardian and guardian of large estates. During WWII the breed was decimated. With less than 30 dogs remaining, the breed was re- vitalized through the efforts of dedi- cated Hungarian breeders and a few others throughout Europe. The breed is characteristically inde- pendent and protective. This writer’s early exposure to a friend’s Kuvaszok during her college years left an in- delible imprint of the protective and vocal nature of the breed, as well as what working dogs’ coats looked and felt like. The peculiar coat pattern, with the head, ears, and paws of short, smooth hair, and body coat consisting of a fine undercoat and guard hairs, resembles a lamb or sheep in appear- ance—but not texture. The body coat may be quite wavy to straight. The breed is found in small numbers in the US and [any] departure in type and style from those in its home country cannot be ascertained. What is cer- tain, however, is the difference in coat between those dogs being shown and those dogs serving a guardian life- style. The latter’s coat tends to look more like the aforementioned lamb, while the former’s is oftenwashed and blown-dry so as to erase any of the characteristic waviness and crispness of the guard hairs. An open coat, such as is often seen in the show ring, is not protective from the elements. Various pieces of artwork from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) depict the Tibetan Mastiff much like the breed we see today. The term “Mas- tiff” is a misnomer as applied by the English to these large dogs found in the Himalayan region when, in fact, they are locally known as Himalayan Mountain Dogs. Of peculiar inter- est is the Tibetan Mastiff’s tolerance to hypoxia due to a genetic hemoglo- bin adaptation. Keep in mind that air T op N otch T oys , N ovember /D ecember 2020 • 41
hot, dry summers and cold winters, semi-nomadic movements with the seasons, and guarding flocks of goats and/or sheep that moved great dis- tances on the central Anatolian pla- teau of Turkey. It was and is expected to guard flocks without direction or human assistance. Working in trios, they are expected to guard a flock against predators, including wolves and coyotes, attacking the predator(s) when needed to defend the flock. To this day, they can be found guarding flocks in rural areas of Turkey as well as many areas in the US. The Anatolian has retained its func- tional characteristics and there are no discernible type differences between those used for work and those that are shown. Of course, the working dogs don’t encounter a bath and brush as often as the show dog, so coat den- sity differences may be seen that are beyond seasonal. Known as the Pyrenean Mountain Dog in its native land area straddling the south of France and north of Spain, in the US the breed is known as the Great Pyrenees (Pyr). Pup- pies intended to be working guard- ian dogs are raised with their flock of sheep and form a close protective bond with them. Their needed agility allows them to easily go up and down steep Pyrenean mountainsides in the continual guarding of their flock. In the US, they can be found guarding goat herds and sheep flocks, working in trios, braces, or singly depending on herd/flock size. What is com- mon to each working guardian Great Pyrenees is an extreme devotion to the flock/herd and an alertness to danger that belies their quiet de- meanor. When a predator is spotted, the Pyr(s) move toward the predator and sound warning barks to keep the predator away. If the predator insists, the Pyr(s) defend the flock/herd. Pyrs have, by and large, retained the characteristics of their immedi- ate Pyrenean ancestors. However, their guarding ability is not formally tested through the parent club. (You can imagine that tests would take days and days per dog, and require
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