The year 2004 was a dismal year for the dog breed known as the Caucasian Mountain Dog, and was even more dismal for the several poor individual dogs that were killed unnecessarily! And how did all this come about? Indeed to this day it still leaves one's mind aghast at how a reputable company such as National Geographic could air such sensationalistic rubbish; stuff that up until then was firmly relegated to tawdry tabloids! One can only assume that the program badly needed to shore up its dwindling ratings...but at what a price! Anyway here's how this sordid mess that resulted in the deaths of several dogs and very many more becoming homeless overnight happened.
As part of its segment on so-called designer dogs, National Geographic decided to run an episode covering the Caucasian Mountain Dog, also known as the Caucasian Ovcharka. Obviously accuracy was not part of their itenary because under no category could this dog breed, dating back several hundred years, be called a designer dog like the Labradoodle whose founder Wally Conron developed in 1989 as an allergen-free dog breed destined to aid the blind. The Caucasian Mountain Dog has been in existence longer than several well-known breeds such as the German Shepherd, the Doberman Pinscher and even the world number 1 ranking dog (in popularity at least) the Labrador.
But such triavilities obviously did not deter the National Geographic team...the Caucasian Mountain Dog breed was little known in America and that's what mattered the most! Oh! Another bonus factor for the National Geographic team was that the Caucasian Mountain Dog (depending on sub-breed) is a massive, heavily-boned and heavily coated dog that often has an uncanny resemblance to a bear.
After contacting a few reputable breeders whom they ultimately turned down as source material for their segment, obviously because they considered such material to mundane and tepid to trigger the desired necessary buttons in their viewers that would translate into favorable ratings, the National Geographic team somehow ended up with a documenatry that was awash with out-of-control, over-sized dogs seemingly attacking people, chasing cars and ripping the inside of stationary vehicles to bits (evidently some carefully editing was done, as well as using shady breeders as their source material). All in all the entire piece epitomized mayhem and violence!
Within hours of the show airing, reputable Caucasian Mountain Dog breeders were inundated with new interested callers and potential buyers. Most of the new applicants however wanted the dogs as destructive elements and lethal weapons so much so that one person claimed this dog breed was better than a loded gun because it required no licence...how could you beat that huh? 160 pounds of solid weapon!
The back lash was swift as it was severe! Dogs were evicted from their homes overnight! Some shelters destroyed dogs they had been housing, immediately! Owners of Caucasian Mountain Dogs who were inclined to keep their dogs were forced to give them up because their neighbors could not stomach the thought of the leashed (or unleashed) furry weapon living next door to them! Due to the National Geographic story and as a result of unethical breeders and unethical owners who trained their dogs to be aggressive and out of control, this breed was banned in several places including Holland,Massachusetts...it seemed the back-lash hysteria had no limits. Even today you can see videos of irresponsible owners proudly showing the aggressive nature of their dogs on youtube.
Fact is, the Caucasian Mountain Dog was bred to protect livestock such as sheep against predators like bears, wolves and feral dogs, so if this animal were truly inherently dangerous and aggressive how could it possibly be used as a flock guardian. In the same way that several other dog breeds have garnered the dubious designation of dangerous dog (rottweiler, doberman, pitbull to name but a few) the problem lies with those owners who purposefully mistreat their dogs and breed selectively for the aggressive trait.
Much in the same way that a child who grows up in violence, unless otherwise shown any better will be more than likely to grow up perpuating the cycle of violence, a dog that is mistreated and not socialized when young is more likely to become a menace to society!
Next year as of January 2008 the Caucasian Mountain Dog will be officially allowed to compete in the AKC Companion Events, evident proof that National Geographics episodic15 minutes of Caucasian Ovcharka infamy that destroyed several hundred years of the breeds history, is finally being overturned!
Caucasian Mountain Dog
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