CAUCASIANS SHEPHERD DOG

Behaviour

The analysis of the contemporary status of Caucasian shepherd shows constant increase of its popularity.

The Caucasians deserve to be respected from the part of professionals just the same as from the part of the admirers of this breed. They have unquestionably won the name of the best keeper and watch dog in Russia. Its popularity grows in Europe and the USA as well. The detailed specification of the characteristics of the breed is : stabile character and balanced temperament plus until now non-exceeded watch properties.

The owners of a Caucasian should never forget that these dogs have for centuries led an independent and half wild life, fulfilling the tasks of a watchdog and a beast-fighter. It was not the loyalty towards the man that was taken as the basis of the selection, which is usually the case with the “civilized breeds” but their ability to fulfil their tasks independently.

The surrounding where they first lived, made the life conditions very severe for this breed, and one of the main demands was to grow up completely by the end of reaching full sexual maturity. Unlike most of the breeds which grow up in human environment and to the end of their lives show features of juvenile behaviour (characteristic of a puppy), the Caucasians, having grown mature, build their attitude towards the man according to the laws of the pack. This “mentality of a pack” should and has to be the main lead to the understanding and managing the behaviour of a grown-up dog.

The owner of a Caucasian has to be aware of the fact that he himself, in a way, becomes “a member of the pack” and takes his place in the hierarchy of importance, which should be only the first , i.e. the place of the leader. Placing himself any lower than this, should the owner not allow.

A grown-up Caucasian doesn’t need parents’ care. He continues to learn about outside world on his own. Once the juvenile dependence has finished, the dog starts to search for his own place in “the pack”. At this time the dog also develops the sense of ruling a territory, the play time stops and they lose confidence in strangers.

The members of the family of the owner should prepare themselves for this period. Aggressive behaviour of any kind toward family members mustn’t be tolerated. Any trace of aggression should immediately be stopped by the family member involved. In the eyes of the dog, dominant shall be the one who manages to fight back. What’s more to that, the response should be intense and persistent, up to the point where the dog’s spite stops.

There are dogs with strong genetic predestination for being the leader. In such cases, for those dogs living in human environment, there is no such thing like absolute submission. Even the dogs without explicit genetic complex of domination are submitted with difficulty, because of their inborn self-dependence.

With Caucasians aggressive behaviour and malice start to show at about 8 months of age. At the age of 17 months, their shaping of active-defensive behaviour finishes. Since that period the level of distinction of this kind of behaviour remains unchanged all through to the end of their lives. The age of 2 is the final moment, after which there is not much point in getting mad with the dog because of his spite. By any means, it is not recommendable for the owners to provoke their dogs on their own. This should be done by experienced professional trainers only.

The behaviour of the dog towards the children is not simple either. There are cases of great devotion to the family children, while they are more or less indifferent towards other children. This breed doesn’t like contacts with strangers. The dog can treat a child as a lower-graded member of the pack, which is common behaviour in relation to the puppies. When in a group, the animals establish discipline in a very brutal manner, but these situations occur rarely in human surroundings. For a playful puppy, a look or a light movement of lips is enough to make it calm down, but a child doesn’t understand this language.

When they are at duty as guard dogs, the Caucasians don’t take killing of the victim as the final aim as the dogs trained and made for guardians do. The characteristic behaviour of a Caucasian should understand : throwing down the enemy and multiple short bites until the resistance stops.

The spasmodic bite is not present with these dogs, since it is not a characteristic useful in the combat with more than one enemy ( a pack of wolves ) .

With the most of Caucasians, the motivation of aggression is strong at the moment of conflict and if there is anything that stops them from expressing it ( a lease, chain, ...) they will divert all of the aggression to any other object in vicinity – a pole, a tree or even the owner if he/she holds back the dog.

If the dog – man relation is regularly established, a Caucasian shows a great devotion and loyalty to the owner. It is the dog of a sole owner, a proven protector and keeper. They can hardly put up with changing the owner and they accept new people with reluctance. They love freedom and don’t show much of emotions and they stay independent even in the relation to the beloved man.

Their devotion is restrained and strict, and to the man leader who takes the highest place in hierarchy, these dogs show the utmost loyalty in return, being prepared to protect them to the very end of the life.