- Bakharwal Dog
Infobox Dogbreed
name = Bakharwal Dog
altname = Kashmir Sheepdog
Bakarwal Mastiff
Kashmiri Bakharwal Dog
Gujjar Watchdog
Bakarwal
Gujjar Dog
Kashmiri Mastiff
country = India
notrecognized = trueThe Bakharwal Dog is an ancient working breed of dog found in the
Pir Panjal mountain range of the KashmirHimalayas , where it has been bred for many centuries by theGujjar nomadic tribes as alivestock guardian dog and settlement protector.Appearance
Deep-chested, muscular and agile, the Kashmiri Sheepdog has a straight back, broad shoulders and long legs. The body is strongly boned, with a powerful neck and large head. The medium-length flat coat is very thick and densely undercoated, providing suitable protection from the harsh climate of the area, as well as from
predators . The most common and valued colouring is black and tan, but some tricoloured andpiebald examples can be found, too. A variety of sizes can be encountered, from specimens that are 24inches tall to those exceeding 30inches at thewithers .History
Belonging to a leaner variety of Asian Molossers, the Kashmiri Sheepdog is related to some types of the
Tibetan Mastiff and dogs ofCentral Asia , but is claimed by the Gujjar herdsmen to be much older than any other breed of the region. While this is debatable, the black-and-tan colouring and physical build of the Bakarwal Mastiff have led some authorities to link a number of old Molosser to this dog, namely the Hyrcanian Mastiff, theMolossos tis Epirou , the Sylvan, theTuvan Sheepdog , and theSiah Sag variety of theIranian Sage Mazandarani , as well as the European descendants of these breeds.External links
* [http://www.molosserdogs.com/modules.php?name=Encyclopedia&op=content&tid=3235 MolosserDogs.com Bakharwal Dog]
* [http://www.doggyhelp.com/dogs/breeds/Bakharwal%20Dog Bakharwal Dog (with photos)]
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