Finding the origin of the Tibetan Mastiff

In fact, the history of human domestication of dogs has not been fully studied, there are many unsolved mysteries, the views given are just hypotheses and it is too early to draw conclusions.

The Tibetan Mastiff is called the "snow dog" by herders on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and occupies a very important place in the history and culture of herders. In the past, modern grazing technology had not yet developed, on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau there were many wild animals, they were always stalking livestock, and keeping a few Tibetan mastiffs was a simple and common method. The most variable to stop wolves.

The Tibetan Mastiff is also very good at this, it is a very aggressive breed and it was once thought that one mastiff could defeat three wolves.

Prior to that, Tibetan mastiffs were popular only among herders, but after the 1980s, they took the lead in becoming popular abroad. Due to their aggressive personality and lion-like appearance, they are sought after by many foreigners and nicknamed them "Oriental dogs".

In the past, the Tibetan Mastiff was popular only among the herd community.

After the 1990s, a craze for the Tibetan Mastiff began to take shape in China, and some merchants seized the business opportunity and advertised the Tibetan Mastiff as a "divine dog". , which made this ancient highland breed popular with the general public.

Due to the exaggerated propaganda about this dog, their breeding has become rampant, whereby many breeders have deliberately re-created them with many other breeds to get a mutation in the coat and unusually large body. This later made the reputation as well as the quality of this breed seriously reduced.

To be fair, the Tibetan Mastiff was originally a great highland dog, and they also possess some traits that make the breed itself unsuitable for living in low-altitude areas as pets. indoors like many other popular dog breeds.

The craze for the Tibetan Mastiff began to form in China.

"Dog" follows the first immigrants to live on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Regarding the origin of the Tibetan Mastiff, in some stories, legends and literary novels, there is a saying that "nine dogs one clam", roughly this is a selection, brutal competition to get a good mastiff. They often drop ten young clams from the same flock or born in the same year into a deep hole, with no food, or there is very little, just enough to feed one.

Under the pressure of hunger, these puppies will fight and bite each other, and in the end only one of the strongest and most aggressive puppies remains, and now that only puppy. is considered a Tibetan Mastiff.

Regarding this saying, we can hear it as a story that makes this breed more mysterious. In essence, the Tibetan Mastiff is like the Chow Chow, Shar-Pei, Crested or our bobtail Hmong, they are all independent breeds and possess ancient genetic resources. . However, the Tibetan Mastiff is a particularly aggressive and powerful breed.

The Tibetan Mastiff is a particularly aggressive and powerful dog breed.

Historically and many archaeological studies have shown that originally, there were no Tibetan mastiffs on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, but following human migration, this breed also gradually appeared. here.

About 24,000 years ago, when a group of early humans entered the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to live, they brought with them several species of low-altitude "grass dogs".

Then, in their long highland life, these dogs continued to grow and reproduce, adapting to highland life, and eventually forming the Tibetan mastiff we see now.

Some people even question whether the time dogs were domesticated by humans was about 16,000 years ago or 24,000 years ago?

In fact, the history of human domestication of dogs has not been fully studied, there are many unsolved mysteries, the views given are just hypotheses and it is too early to draw conclusions.

Bred with ancient Tibetan wolves to be able to adapt to high altitudes

Dog breeds living at low altitudes when entering the highlands were not able to fully adapt at first. Just like people in the plains, when going to areas with high altitude and thin air, many people will get altitude sickness and cannot exercise vigorously.

The same was true of these early dogs, over time, as the number of dogs increased, some began crossbreeding with local ancient Tibetan wolves, to produce puppies - they were inherited. influence a certain important gene, and it is under the influence of this gene that they acquire the ability to adapt to high altitudes.

This gene is called the "EPAS1" gene. Scientists have detected it in many high-altitude species, including snow leopars and Tibetan wolves, but not in low-altitude animals such as domestic dogs, gray wolves and dogs golden back forest.

Research shows that the gene "EPAS1" can affect the mechanism that regulates hemoglobin production in animals, making the body more sensitive to oxygen changes, allowing them to survive long-term in an oxygen-deficient environment. able to sustain high-intensity activity.

After crossbreeding with Tibetan wolves, the puppies acquired this gene and have since established a strong foothold on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Scientists built a phylogenetic tree of the canine and discovered that dogs and wolves diverged long ago and each evolved in different directions, but after the ancestors of the Tibetan mastiff into the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they crossed with wolves and acquired some of the highland wolf's genetics.

Due to the harsh cold climate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in order to keep warm, these puppies have gradually undergone a number of adaptive changes during their long life in the plateau, such as thicker fur and a thicker layer of fat.

Of course, the evolution of dogs is basically the process of selection and cross-breeding by humans, after many generations of selection and cross-breeding, humans finally get what they need in a dog breed. determined.

As mentioned earlier, the most important role of the Tibetan Mastiff in ancient times was to protect livestock and fight wolves, so small and docile breeds naturally could not take on this important task. This importance means that they will not be bred. In contrast, the Tibetan Mastiff, with its huge size, aggressive personality and great deterrent power will be the favorite dog of herders.

In 2016, several scholars in Beijing photographed Tibetan mastiffs chasing snow leopards on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, competing for food with snow leopards and surrounding brown bears. The Tibetan Mastiff may be no match for the snow leopard and the Tibetan brown bear, but the breed is highly social, and they always live in packs.

Judging from the photographs taken by Beijing scholars, it can be seen that three or four Tibetan mastiffs can drive away snow leopards, and five or more Tibetan mastiffs can surround and suppress brown bear.

Although the Tibetan Mastiff no longer receives much attention from the community, whether you admit it or not, we still have to know the fact that Mastiffs are bred and bred for the purpose of trading. for sale are not dogs that are born to work and function according to their inherent functions. However, when born and served for the right job with its original function, the Tibetan Mastiff can not only adapt to the harsh climate of the highlands, but can also perform well. its duties and is no less competitive with other dog breeds in dealing with wild animals.

And at the present time, when the movement to keep Tibetan mastiffs as pets has receded, a large number of Tibetan mastiffs have been abandoned. It not only causes damage to the ecosystem but also directly threatens people. As the wilderness gradually recovered, wandering Tibetan mastiffs began attacking people, livestock, and hunting snow leopards, which gradually turned them into a potential danger on the plateau.