The Tibetan Mastiff is a clever hunting dog breed that appeared 5,000 years ago and is the breed with the oldest genome in the world.
The Tibetan Mastiff is a breed of dog raised and trained by Tibetans to protect livestock and protect the lives of indigenous people in the Himalayan mountains from wild animals such as wolves, tigers, bears and to guarding monasteries in Tibet.
The Tibetan Mastiff is said to be the “Lord of the Steppe” and is described as “Bigger than the wolf, stronger than the leopard and faster than the deer”. It is likely that the Tibetan Mastiff was the ancestor of some of today’s Mastiff breeds.
The Tibetan dog was accidentally discovered by two Italian explorers in the village of Jhangihe, located at an altitude of 5200m above sea level in the middle of the Tibet autonomous region.
In the 18th century, after exploring the Himalayan mountains, explorers often brought Tibetan mastiffs back to the country as precious gifts for the Royal Family.
The Tibetan Mastiff is quite massive in size. At least 71 cm high for males. Weighs about 64–82kg. Fur: With a 2-layer coat, the outer coat is soft and long and the inner coat is cotton like wool. It can adapt to the harshest weather. The Tibetan Mastiff has distinctive neck hair that looks like a lion’s mane. Color: black, black-brown, black-yellow, gray or yellow. Tail: always curled high on the back. Head: flat, no wrinkles. Balanced and majestic appearance.
The Tibetan Mastiff is stubborn and especially only listens, absolutely loyal to a single owner.
In 2014, a Chinese businessman caused a stir when he bought a 1-year-old Tibetan mastiff for 1.9 million USD, equivalent to about 43.2 billion VND. This Chinese businessman bought two Tibetan mastiffs at the “luxury pet” fair, one of which had a record high price of 1.9 million USD, the other cost 968,209 USD, approximately 22 billion VND. ” They have lion blood and are top hunting dogs. Purebred dogs are very rare so they command a very high price,” dog breeder Zhang Gengyun said at the time.
In 2011, a real estate developer in Qingdao, China spent a lot of money to buy a Tibetan dog named “Big Splash” for 1.5 million USD, about 34 billion VND.
