Kurdish Mastiff
Dog breed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kurdish Mastiff,[1][2][3][4] Assyrian Shepherd,[3] or Pişder dog[5] (Kurdish: سەگی پشدەری, romanized: Segî Pişderî) is a dog landrace native to the mountainous Kurdistan Region in Iraq, especially the Pişder region in Sulaymaniyah Governorate.[3][5] This dog is often used as a livestock guardian against predators and number around a few thousand heads.[5] They have been compared to the Kangal Dog and the Akbash.[5]
| Kurdish Mastiff | |
|---|---|
Kurdish mastiff | |
| Common nicknames | Pshdar dog |
| Origin | Kurdistan Region of Iraq |
| Dog (domestic dog) | |
Description
History
In 1892, John Paul Dudley published a medical treatise on dogs and mentioned the Kurdish Mastiff:
In Kurdistan in northern Asia Minor, and that region of Asia, there is a dog much resembling the English Mastiff, which is the constant companion and friend of the Kurd — a shepherd and watch dog partaking much of the character of his half - barbarous master, and will not well bear a change of country and associations. Nothing owned by the Kurd is valued more highly than this fierce and powerful animal, which is to a great extent treated as sacred, at least so far as the hand of a stranger is concerned. In color the Kurdish Mastiff is mainly tawny; has tail long, and head large, and his body is tall, ponderous, and well proportioned".[1]
