History

Belonging to a leaner variety of Asian Molossers, the Kashmiri Sheepdog is related to some types of the Tibetan Mastiff and dogs of Central 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, the Molossos tis Epirou, the Sylvan, the Tuvan Sheepdog, and the Siah Sag variety of the Iranian Sage Mazandarani, as well as the European descendants of these breeds.

Appearance and Size

The Bakharwal Dog is an ancient working breed of dog found in the Pir Panjal mountain range of the Kashmir Himalayas, where it has been bred for many centuries by the Gujjar nomadic tribes as a livestock guardian dog and settlement protector. A recent study says that this species of shephared Dog is in danger. 

Wikipedia and GNU

The content of this entry is from the Wikipedia article "Bakharwal Dog" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.