中文版

Which type of dog do Tibetan mastiffs belong to
(藏獒属于哪一类犬种)

Tibetan mastiffs are thought to belong to nurse dogs. They were used to protect property and to herd sheep at the beginning, because they are fearful, powerful, swift and loyal to family in nature.Afterwards they were used to guard particular places, to defend  the monastery as the contribution , palaces and official residences, etc.. 

Ten questions about Tibetan mastiff
(藏獒知识十问)

One. Is Tibetan mastiff exclusive in Tibet? 
No. In China, there are mastiffs in regions such as Tibet, Qinghai, Szechwan, and Gansu provinces.

Two. Is Tibetan mastiff as big as donkey in size? 
"Its body is as big as donkey, it roars as loud as lion," is what has been said about mastiff in《Marco Polo’s Travel Notes》. But from the contrast between the photographs of mastiffs in earlier period and reference materials, together with inquiring members of geological team and senior citizens who have lived for long time in Tibet, we know that mastiff's body is not as great as donkey", possibly it is only a biggest dog Marco Polo saw. 

Three. Are Tibetan mastiffs and Tibetan dogs of the same kind? 
Mastiff is a kind of fierce dog in big size. " The dog that is four Chinese feet long is mastiff " ( from 《 Chinese big thesaurus 》 ), so to call it mastiff is a kind of title given to a fierce dog; to distinguish Tibetan mastiff from Tibetan dog by the hair length, form of mouth, and color of the hair, etc. is not accurate, as mastiff is not an alternative dog. 

Four. Does mastiff know only one host? 
These writings that appeared in the media as "mastiff knows only one host and even bites the host …… " obviously shows that the authors have no experience in feeding or that they have never bred mastiff at all. A dog biting its host can happen on any kind of dogs, we shouldn't regard the part as the whole; even to an adult mastiff, you will get along well with it so long as work hard to communicate with it. 

Five. Is there any wild Tibetan mastiffs? 
 Claims like " having seen herds of wild mastiffs in Tibetan areas; There is mastiff of superior quality in the unmanned areas…… " are totally false. Tibetan mastiff is similar to other house dogs in that it is to depend on mankind to survive, so in the unmanned areas there can't be any dogs, a few wild dogs seen occasionally are discarded by the folk people 

Six. Is it true that the bigger Tibetan mastiffs are in size, the heavier they are? 
The weight of an excellent mastiff is proportional to its figures, and a Tibetan mastiff should be strong and healthy not big and fleshy. An excellent male mastiff that is 68-75cm long should weigh 50-75 kilograms. A typical adult male mastiff should, when standing, be 68cm in height (from the ground to the height of its scapula, excluding hair length and thickness), about 50 kilograms in weight; an adult female mastiff is usually 63cm in height and 40kg in weight. Only a few male dogs can reach the height of 74cm, and extremely fewer can reach the height of more than 77cm. The weight of mastiff is not fixed, because they are affected by many factors, but healthy mastiff of in this height can weigh as much as 68-80 kilograms, some females in large size can reach the height of over 68cm and the weight of more than 62 kilograms. Although Tibetan mastiffs of more than 80cm higher and more than 80 kilograms heavier are claimed to have been spotted, there have no evidences of pictures nor documents to prove that! 

Seven. Are mastiffs' bowlder eyes very precious? 
The bowlder eyes are not precious, in fact it is just a kind of heredity blemish

Eight. Is it for the sake of beauty to put a red chaplet on it? 
Tibetan mastiffs that folk people breed mostly wear a chaplet, since it is the symbol of good luck, some even wear red packet of grains. 

Nine. Is there any best" sample" of Tibetan mastiff? 
Some fanciers usually set one mastiff as the sample only. It is clear that the qualities of Tibetan mastiffs are different in different regions, for example, Tibetan mastiffs in Gansu, Qinghai and Tibet have their own characteristics. In addition, don't trust experts entirely. Simply speaking from the angle of breeding, because the heredity gene of mastiff is very unsteady, it can be a long way to stabilize the heredity gene. 

Ten. Which kind of dog does Tibetan mastiff belong to? Tibetan mastiff should belong to house dog. It was kept to protect the property and to nurse herds at the beginning, because they are fearful, powerful, speedy and loyal to the family; later, they are kept to guard particular places, and to guard fanes and palaces and official residence devoted by Tibetan folk people as contribution.