Moscow Watchdog

The Moscow Watchdog is a very large guard dog developed in the Soviet Union, in what is now Russia. It comes from crosses of the St. Bernard, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog and the Russian Pinto Hound, and was meant to combine the size and intelligence of the St. Bernard with the alertness and assertiveness of the Caucasian Shepherd.

History

After World War II the Soviet Union had lost many of its working dogs, and crime was rising. There was a call for a guard dog that could stand cold of minus 30 to minus 40 degrees Celsius and adapt to very different posts: warehouses, railroads, labor camps and other sites. The Central School of Military Dog Breeding, part of the Ministry of Defense, produced the breed in answer. The first standard was published in 1958. The school, now called the 470th Methodological and Canine Center, still breeds Moscow Watchdogs.

The standard was approved by the Federation of the Dog Breeders of Russia in 1992, and in 1997 by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture’s breeding department and the Russian Kennel Club. Within Russia the breed is recognised and widely shown. The Russian Kennel Club is working toward official recognition by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale; for now the FCI treats the breed as a molosser of its second group, and it appears at FCI events in special shows.

For a long time the breed was rare outside Russia and the former Soviet states, but it is becoming better known in Europe. The first dogs went to Hungary in 1986, and around 500 live there now. The first litter in the United States was born on June 6, 2015, and 27 dogs were reported living in that country.

Appearance

This is a big, powerful dog. Males stand at least 68 cm (27 in) and females at least 66 cm (26 in), with the ideal set at 77 to 78 cm (30 to 31 in) or more for males and 72 to 73 cm (28 to 29 in) for females. Males should weigh at least 55 kg (121 lb) and females at least 45 kg (99 lb).

The coat is dense and double and can withstand extreme cold. Colors are red piebald, white with red spots, red-black, black-red or sable, with a black mask on the head.

Temperament

The Moscow Watchdog is self-confident and even-tempered, gentle and obedient with its own people, and assertive and protective when its family is threatened. It needs training and early socialization with both people and other animals. Raised that way, it adapts easily to different surroundings and makes a protective family dog.

Facts on this page were checked against Wikipedia and may have changed since.