Ratings

Breed Introduction

As one of the most ferocious guard dogs, the Tibetan Mastiff is not suitable for keeping in densely populated and confined spaces. They are independent, obedient to commands, and extremely loyal to their owners and territory.

The Tibetan Mastiff is distributed in many countries and regions around the world, with the original Tibetan Mastiff living in the cold areas above 3000 meters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Central Asian plains. They can be found in Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Nepal, as well as in Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Ningxia.

The development of the Tibetan Mastiff can be traced back to the earliest documented records by Marco Polo. In 1257 AD, he encountered Tibetans in present-day Sichuan and described them as having large dogs that were fierce and bold, characterized as ‘as big as a donkey, running like a tiger, roaring like a lion, and having a majestic appearance.’ The early famous Swedish explorer Sven Hedin sketched two Tibetan Mastiffs bravely confronting a giant wild yak. In 1744, British envoy George Bogle visited Tibet and recorded in his memoirs that Tibetan dogs were huge, resembling lions and were brave. In 1847, Sir Harding, the Governor-General of India, gifted a Tibetan Mastiff to Queen Victoria. In 1873, the British Kennel Club officially referred to the ‘large dog from Tibet’ (Tibetan Mastiff) as the Tibetan Mastiff. That year, the Prince of Wales brought in two more Tibetan Mastiffs, but it wasn’t until 1928 that only a few Tibetan Mastiffs were imported to the UK and Europe.