Country/Date of Origin: Russia/1700s
This is a large, aggressive, livestock-guarding dog that originated in the Armenian and Azerbaijani republics, and the steppe areas of the Caucasus Mountains. These dogs were used for herding, guarding and sometimes fighting. They could be relied upon to protect the flocks from wolves and robbers and were left on their own to perform this function. In more recent times they have been used to keep prisoners from leaving gulags and have proven to be excellent military guard dogs.
FCI Group: 2 (Herding)