Country/Date of Origin: Russia/1700s
This is a large, aggressive livestock guarding dog that originated in the Crimean and Ukrainian regions of Russia. These dogs were 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: 1 (Herding)