Does any body know whether there is a breeder of Indian Bhotiya Dogs in the uk or Europe.  The are used as working dogs in the Indian Himalayas and are the size of a labrador but much more "hairy"!!

I would be grateful for any info

Thankyou

Michael Curtis Green
mcg@curtis-green.co.uk

Never heard of them so I doubt that there's any in the UK

I think they are also called Bhutia Dogs or panther eating dogs !

> Closely related to the Tibetan Mastiff is the Bhutia Sheepdog. It is found all along the Himalayas, chiefly with the gadis, or sheep owners. It is an exceedingly powerful animal, and two of them are said to be more than a match for a panther. There are generally two or three with every large drove of sheep, and they usually wear large leather collars with spikes to protect them in their fights with the panthers, for it is always at the neck that the panther strikes. The real home of this dog is Bhutan, but, like the Bhutia pony, it is found everywhere along the hills. Sometimes quite perfect specimens of the Tibetan Mastiff are found with these gadis. The Bhutia Sheepdog is not as a rule a pleasant animal to meet on the hillside, for it will often attack Europeans without provocation, in which case sticks are useless-stones are the only things that will keep it off. <

They are a smaller cousin of the Tibetan Mastiff. Also known as Bhotia, Bhutia, Himalayan Mastiff, Bhangara Mastiff. I think you'd probably have to import one direct from India/Nepal and I don't think they are recognized by any of the European KC's. I don't even know if there are breeders of them in the sense we'd think of over here.

There's quite a bit of debate of if Tibetan Mastiffs are purebred or just an umbrella term used in the west for these type of dogs that were imported and bred together. Here's a good article: http://www.herman.sinegraf.se/eng/rashis/

My god I think I got it right ;)