# Lesser-Known Dog Breeds



## russdubb (Jun 11, 2010)

There are a great many dog breeds out there that, unless you’re a dog expert, you may never have heard of. Here are a few.

Affenpinscher

The smallest dog in the family that includes pinschers and schnauzers, the Affenpinscher is a toy dog with a good demeanor. These little guys are very intelligent and trainable and make wonderful family pets. They have a dark, wiry coat and are naturally affectionate towards humans.

Anatolian Shepherd

The Anatolian Shepherd has a large frame and is considered to be quite courageous. These are strong and loyal dogs that see a good deal of use in the United States as military and hunting dogs.

Basenji

The Basenji is a medium sized muscular dog that is also known as the African Barkless Dog. They never bark, but not because they are mute; apparently they just don’t want to. Basenjis were originally bred in Africa as hunting dogs. They do not naturally make good pets, but overcome their aversion to humans if they are handled consistently from an early age.

Bouvier des Flandres

These small but sturdy dogs have the appearance of a sort of terrier. They usually have a dark rough coat and a generally calm manner. They were originally bred as herders in France and today are used in both police work and as guide dogs or assistance animals for the blind.

Central Asian Ovtcharka

The Central Asian Ovtcharka is a large and muscular dog. It is known as loyal and fearless and has protective instincts that make it an excellent herder and watchdog. Typically they have their ears and tail docked at an early age.

Polish Owczarek Nizinny

This guy is a medium sized shaggy dog with a long coat that covers its eyes. Loyal and devoted dogs, they make great pets as long as they won’t be left alone for long periods of time since they are known to cause trouble when unsupervised for too long.


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## JustTess (Mar 19, 2008)

Here's another one to add to your list:

The Blackmouth Cur. I was reading a bit about this breed earlier this month when I first found out Old Yeller wasn't a lab. All these years, I thought Old Yeller was a lab I don't think this breed is recognized by the AKC.


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## NCPupLove (May 28, 2010)

Pictures? Now I have to go exploring!


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## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

some of these breeds may be more common than you might think. I work for a groomer and I was surprised at how many affenpinschers I've seen already. right now there are two being boarded. They are interesting little dogs.

I think we possibly have an Anatolian being boarded now as well, they call her a GSD but I think I might make a post on her because she really looks like an Anatolian. But if she is one, she's the first I've ever met.

My neighbor had a bouv, I absolutely love the breed and would love to have one some day. I wouldn't call them small though lol, I'd consider them on the larg side.


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## Deron_dog (Feb 21, 2009)

I must be a dog Expert.... Or just obsessed LOL, as I've heard of them, and in some case in points even handled and worked with them in my past Career. All very amazing dogs, and I was just in LOVE with the Central Asian Ovtcharka I worked with last year, he was an amazing Dog. I've also worked with Black Mouth Curs, bull head dogs if I ever saw one.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I've heard of and met examples of most of the dogs listed, but not all, I have yet to meet an ovtcharka. We have many bouvs in our area, a couple of polish lowland sheepdogs (the Nizinni)

How about:
Pharoah hounds? As for as I know there are only TWO in the entire GTA area. Fantastic dogs.

Brussels Griffons? We had one in our classes, a black named Rocco. Very cool little monkey faced dog.

Pulis? I've only met two, neither had the full dreadlocked coat though.

Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen? I know a couple of these little hairy bassets, very cute!

Dandie Dinmont Terrier? The vet I worked for had one. Funny little dog named Zoot.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

For a while every other family in the area had an Affenpinscher. There must have been a local BYB/puppymill pumping them out. Haven't seen one for a couple years, though. Adorable little guys.

And there is a Basenji in town, and a Chinese Crested. 

I never thought of Bouviers as "small". Sturdy, yes, but averaging 60-90 pounds isn't small. Particularly if Basenjis are described as "medium", LOL.


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## JessieLove09 (Mar 27, 2010)

I have seen and met 3 of the 5 listed. There are many Affenpinschers at my shelter, they are cuties too.lol.


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## ~LadyScar~ (Jun 10, 2010)

Hey guys! 
I have two of these not so famous doggies, they are Rocky & Benji
the Basenji littermates! I thought I should share a picture. 
These dogs are crazy, wild, hunters, they are definitely not
for everyone. Personally I think they should all live in their 
homeland Africa, hunting in the bush. I love my boys more
than anything, but do not recommend this breed. They are
after all the so called "untrainable doggy". Not to mention they
require insane amount of exercise and they never grow out of
the chewing puppy stage, so providing them with enough to chew
costs a fortune. Oh no lol, I'm getting carried away, I'm so sorry! 
Anyways, please enjoy the pics of my darling beasts,lol.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

Sulimov Dog. A breed developed by the Russian Airport as a detection dog. the program was started in the 70's. The foundation stock was Turkmen Golden Jackals and Lapponian Herding Dogs.

British Alaunt-Recreation of the hunting dogs of the Alan tribes of early Europe. the foundation stock is Greyhound, Bull Terrier and Bull Mastiff

Chinese Chong Qing Dog-said to be a natural breed dating back to the Han Dynasty in China

Ca de Bou-a molosser from the island of Mallorca

Taigan-this is a very rare sighthound breed only found in the regions of Kirghises of the Tian-Tshan. Foundation stock was probably the Afghan and another sighthound called the Tazi

shall i go on?


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## Max'sHuman (Oct 6, 2007)

JessieLove09 said:


> I have seen and met 3 of the 5 listed. There are many Affenpinschers at my shelter, they are cuties too.lol.


Are you sure they are actually Affens? Because they are a pretty rare breed. I would think it's much more likely that it's a small, black terrier mix with a flatter face. I mean there is a national Affen rescue (no such thing as a state one) and they have maybe 10 dogs at a time. Maybe. Sometimes much less. 

Where are you all meeting these Affens you lucky people? They are my heart breed so I am constantly on the lookout and I have met very few. I even emailed the president of the Affen Club of America who happens to live in my town so I could meet her dogs. I plan to definitely own one in the future, so I know they are expensive and not easy to come by. But so worth it, because they are wonderful, gregarious little dogs.

Ooh, another really rare breed is America is the Portuguese Podengo.


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## -Maxine- (Jun 8, 2010)

Actually... the breeds some of you listed here are common in belgium.
So it really depends on where you live.

Bouvier des Flandres, Anatolian Shepherd, Brussels Griffon, etc... are quite common here. Just like the Laekenois, affenpincher and so on.


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## -Maxine- (Jun 8, 2010)

And what about the Cambodian Razorback dog? XD


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

Max'sHuman said:


> Are you sure they are actually Affens? Because they are a pretty rare breed. I would think it's much more likely that it's a small, black terrier mix with a flatter face. I mean there is a national Affen rescue (no such thing as a state one) and they have maybe 10 dogs at a time. Maybe. Sometimes much less.
> 
> Where are you all meeting these Affens you lucky people? They are my heart breed so I am constantly on the lookout and I have met very few. I even emailed the president of the Affen Club of America who happens to live in my town so I could meet her dogs. I plan to definitely own one in the future, so I know they are expensive and not easy to come by. But so worth it, because they are wonderful, gregarious little dogs.
> 
> Ooh, another really rare breed is America is the Portuguese Podengo.


If we ever meet up, Ill introduce you to my neighbor. she has 4 affens...


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## Max'sHuman (Oct 6, 2007)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> If we ever meet up, Ill introduce you to my neighbor. she has 4 affens...


Oh man that would completely make my day. That is so cool.


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## -Maxine- (Jun 8, 2010)

The Dutch Smoushond is a very rare breed outside of the Netherlands. There are just a few dogs who live outside Holland. And I don't think more than 10 of them live in America. 
Even for people in Holland, most of them have to wait for over 2 years to get a pup!


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## JessieLove09 (Mar 27, 2010)

-Maxine- said:


> And what about the Cambodian Razorback dog? XD


I love the hair on the back!! AWESOME!

Yes, there are affens, we are thinking that there is a breeder in the area.We don't have too many, there are 3. They aren't purebreds, they are mixes.They are listed as Affenpinscher Mixes. But the dogs have very similar markings and such, we are thinking a BYB is in the area.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Cracker said:


> I've heard of and met examples of most of the dogs listed, but not all, I have yet to meet an ovtcharka. We have many bouvs in our area, a couple of polish lowland sheepdogs (the Nizinni)
> 
> How about:
> Pharoah hounds? As for as I know there are only TWO in the entire GTA area. Fantastic dogs.
> ...


I know someone with a Pharoh hound, met the dog, won't be owning one.
I have a PBGV, look in my signature!


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Agree it all depends on area.

I have met tons of Bouvier des Flandres, and basenjis.

On another forum Im on, alot say a cane corso is a very rare breed, but around here they seem to now be a dime a dozen. all thanks to BYB's Im sure.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

there are some breeds that are overall pretty rare..like the few i listed...you only find them in certain parts of certain countries. Like the Chong Qing..ive yet to find ANY mention of them in the US at all, which is unfortunate because i think they are freakin GORGEOUS!!









this is a Chong Qing Dog. *drools*

here's the Taigan









here's a Ca de Bou










and ive posted the Sulimov and the Alaunt on DF before


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

Leonberger

I have only met one in real life and she was beautiful










Presa Canario, again I have only met one in real life (we were told violet is a presa mix as well)










I also saw one of these for the first time last week too....

Shipperke


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> there are some breeds that are overall pretty rare..like the few i listed...you only find them in certain parts of certain countries. Like the Chong Qing..ive yet to find ANY mention of them in the US at all, which is unfortunate because i think they are freakin GORGEOUS!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Just googled it and yes they are very beautiful and very unique looking.

ETA the life expectancy is 18 YEARS !!! that's crazy


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## -Maxine- (Jun 8, 2010)

LuckySarah said:


> Leonberger
> 
> I have only met one in real life and she was beautiful
> 
> ...



The Leonberger and especially the Shipperke are very common breeds here in Belgium. XD


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

what about the Coton de Tulear? Is that an uncommon breed, or have I just not heard of it until I met my neighbor's? The vet had never met one either so they gave him a bunch of free stuff for bringing the first one in. LOL! I'm too lazy to post a picture, but it's a little white fluffy dog. I wouldn't have known she was a "rare" breed by looking at her if he hadn't told me.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

Angel's_mom said:


> what about the Coton de Tulear? Is that an uncommon breed, or have I just not heard of it until I met my neighbor's? The vet had never met one either so they gave him a bunch of free stuff for bringing the first one in. LOL! I'm too lazy to post a picture, but it's a little white fluffy dog. I wouldn't have known she was a "rare" breed by looking at her if he hadn't told me.


KBLover, one of the members here has a Coton named Wally.


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## Angel's_mom (May 26, 2010)

I didn't know Wally was a Coton! I am so bad at identifying the breeds of some of the smaller fluffy dogs!


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## Independent George (Mar 26, 2009)

Last year, I got to meet an Estrella Mountain Dog, imported from Spain by his owner.


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## Papilove (May 20, 2010)

Corrected, wrong breed.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Estrela's are pretty fabulous 

I think the Norwegian Lundehund is an interesting little dog


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## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

The only one of these dogs that I've seen close up is a Schipperke. It's one of my favorite types of dogs. I've heard of many of the other ones though (probably here but I also watch Dogs 101 =P).

I have friends with an Entlebucher. I don't know how rare they are but I had never seen or heard of those before they got one.


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

I love learning about new breeds -- it's so fascinating. My friends think I'm such a dork -- whenever I see a rare breed, I get so excited and run off to talk to the owner. I saw a Klei Kai for the first time a few months ago, and I was elated! The girl was so surprised I knew what her pup was. Ohhh, we are dog-nerds.


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## BooLette (Jul 11, 2009)

I love Estrela Mountain Dogs. I would love to own one, but I think that there is only one breeder in the U.S. I met one that was a service dog for a very old woman. It was love at first sight.


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

JessRU09 said:


> I love learning about new breeds -- it's so fascinating. My friends think I'm such a dork -- whenever I see a rare breed, I get so excited and run off to talk to the owner. I saw a Klei Kai for the first time a few months ago, and I was elated! The girl was so surprised I knew what her pup was. Ohhh, we are dog-nerds.


I am the same way.

There is nothing like finding out about a great breed that you have never seen, reading about them, admiring them and then meeting one in person


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

LuckySarah said:


> Just googled it and yes they are very beautiful and very unique looking.
> 
> ETA the life expectancy is 18 YEARS !!! that's crazy


they are apparently a "natural" breed...kind of like Carolina Dogs here in the US.


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## Tofu_pup (Dec 8, 2008)

There's a leonberger boarding at work right now. He's the only one I've ever met and a heck of a lot more happy-go-lucky than I ever expected the breed to be. I swear this dog bounces everywhere, not walks.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

There are a lot of great dog breeds not in the top 10!!!!!


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

Spicy1_VV said:


> There are a lot of great dog breeds not in the top 10!!!!!


yeah..a bunch of them are in your sig lol...

which reminds me...one of my new favs.....which i first heard of through your siggie..

KANGALS!!!









biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig doggie lol....


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## infiniti (Mar 19, 2010)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> yeah..a bunch of them are in your sig lol...
> 
> which reminds me...one of my new favs.....which i first heard of through your siggie..
> 
> ...



I think I want one of those!!!! 

And I definitely love Boerboels!!! Cool dogs!


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## -Maxine- (Jun 8, 2010)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> yeah..a bunch of them are in your sig lol...
> 
> which reminds me...one of my new favs.....which i first heard of through your siggie..
> 
> ...


Those aren't rare at all. XD
We currently have 3 in the shelter. There used to be 6 of them but 3 already got adopted.
And my best friend has one.


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

-Maxine- said:


> Those aren't rare at all. XD
> We currently have 3 in the shelter. There used to be 6 of them but 3 already got adopted.
> And my best friend has one.


they are getting less rare...but they're still rare here where i live...i wanna meet one SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Oooo, oooo, I've got one...the Bengal Retriever. That's a 10' fence in the background to contain this large dog known for retrieving Bengal tigers. Stealthy they are.


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## LuckySarah (May 3, 2010)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> yeah..a bunch of them are in your sig lol...
> 
> which reminds me...one of my new favs.....which i first heard of through your siggie..
> 
> ...


I think that window needs replacing


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

LuckySarah said:


> I think that window needs replacing


eh...that photo is in another country....things are different there.


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## Tanuki (Nov 14, 2009)

My little Snowflake (pictured in my avatar) is a Bolognese.

I can't find out any numbers on them in the US but the British Kennel Club recognizes the breed and averages 75 to 100 new puppies of this breed registering each year. The AKC doesn't recognize the breed because the numbers are too small. I saw somewhere there are less than 5000 in the US.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> yeah..a bunch of them are in your sig lol...
> 
> which reminds me...one of my new favs.....which i first heard of through your siggie..
> 
> ...


My boyfriend seen this picture a while ago. And now keeps saying he willg et one. haha ya right. I think it would be way to much dog for him lol


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

Id name a Kangal "Rug". lol....good for sleeping on.


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## BradA1878 (Nov 28, 2009)

zimandtakandgrrandmimi said:


> Chinese Chong Qing Dog-said to be a natural breed dating back to the Han Dynasty in China


I was gonna mention this breed too, I like these little dogs. Some believe that it is this breed that was brought over from China, through the ports in Portugal, and mixed with local Mastiffs to create the first Bulldog.

----

How about the *Bully Kutta*? The great fighting dog of Pakistan- a dog that still maintains the phenotype of the original Alaunt...

























I really like this dog, his name is "Max":


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## BradA1878 (Nov 28, 2009)

And, of course, I have to mention my breeds! The *Shikoku Ken* and *Kai Ken*!


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

BradA1878 said:


> I was gonna mention this breed too, I like these little dogs. Some believe that it is this breed that was brought over from China, through the ports in Portugal, and mixed with local Mastiffs to create the first Bulldog.
> 
> ----
> 
> ...


LOVE the Bully Kutta look. gorgeous.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

BradA1878 said:


> And, of course, I have to mention my breeds! The *Shikoku Ken* and *Kai Ken*!


Brad, 
Can you give us a list of what you have? I know you have quite the assortment, I still want to come west for a field trip!


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## BradA1878 (Nov 28, 2009)

InkedMarie said:


> Brad,
> Can you give us a list of what you have? I know you have quite the assortment, I still want to come west for a field trip!


Your welcome to visit anytime! 

Here are our rarer breeds...

We have 2 female Shikoku Ken: Ahi and Loa. We've been working on importing the right male for years now.
















We currently have 4 Kai Ken: Kona (male), Mochi (female), Kibou (male), Kumi (female). We placed Tai (male) with a good friend who wanted a Nihonken hunting partner and unfortunately Nori (female) had to be put to sleep due to health issues.












































We have 3 Caucasian Ovcharka: Luytiy (male), Masha (female), and Leila (female).


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## BradA1878 (Nov 28, 2009)

We have Chupa, my male Azores Cattle Dog (Jen insists he is mine lol)...









And Blue, our male Cane Corso...


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

BradA1878 said:


> Your welcome to visit anytime!
> 
> Here are our rarer breeds...
> 
> ...


All are stunning and after work, I have some research to do because I haven't heard of most of them! The Caucasian Ovcharka are stunning.
Brad, how did you get "into" such rare breeds? I hope you don't mind the questions but I don't know anyone with such a rare assortment! As for a field trip, I'm in NH so the chances are slim to none but one never knows!


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## Max'sHuman (Oct 6, 2007)

Wow Brad you have some awesome dogs. The markings on Ahi are stunning, she is just gorgeous. You should definitely post pictures more often. I want to see more Ahi! And more of Chupa. And more of the Ovcharkas.


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## SpiritSong (May 24, 2008)

The way people react when I tell them my dog is a Plott Hound mix would make you think it is a rare breed. 

I was surprised when a man picking up his dog at my daycare commented on my dog being a Plott Hound. Perhaps he was from a Southern state. (To be fair, I had never heard of them either until I adopted Georgia.)


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## pandora (Mar 19, 2010)

The OP describes a Bouvier des flanders as Small??

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bouvierdesflandres.htm

What do you class as large?


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## BradA1878 (Nov 28, 2009)

InkedMarie said:


> Brad, how did you get "into" such rare breeds? I hope you don't mind the questions but I don't know anyone with such a rare assortment!


Thank you.  We started with our Japanese breeds, fell in love with Shikoku and then Kai. As I got more involved in the community we started to see that the breeds had a need for some "preservation" efforts in North America. So, we started a nonprofit org - our goal is to import new lines and breed them to community to help reduce the risk of genetic depression here in North America. We focused on the Kai first, we have brought over 5 Kai Ken from Japan - most from remote hunting kennels.

It wasn't really my intention to be in "rarer breeds", but I guess I just like to learn about the more "primitive" and "aboriginal" breeds and those breeds tend to be rare. I dig the history of breeds, and so its neat to own breeds that were/are foundation breeds of many of the more common breeds - and then I like owning breeds that are newer (like the CC) and more of a mix - its neat to see how they develop (as a breed).

I also have a huge interest in "evolutionary confirmation", artificial selection, and working dogs. I find the best way to really understand how a dog's "programming" plays a role in their personality and behavior is by owning a breed from that type. The Azores Cattle Dog is an example of a breed that has a rather unique foundation among other breeds, and so when Chupa was offered to me I couldn't pass on the opportunity to own such a unrefined working breed - the learning potential was too intriguing for me to pass on him.



Max'sHuman said:


> Wow Brad you have some awesome dogs. The markings on Ahi are stunning, she is just gorgeous. You should definitely post pictures more often. I want to see more Ahi! And more of Chupa. And more of the Ovcharkas.


Thank you!


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Curbside Prophet said:


> Oooo, oooo, I've got one...the Bengal Retriever. That's a 10' fence in the background to contain this large dog known for retrieving Bengal tigers. Stealthy they are.


 
ROFL, I want one!!!!! Hubby says he's totoally do that !


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## Reacher (Jun 3, 2009)

My neighbor has an African Boerboel. She is small at 90lbs and is lots of fun. Sorta like a boxer on steriods.


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## JessieLove09 (Mar 27, 2010)

BradA1878 said:


> Your welcome to visit anytime!
> 
> Here are our rarer breeds...
> 
> ...


I love your dogs!!!


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