The Tibetan Mastiff: A Deep Dive into the Life of Himalayas' Gentle Giant

Tibetan Mastiff dog (freepik.com)

The Tibetan Mastiff is a dog that looks unbelievably beautiful and elegant, while also stirring thoughts of something ancient and primal.

Tibetan Mastiff: The Dog of the Snow Mountains

Dog lovers would agree that the Tibetan Mastiff is a fascinating and majestic dog breed.

This ancient breed was used for centuries by the people of Tibet as both guard and hunting dogs. Tibetan Mastiffs are remarkably powerful and intelligent, possessing all the qualities that foster a deep and endearing connection.

Before owning a Tibetan Mastiff, it is helpful to understand some basic facts about their natural habitat and the types of human interactions and environments they are accustomed to.

Queen Victoria’s Tibetan Mastiff

The Tibetan Mastiff became known to the outside world when one was sent as a pet by the Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge, to Queen Victoria of England in 1847. The dog was named ‘Bhout’. This dog breed has a double coat and thick hair around the neck that resembles a lion’s mane, features that help it survive the extreme cold climate of its natural habitat, the Himalayas. The head is broad and covered in soft hair. These gentle giants weigh more than 100 pounds but are agile and quick when required. The colour of the coat varies among brown, golden, red, black, or a blue-tinted grey, and the eyes are brown.

The Life of a Tibetan Mastiff in the Himalayas

Tibet is a plateau in the Himalayas almost 2 miles above sea level. The temperature varies from below the freezing point to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The Tibetan Mastiffs are acclimated to these difficult terrains and weather conditions. Their early association with humans, from humble village houses to monasteries and palaces, was primarily to guard and protect sheep and goat herds.

They have a noble and dignified air to them, just like the majestic mountains of their homeland; both, in different ways, present an awe-inspiring sight.

Tibetan Mastiffs are recognised for their independence and strong-willed nature, requiring owners to demonstrate confidence and use positive reinforcement, as they do not respond well to punishment.

They are quite indifferent to strangers unless they find them a threat to the owner and the house.

The great Venetian traveller of the 13th century, Marco Polo, wrote, “These people of Tibet are an ill-conditioned race. They have mastiff dogs as big as donkeys, which are capable of seizing wild beasts [and in particular wild oxen, which are called Beyamini, very great and fierce animals].”

Love of the Outdoors

Tibetan Mastiffs love to be outdoors.

In the Tibetan language, they are referred to as 'Do-Kyi', which means 'tied dog', as they are frequently tied to the gates of the houses and monasteries they protect.

In a 1983 article, cultural anthropologist Donald A. Messerschmidt cites a popular folk song of Nepal praising the Tibetan Mastiff dog for its ability to keep vigil and protect the herds throughout the night. The song goes like this, “Thrice in the night, our mastiffs make watch rounds of the pastures.”

These dogs are also recognised for their skill in navigating the correct route when paths are obscured by snow or hidden by mist. They guard the herds of sheep, yaks, and goats against leopards, wolves, bears, jackals, and similar threats.

Tibetan Mastiff Sketches in Travel Writing

J.D. Hooker was a Himalayan travel writer who journaled this dog in captivating prose. The environment and life of a Tibetan Mastiff come alive in this description with lightness and cheerfulness. He wrote,

"First comes a middle-aged man or woman, driving a little silky black yak, grunting under his load of 260 lbs. Of salt, besides pots, pans, and kettles, stools, chum, and bamboo vessels, keeping up a constant rattle; and perhaps buried amongst all, a rosy-cheeked and lipped baby, sucking a lump of cheese curd. The main body follows in due order, and you are soon entangled amidst sheep and goats, each with its two little bags of salt; beside these stalks the huge, grave, bull-headed mastiff, loaded like the rest, his glorious bushy tail thrown over his back in a majestic sweep, and a thick collar of scarlet wool round his neck and shoulders, setting off his long silky coat to the best advantage; he is decidedly the noblest looking of the party, especially if a fine and pure black one, for they are often very ragged, dun-coloured, sorry beasts. He seems rather out of place, neither guarding, nor keeping the party together, but he knows that neither yaks, sheep, nor goats require his attention; all are perfectly tame, so he takes his share of work as salt carrier by day, and watches by night as well (p.193)."

In 1774, George Bogle, who was sent to Tibet by Warren Hastings, the then Governor General of Bengal, described the Tibetan mastiff as “shagged like lion”. He reported that these dogs are kept chained during the day and free to roam at night. Bogle’s was the first mission by the British rulers of India to Tibet. The report of the second British mission to Tibet also described the Tibetan Mastiffs they saw, protecting yak herds.

The account by J.D. Hooker, mentioned previously, was the first comprehensive description by a Westerner of this giant dog.

Major W. Dougall, another early explorer of Tibet, bought a Tibetan Mastiff named Bhotean and took it with him to England in 1904. Major Dougall has noted that Bhotean took a rest during the day and was awake at night. He also observed the dog’s fondness towards puppies, cats, and children.

Tibetan Mastiff Mythology and Science

Ann Rohrer and Linda Larsen, two prominent historians of this dog breed, collaborated to write ‘The Tibetan Mastiff Book: A Short Comprehensive Study of the Tibetan Mastiff in the United States’.

They noted that the ancestors of this dog breed had accompanied Greek, Roman, and Assyrian armies and the troops of Attila and Genghis Khan. Tibetan folklore has a story that says that the first barley seed, the major food grain of this plateau, was brought to Tibet by a Tibetan Mastiff. During the New Year celebrations in Tibet, the tribes of Tibet feed their mastiffs with roasted barley to keep the memory and myth alive.

There are mythological tales about this dog breed saying that it evolved from lions and bears, but a recent study revealed that it got its high-altitude adaptation gene from a wolf-like canid, which was the common ancestor of the Tibetan Wolf and the Tibetan Mastiff. In high altitudes like 15000 feet, the body of a Tibetan Mastiff shows the ability to transport haemoglobin and hence does not suffer from the lack of oxygen.

The Chinese Breeding Disaster

In the 1990s, China came into the grip of a craze for Tibetan Mastiffs, resulting in hundreds of them being bought as pets. This dog breed was viewed as a symbol of economic status. In 2014, a Tibetan Mastiff was sold in China at the unimaginable price of USD 1.9 million. This red Tibetan Mastiff, named ‘Big Splash’, was bought by a multi-millionaire coal industrialist in China.

However, from that point onwards, interest in this dog breed began to wane. The reduction in sheep and goat herding traditions also contributed to this decline.

The breeding boom had caused great damage to these dogs, and to enhance the size of the dogs so that they fetched a higher price, the breeders even pumped the dogs with water, cheese fluid, steroids, and silicon, reported The Third Pole. Now there are hundreds of stray dogs roaming the streets of Qinghai Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Chinese government has been trying to address the problem by building dog shelters.

As the markets crashed, mastiffs started being sent to be killed for their fur and skin. Many Buddhist monasteries in Tibet and China have been hosting dog shelters to prevent the mass killings of these dogs.

Before Western interest and the Chinese craze for Tibetan Mastiff pets, it was forbidden for Tibetan tribespeople to sell a Tibetan Mastiff. For these tribes, the dog was considered a family member.

Reckless pet purchasers must reconsider. This is a unique and lovely dog breed. To keep a Tibetan Mastiff healthy and happy, they need exercise twice a day, a dry climate, nutritious food, and thoughtful attention. Buy them only if you are confident that you can do justice to the poignant responsibility that comes with it.

References

The Travels of Marco Polo, E-Bookarama Editions, Kindle.

The Complete Guide to Tibetan Mastiff, Zak Ming, https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Complete_Guide_to_Tibetan_Mastiff/ubLFAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Himalayan Journals, J.D. Hooker, 1854, Internet Archive.

Tibetan Mastiff, Juliette Cunliffe, 2007, Internet Archive.

The Tibetan Mastiff Book: A Short Comprehensive Study of the Tibetan Mastiff in the United States, Ann Rohrer and Linda Larsen, 1981.

Tibetan Mastiff: Canine Sentinels of the Range, Donald A. Messerschmidt, Rangelands 5(4), 1983.

Adaptive Changes in Hemoglobin Function in High-Altitude Tibetan Canids Were Derived via Gene Conversion and Introgression, Anthony V Signore, Ying-Zhong Yang, Quan-Yu Yang, Ga Qin, Hideaki Moriyama, Ri-Li Ge and Jay F Storz, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 36, Issue 10, October 2019, Pages 2227–2237, https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz097

Life on Plateau: How the Tibetan Mastiffs Become Stray Dogs, Zhao Ying, February 2019.

Tibetan Mastiffs: Abandoned and Dangerous, Wang Yan, February 2017, The Third Pole.