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Yeti the wonder-dog

From time to time I have mentioned the “canine horse” or the “dog-beast”, also known as our dog, Yeti. He is a Tibetan Mastiff, which is considered an “ancient breed,” so old that the females go into heat only once a year…at the beginning of winter. The puppies are born in winter and weaned as spring arrives. So here is “the legendary guardian of the Himalayas”:

Clearly, the boys wanted him to be warm (with all that fur he needs help?)!

Tibetans were traditonally the guard dogs in villages and rural areas of the Himalayas. They were kept chained during the day, then turned loose at night to watch the flocks and homes. Hence, they are large couch potatoes who, upon whim, get up and bark, then go back to sleep. Before we moved to Maine, we lived on San Juan Island (Washington), where there are lots of bald eagles. Our neighbor told us one day Yeti had been asleep in the driveway for so long an eagle dive-bombed him to see if he was road-kill. Apparently he did twitch enough to be left alone LOL!

Here in Maine Yeti (named, of course, for the legendary Bigfoot of the Himalayas) LOVES the snow…loves romping in it, and eating it. Every night in his before-bed “constitutional” he has to snarf a bite or three of snow.

These are large dogs… yes, he really is as long as the sideboard is wide. A bit larger than a Saint Bernard. He drops his chin to rest it on the dining room table–a whole new experience in guarding your dinner plate. Ahem. He also has a long tongue. Sigh.

Here’s a (horrible) picture of me with the boys at Christmas which will give you an idea of his size. At our old house, if he stood with his front paws on the deck railing, I looked him in the eye. I’m 5’6″.

Legend has it that Alexander the Great (famous conqueror guy) brought them with him when he returned from Himalayas, and that these dogs were the foundation stock of all the large breeds in Europe: Saint Bernards, Bernese Mountain dogs, Great Pyrenees, and Newfoundlands. You can easily see a “family resemblance” in the general shape of the body, head, and size, though some traits have been selectively bred (like larger head and longer coat in the Newfs). This is a Link to the Tibetan Mastiff Association, or you can google Tibetan Mastiff Images and get lots of pictures. The colors vary from black to red to gold. Yeti is considered a “cream sable.” The breeder calls them “independent minded.” We, however, have decided he is beautiful, sweet, and dumb as a dirtclod. Loveable, but DUMB.

Here’s some dog breed info. And that’s probably waaaaaayyyyy more than you ever wanted to know about my dog. And because I couldn’t resist, here is one more photo of the wonderbeast, looking his usual “intelligent” (AHEM) self… like I’ve said, sweet, beautiful, dumb:

2 Responses to “Yeti the wonder-dog”

  1. Deb R Says:

    Aaawwww….he looks so darn huggable!!

  2. Karoda Says:

    Sounds like my type of dog…sleeps all day and then romps a little at night…but! what does it cost to feed him???!!!!