This is what the Chinese have done to the Tibetan mastiff:
China’s nouveau riche are buying Tibetan mastiffs as status symbols. Currently, there are breeders selling them there for as much a $2 million. They want the dogs as bear-like as possible and as big a possible. The rumor is that these dogs are part lion, and as we’ve seen with the English mastiff (“What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog”), the breeding goal is to create a leonine form of canine flesh.
(And it must have worked. One Chinese zoo put a Tibetan mastiff on display as an African lion.)
Of course, when I saw this photo, I thought, “Yeti!”
It is important to note that this drive toward breeding exaggeration from novelty is not solely a Western feature. It exists in other cultures. It just requires some disposable income and an animal that has some symbolism to be projected onto it.
That’s dog is pretty scary. I should think that all of that era skin would get in the way of it’s original purpose. So sad.
Oh dear! “That dog”!
Wow, incredible! *wags* – Gilligan from WagsAhoy.com
The photo, though vibrant, is exhausting to look at. Potentially, a lovely dog with a distinct purpose, if only to live on laps. What ever it is, I wouldn’t like the extremes of any breed to be displayed. It’s heartbreaking.
I read an article some time back where an Asian zoo (might have been China) had those dogs in an enclosure labeled as lions. Apparently a lot of people there fell for it too. I will see if I can find the article.
Oh never mind, I just saw it in your parenthesis. lol What is so sad is that people actually did fall for it. What the heck are they teaching in schools over there? For all the hype about their higher educational standards, you’d think people would know the difference between a hairy dog and a large predatory cat.
The dog is majestic and a giant in its original form. I don’t think it needed any change.
What a long, sad story. 1950: China invades Tibet… 1959: Tibet’s leader flees and becomes a government-in-exile in India. 2015 (and now it gets serious): the Chinese make a caricature out of the Tibetan Mastiff.
I gather that you dislike designing dogs to extremes as much as I do. If you want a lion, get a lion, but don’t make dogs into one. What health problems dp these dogs have? I still shudder whenever I see a pug or a bulldog with its nose pushed in so that they’re condemned to spend their lives gasping for breath.Dogs are wonderful to us. Too bad we’re so unkind to them. My book, “Humans, Dogs, and Civiliation” by Elaine Chaika should be an eBook on all platforms by mid-February. It shows how dogs helped create civilization, and Kirkus Reviews called it …a must read…Another comment was “an enthralling blend of science and anecdote.”