IvyWild Dairy
Breeder of ADGA & AGS registered
Nigerian Dwarf Goats

From MAKK in Bulgaria

The native Karakachan breeds ... are among the oldest of domestic animals in Europe, providing a genetic bridge between modern high-productive breeds with their ancestral, undomesticated ancestors. To its credit, the Karakachan dog has been both historically and traditionally the only effective and most suitable protection against flock predators.

The Karakachan Dog is one of Europe’s oldest dog breeds. A typical Mollos, created for guarding its owner’s flock and property, it does not hesitate to fight wolves or bears to defend its owner and his family in case of danger. Its ancestors started forming as early as the third millennium BC. The Karakachan Dog is a descendant of the dogs of the Thracians – the oldest inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula, renowned as stock-breeders, whom Herodotus describes as the most numerous people after the Indian one. The Proto-Bulgarians also played an essential part in the formation of the Karakachan Dog as they brought their dogs with them at the time of their migration from Pamir and Hindukush.

The dog is named after the Karakachanians-nomadic shepherds of Thracian origin. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they managed to preserve some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe – the Karakachan sheep, the Karakachan horse, and the Karakachan Dog. It is with this name that the Karakachan Dog appears in the works of some of the classics of Bulgarian literature, namely Yordan Yovkov, Georgi Raitchev and Yordan Radichkov. In 1938 H.B. Peters wrote about it in the German cinologycal magazine. The first researcher of the breed was Todor Gaytandjiev, who proposed the standardization of the breed in the 1940s.

Nowadays these dogs are found in the Bulgarian mountains - Rila, Pirin, Rhodopes, Stara Planina, where they are used as guard dogs to escort flocks of livestock in Bulgaria. Descendants of Karakachan dogs are also found in northern Greece and Macedonia, through which territories the Karakachans had passed.

Standardization of the Karakachan dog breed was proposed in the 1970s. (Author: Zooinzh. Venelin Dinchev)

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Goat and sheep owners across the United States agree that the most enthusiastic LGD success stories were from those who owned Karakachans. These Bulgarian dogs are rare in the U.S., having only been imported as LGDs in the past 10 years. Because of this, it can very difficult to find unrelated dogs in the U.S. and is why we have brought in dogs from opposite ends of the country to find diverse genetics and good hips.

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Since adding the Bulgarian Karakchan to our place we no longer have any problems with roaming dogs and coyotes during the night. We can hear the coyotes every night calling from the surrounding fields, but once Karakachan dogs bark in return, the calls of the coyotes nearly immediately fade away. It has been our experience that these dogs only bark when a threat is perceived and unlike so many livestock dogs we have never had a single issue without our Karakchans attempting to roam or pursue predators off the property. Otherwise, they are content to be silent and blend in with the herd and during the day they are happy to hang out with us around the farm. 

 

The Karakachan breed are typically either white with dark spots, or dark colored with white markings,gold with white or other combo while white being a standard marking of these dogs. Average height and weight for males: 26-30 inches (65-75 cm.) and 99-135 lbs. Females: Height, 25-28 inches (63-72 cm.); weight, 88-125 lbs. The head is broad and massive with a short, powerful neck. Coats can vary between long haired or short haired with a heavy undercoat. They shed their coats naturally in summer but in our experience it is a very easy maintenance as it does not tnangle like the pyranese breed. The Karakachan's gait is a springy trot, similar to the gait of a wolf.

 

It’s been our experience that these dogs bond tightly with the animals or humans they are guarding. They’re not known to roam, but do establish a defined territory and won’t leave their fields willingly. When they perceive a threat to its charges, it will chase away the predator but doesn’t abandon the animals in its care. They will also move the flocks away from whatever is perceived as a threat.

When the dogs are with their livestock, they focus on protecting and caring for the animals. Our daughter often helps us with the goats and horses, but the dogs are always friendly and very tolerant. Our small herd hands are able to help rotate the livestock to various pastures, trim hooves, and assist in rounding up the stock for the yearly process of checking our animals for CAE, CL, and Johnes disease (which we’re pleased to say we haven’t had a case of to date). If a stranger is near any of our property within sight of the dogs, they bark loudly to alert us, and then move their animals to a different part of the pasture, if they deem it necessary. This makes us feel safer having our daughter and her friends play outside knowing that between the dobermans and Karakachans that the children are safe from human and outside animal threats such as coyote, cougars, stray dogs and bear.

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The Karakachan dog was [also] used in Bulgaria as a border army watchdog. The breed was almost extinguished, and was only preserved through the fierce protection and dedication of the Bulgarian shepherds in the mountain regions. And now the dedicated breeders in the US attempting to preserve and protect this amazing breed. Nowadays it is used primarily as a livestock guardian dog and property guard dog but there are efforts to increase popularity and understanding of the breeds qualities and what they truly have to offer.

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  These ancient, powerful livestock guardian dogs excel at doing what they were bred for -- protecting their flock and their people. Karakachans are named after the early settlers of the Balkans, who were nomadic Thracian shepherds. They are one of the oldest European breeds.

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Fun Fact
The Karakachan is often conflated with the Bulgarian Shepherd Dog. However, these are two different breeds, with Karakachan dogs being used in the foundation stock of the latter.

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The Karakachan is a large livestock guardian dog from Bulgaria which is often utilized for its original purpose. These dogs are so ancient that it's difficult to trace their exact origin. However, the breed is named after the Karakachan people, who were Thracian nomadic shepherd originally inhabiting the Balkans. With them came their Karakachan sheep -- considered one of the oldest sheep breeds -- and the dogs who guarded these flocks against predators: Karakachan dogs. Because these dogs have always been bred to perform a function, and perform it very well, they don't always have a consistent look. Like several other working livestock guardian dogs, the Karakachan can be considered a landrace breed.

As you might imagine, Karakachan dogs are not easy pets; they're first and foremost working animals who need a job. These are serious livestock guardians who will fiercely protect their flock -- including their human flock -- from any perceived threats. It is crucial that Karakachans, like other livestock guardians, are extensively socialized as puppies. These dogs are typically polite with other animals if exposed to them from a young age, and are incredibly loyal to their human families.

These are difficult dogs to find in the United States, as the first dogs were imported in 2004. You're more likely to run into them in their native Bulgaria!(info shared from the Embark website click here for more info)