Moscow Watchdog

		Moscow Watchdog
		He is not recognized by the F.C.I.


Origin			Russia / Hungary
Translation			Francis Vandersteen
This breed is also known as			Moskovskaya Storozhevaya Sobaka

The Moscow Watchdog was created by crossing the Caucasian Ovtcharka with the St. Bernard Dog between the 50s and 60s, in the region of the former USSR (now Russia). The plan was to moderate an overly aggressive, independent character in the Caucasian Ovtcharka, so the new breed could work with different people at the same time.

After a while, the Moscow Watchdog began to be used as a guard dog for many objects such as factories, industrial plants and prisons. Today, Moscow Watchdogs are used by Russian police forces (Milicja) in places where it would be too cold for other ordinary police dogs.

The Russian Orthodox Church has exclusive rights to work on the Moscow Watchdog Kennel standard. In fact, the breed is not always accepted and is not registered by any dog club in the world, however the breed standard does exist.

The Mastiff is 64 to 72 cm long and weighs 45 to 72 kg. Their coat is medium-length and deep, with light feathering on the head. Its color is red and white with a black mask. Its head is massive and powerful. They are protective and keep their distance from strangers.

The Moscow Sentry is a Russian breed, the result of selection work carried out by the Soviet army.

The aim was to create a breed that has a large body, but at the same time can move quickly, has a good nervous system and smell, actively protects itself, has a robust constitution, can be trained easily, and is used to guard military bases and people. For this purpose, they crossed the magnificent St Bernard with the very strong, undemanding and insurmountable Caucasian Shepard dog. To improve the scent of their offspring, they crossed them with the Russian spotted dog. (I should note here that no one should think they'll have guard dogs in Moscow if they cross a St Bernard and a Caucasian, which they won't, these dogs are "half-breeds").

For the Moscow Sentry to be developed as a new breed with conscious, selective work, decades had to pass, and conscientious, diligent, talented and expert cynologists were needed. We can see that they did an excellent job.

In Hungary, the race was adopted by János Füzessy. The first puppy was born in 1989.
Take a look :
He has a big body, relatively tall and strong, at the same time he can move easily, elegantly.
The head is massive, with a broad skull. His teeth are large and white. The bite is chewy.
The mouth is fleshy, stiff or slightly hanging. Eyes are not large, but black or brown.
Legs are short, broad and arched.
Chest is broad and deep-set.
The back is broad, straight and muscular.
The tail is heavy, reaching to the hock, hooked.
The coat is long, but there are variations with shorter fur.
Color is reddish-brown with white markings, spotted with red, black or turning gray.
The head has a dark, symmetrical mask, dark ears and a white collar that may be wider or narrower.
The chest is white, and a certain percentage of the legs and tail are also white. Withers height : 68-75 cm for males, 66-70 cm for females. Larger sizes are also permitted.

Expected lifespan : 9-12 years. But how many years we can spend in love and understanding with our beloved dog is up to us, dear owners. It's important for the dog to move around sufficiently for its age, to eat well and enough. It's forbidden to give too much food or to make her run for a long time next to a bicycle at a young age. But swimming is good for the muscles. The Moscow guard dog loves water. It can be used to living with other types of dogs or other animals.

The dog adapts to all kinds of weather and circumstances. If necessary, it's a tough watchdog that protects its master at all costs; it smells people approaching with evil intent. No one can fool them. They're not aggressive, they don't take the initiative, they signal by barking, but they don't bark in vain; you can sleep calmly next to them. If there's a need, they'll sort things out. They know no obstacles. Nor do they know fear. Insubmissive. At the same time, they are affectionate, elegant with children and the elderly. Very hardy against disease. There are no diseases particularly characteristic of this breed. They need to be trained regularly.

Our Moscow guard dog should know that the master leads the pack, not him.

Ethologist Vilmos Csányi wrote in one of his articles : "Only those who like to talk with them, who talk to them, pay attention to them, and solve the tasks entrusted to them with them. control social understanding, but love is just as important for all breeds, a relationship that controls them the most : they should be loved a lot, but we shouldn't allow them to be disrespectful".

As these dogs have large bodies, we need to be aware that they grow fast. We need to provide them with the right food, meat (dogs are meat eaters), calcium for tooth development (it's certainly not at the age of nine months that we need to check teeth first). Alongside bones, leaders also grow very fast. We therefore recommend giving them New Zealand green shells gradually as they develop. Diet must be controlled - too much of anything is always harmful. The Moscow guard dog has a relatively small stomach compared to its large body, so even adult dogs need to be fed twice. This way, we can avoid stomach torsion.

We breed guard dogs in Moscow at the Bozsok Fighter Kennel. We have cherished this race, and spared no time and effort, not to mention money, to get this breed a famous position in Hungary. We've already realized that we're in contact with Polish and Russian clubs. The relationship has begun to evolve and puppies have already been taken to Russia. We think something good is happening. It would be a big mistake to spoil this race and not breed it on purpose. So I'd like to ask you to stick together, because we're only a small number. We've already realized that, during shows, those with Moscow greet each other, talk to each other and share the same experience. We can discuss mistakes without being hurt. Many of us think, something is starting to evolve, and no one should be deprived of being part of it, who wants to reproduce this race honestly. In the early years, many good dogs arrived in the country, but failing to understand each other and be hurt by criticism, they grew old and died untroubled, to the disadvantage of the whole herd.

Nowadays, we present our dogs as a breeding group for each other's pleasure and the applause we receive in return. Many of those who have a Moscow would like to achieve and work towards FCI acceptance and recognition of our breeding. We have a long way to go until we achieve this goal. We need honest, loyal, trustworthy, honest and hard-working people who really love Moscow guard dogs.

Siófok, 26th October, 2004
Kasza Józsefné Marika
Golden Wreath Master Breeder
President of the Moscow guard-dog friends' club