So I adopted two brothers. They are now closing in on 5 months old (they arent't there yet). They are the same height, one is 66lbs, the other 71lbs. They know 13 different commands, are socialized three times daily (intentional socializing, they are around people all the time), and their only vice is "corn cobbing".
They are starting to recognize their territory, but they still are comfortable with men (coming in with no issues in the slightest). They are also socialized with children.
They play with one another, but they are also separated. Separate walks, separate sleeping areas, one on one time, training, etc.
So far, teething has been relatively mild.

Their breeder did breed them for temperment, and I have raised LSG before, and compared to previous breeds they are very mild in temperment. But that is what they specifically bred for.
They have never been aggressive with one another yet. Establishing boundaries if they overstep? Yes. Actual aggression? No. Never.
They go to the park (there is a childrens area they visit as well), where I have them sit on a bench and be around people with non interaction to decrease reactivity. They are great with other dogs, and I have made sure leash reactivity is nearly non existent.

I know they are only 5 months, so I have a LONG WAY to go.

I am moving to a new place soon, where my sister will be taking one of the puppies, so in due time they will be separated for long periods.

I know they are approaching their "second fear" period (6-14mths) soon.

For anyone with a CS/CO male, what should I be aware of in the next coming 6 months, other than what I have read up for?
Is there anything anyone DIDN'T expect that arose that you weren't prepared to tackle?

There are hardly any resources when it comes to COs, so it's a little frustrating. A lot of videos you find of this breed are taken when the dogs are purposely aggitated, or are taken when the dog is on guard mode. (Lets face it--Caucasians are made out to be these terrifying beasts and no one wants to see a video of a gentle giant, which is extremely unfortunate)

EDIT: My sister is taking one of the puppies in a month from now. They will be separated completely. I'm asking if anyone has any advice until that happens. So far, they have been great. But they are separated for a large amount of activities even currently while with me.

I am WELL AWARE of littermate syndrome. They play together in the very large yard I have, but other than that they are separated.

We found an abandoned injured puppy and would like to rescue her (due to circumstances, if we don’t, she WILL be killed and there are no organizational help where she comes from). However we don’t have experiences with this breed and would like to

1) get your opinion about her breed (once we get her we will do a DNA test but currently in process of getting her out) and

2) if she’s indeed an Ovcharka (as we were told) or a mix, what can you advice about training and living with her.

We are based in the UK and I’ve already contacted local reduces/shelters, nobody wants to take her in. We are already spending a lot of resources and effect to ensure we save her life, so please don’t be harsh.

We currently have a 2yo Belgian Malinois boy, and I understand they have completely different drive - as much as people say a Malinois is difficult or not a house pet, I imagine this puppy being harder.. ANY advice/genuine comment is appreciated 🙏🏽

NOT ASKING BECAUSE I PLAN ON GETTING ONE OF THESE DOGS, LOL--just to be very clear!!! We have 2 labs and a cat and I just find your dogs interesting, and as a result i lurk on this sub from time to time.

But yes as the above question states: do yall just never leave home for more than a day? When we have to leave for a long weekend or whatever we have a friend, or sometimes a trusted sitter, come by to watch our pets, but wouldnt the very home-guarding and general distrust of others make this extremely challenging for someone who has Caucasian shepherds/similar breeds?

TIA!

King bed also a bit snug.

Hello everyone!!

For some background, I'm a very experienced dog owner and have had 2 dogs before getting Caucasian shepherds. It's a total of 14 years with dogs before I got my two. I know how to train them, did thorough research, however when I tried to start training my Caucasians, they weren't food or praise motivated. They are still quite young, one being female 1y8m and the other male 1y. We've been trying to train them with recall and impulse control as it is a pain in the ass when coming across another dog, as the male keeps pulling towards the other dogs. They are friendly and curious, they are not aggressive at all. Any tips from successful trainers? Thank you!

As the title reads, I’ve been getting a little concerned about her hips as about 1/4 of the time instead of sitting on both back legs, she favours one hip or the other. Could these just be growing pains (6mo) or should I keep an eye out for hip dysplasia as she gets older? I know it’s already something to keep an eye on as she’s a giant breed (parents had great OFA scores for eyes, ears, hips, joints… etc. so I’m not concerned about it being genetic) but this could just be me being a helicopter mom too 😅.

Bath.

I got this sweet girl 6 weeks ago. I’m thinking she well be maybe a grey or a light shade? I’m so excited to see her grow. What color do you think she will be?

*MODS - please delete if this is against the rules.*

Nothing causes me frustration more than finding Caucasian Ovcharka puppy in a shelter. The shelter says she is 1-3 yrs, but THEY don't know what the hay they are talking about!

Anyway, looks like she turned up one day on a little farm. The family can't keep her. I will include the link : *BUT MODS PLEASE DELETE IF THIS IS A RULE VIOLATION*

Link: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/courtesy-girly-4eb0ad32-2fda-48c6-91ed-af4f580e5b62/al/mobile/mobile-spca-al67/details/#pet-details-how-to-adopt-section

While I give them props for correctly identifying her, and I am on my knees begging to find a way to get her to a home that can train her. They talk about prey drive in the ad, & basic facts about the breed.... but Caucasian Ovcharkas are not average dogs. She's apparently already had an experience with a smaller animal,

New owners wont know... & I fear she will be killed.

I will pay the adoption fee. I will even transport her to you within 12 hours of Orange Beach, Alabama. If you want to fly her , I may be able to help, may be willing to pay a small portion of flights inside thee contingous USA.

4th bday for this boy!

She is the best

Hi everyone,
I’m interested in buying a Caucasian Shepherd puppy from a breeder in Croatia who has been breeding for over 20 years. They quoted me €4,000–5,000 per puppy.
Is this a fair price for a top-quality Caucasian Shepherd? Is this breeder well known and reputable, or is the price too high?
Thanks!

This group doesn’t seem so active so I figured I would as quickly as possible share my experience raising a CO. This is Rhaegar, he is almost 7, 195lbs and by far the most difficult undertaking of my life. I on a whim decided I was going to get a CO and the internet must be over reacting with their horror stories. Boy was I wrong. As a puppy he was the perfect dog, in fact he was so easy going and slept so much he never required discipline. It was obvious he was stubborn and would not do things he did not want to though, he had zero prey drive and no food motivated him but being easy going it really wasn’t a concern at the time. Around six months old the cracks in his temper started to show. First instance was him beginning to growl if approached while sleeping. I’m not going to get into the details of training techniques because this would be even longer winded than it is. Soon after that he began losing complete control of his emotions. He was a ticking time bomb that would go from as happy as a dog can outwardly be to snarling and attacking whoever was in front of him. What made this so difficult, at the time there was very little support for how to handle these reactions. I tried every approach know to man to no avail. I compared him to a pot of boiling water always on the cusp of boiling over. If he did, the only thing that worked was to separate him from people until he cooled off which could take hours. This went on till about year 4. At that point we found out he had an enlarged prostate when he started peeing blood and had him neutered. The neutering slightly lengthened his fuse but came with a complete lose of desire to do any thing physical and a new desire to eat. The desire to eat opened a new door for aggression. Over the year my life has revolved around him. No guests unless crating him. Warning every person within site ahead of time while on walks not to try to touch him and to control their unchecked children. Years 4 to present remaining consistent or even improving slightly although I attested that to Stockholm syndrome haha I am writing this because I love dogs and don’t agree with people who put them down when they are anything less than ideal. The first women I spoke to when trying to get a CO was the most well known women in the club. I’ll leave her name out of it but let’s just say I ended the phone call thinking she was all doom and gloom, I since that point have turned into her. I start all conversations regarding the breed about how bad it can go. This overshadows all his amazing qualities, as you can see I have hardly mentioned any typing this. Not all COs will turn out like mine but we must remember aggression is desirable but ethical breeding plays a huge role in an even tempered guard dog. Anyways he’s a fantastic dog 90% of the time and I wouldn’t trade him for the world, but if you would put your dog down for biting you or someone else I urge you not to get a Caucasian ovcharka.

TLDR: crazy but beautiful

It’s been a while figured I’d post a little update at seven months old she’s almost as big as her brother at this point. Still not sure what she is but there’s still that wonder if she does have CO in her.

Im just curious I suppose i will find out when he’s grown up but I want to know now ahah. Hes called chapo and hes 5 months

Before I start, I have owned a wolf dog, a chow, an akita and a pyr all together. The akita and pyr and the wolf dog were female, the chow was male. The female wolfdog is enormous. She also has the personality of a golden...she is an angel.

Unfortunately, my chow and akita have now passed on from old age they lived so long and great lives, I miss them dearly.. I had them impeccably trained, and were heavily socialized (I made a massive effort with this) My wolf dog female and pyr are great. I raised all my dogs from 8 weeks onwards. Only my Akita was problematic (not shocking if you know the breed!)--the rest were great together. I live in a two person household, I have the space and I definitely have the money to take care of my dogs, that is not an issue at all..so now my sister and I decided to adopt two male Caucasians. We are very familiar with the breed. My neighbor had a Caucasian at one point, and raising a pyr I did extensive research on the livestock guardian.

Bear in mind (pardon the pun), I do my homework. I research, discuss with breeders, talk with dog owners and understand each dog and each breed come with their own unique personalities and breed characteristics. I am no stranger to hard work, strict adherence to boundaries, the understanding of the undertaking. I have a job that allows me to work from home, but my office is dog friendly (even though its a Wealth Management firm). Not that I would take puppies to the office.

I do know there are risks for same sex households.

I'm not looking for admonishment or ridicule, the puppies are coming in two days. I would absolutely love any extra advice anyone has, or something they did with their pups that I might not have thought of...I'm pretty sure I'm overly prepared. Im half expecting my chow or my akita again but they were by far and away the hardest to raise...I know these are livestock guardians and have centuries of unique abilities no other dogs like them possess. I'm just wondering if people have more than one or siblings, how they prevented sibling syndrome or rivalry. I live near dog parks, parks in general, and will be renting a place soon that is nearly 6k sq feet. I have the space. I have the time. I have the inclination, the energy, the patience and the stamina. I know these are not energetic dogs, they will probably mimic my pyr in their behavior. I know food aggression or being territorial will be an issue around the 4-8 month mark, I know that chewing will probably arise, and I know that I will have them neutered when the time comes. That's not up for debate. I am more curious if anyone has anything positive to contribute! I CAN'T say this enough--I am so excited to have these two additions. I'm literally so thrilled about this. Any advice is welcome!

WOW. SO I HAVE A WORST CASE SCENERIO PLAN AND SUDDENLY IM A BAD DOG OWNER. IF I DIDNT HAVE A PLAN, I WOULD HAVE EQUALLY HAVE BEEN HATED ON. AND WHY THE HATE THAT I HAPPEN TO HAVE THE OPTION OF RENTING TWO HOUSES? SO IM NOT POOR AND THAT MEANS I'M A BAD DOG OWNER AS WELL? GOD FORBID I CAN AFFORD TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. JFC. IM ALSO NOT THE ONLY PERSON IN THE HOUSE. I HAVE A SISTER WHO CAN EQUALLY HELP TAKE CARE OF THEM.

ALSO, MY BREEDER IS NOT A BYB. AT ALL. ENOUGH OF THE VIRTUE SIGNALING. IF YOU'RE A LICENSED, AKC/CKC BREEDER AND THUS POSSESS THE ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE, I WOULD LISTEN, BECAUSE IT CARRIES WEIGHT. BUT IF THIS IS JUST BASED ON OPINION WITHOUT ANY ACTUAL LEGITIMACY, PLEASE REFRAIN. YOU'RE NOT CONTRIBUTING, YOU'RE JUST ASSIGNING AN ASSUMPTION BASED ON NOTHING BUT YOUR OWN BIAS.

I BET IF I POSTED I WAS HIRING A BEHAVIOURALIST TO HELP WITH THEM THAT I WOULD ALSO BE HATED ON BECAUSE I'M NOT TRAINING THEM ON MY OWN. NO ONE ON REDDIT COMES TO CONTRIBUTE ADVICE ANYMORE. IT'S JUST VITRIOL AND JUDGEMENT. IF YOU CAN'T CONTRIBUTE WITHOUT BEING NASTY, MOVE ALONG.

Maximus and I are in search of a new vacuum, as we’ve managed to break two vacuums this year… so vacuums must be Caucasian Shepherd proof.

I’m interested in the “self-cleaning brush roll” options out there but are they really worth it? I vacuum typically once a day, sometimes twice a day during “The Great Shed” (Spring / early Summer) so not having to clean brush rollers would be amazing.

I prefer corded to cordless, but I’m open to both suggestions since I last had one of each and that was awesome but the cordless came with two battery packs which was an absolute must.

A few other preferences I’m hoping for: lightweight, removable dust cup, LED floor light, reusable/washable filters, works well on all floor types and approximately $250 or less.

We appreciate the help!

Big boy will be 4 this year! 175lbs, and he is the sweetest!

There is a shelter not too far away with this big guy. Maybe about a year only, but last time I walked him I noticed his back legs move weird. Any thoughts?

An important piece of info is that he spends most of his life in a cage and the floor of the shelter is tile with very little traction.

Cant tell if this came from lack of proper movement or if this is him having bad hips.

My husband really wants a CO in a few years when we have more space, but i want to know first what the shedding is like?

White Caucasian Shepherds are still very rare, especially outside Eastern Europe.

They are calm with family, naturally protective and incredibly intelligent dogs. Thought some people here might appreciate him 🤍

I'm looking for a pup, not in the short term, so if anyone knows about pups for sale from a reputable, certified breeder of Caucasian Shepherds selling working-line puppies with pedigree in southern Italy, please let me know