Living with a Tibetan Mastiff

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Another dog that has made it on the most expensive dog list is the Tibetan Mastiff. This is a massive breed of dog that can cost as much as $7000. You can find them for $2500 to $3000. Their lifespan is 10 - 14 years. They can weigh up to 160 pounds. The origins of the Tibetan Mastiff go back to 1100 B.C. when the remains of massive dogs were discovered in China. It might even be possible that Tibetan Mastiffs might have accompanied Genghis Khan and Atilla the Hun. Nomadic people kept these dogs in the high mountains and they were mostly used as guard dogs for local villages and monasteries. The dogs would roam the villages at night but were chained up during the days. The Tibetan Mastiff found its way outside of its native home in 1847 when the Viceroy of India gave this large dog as a gift to Queen Victoria. In 1874 the Prince of Wales imported two of these dogs and displayed them in a dog show. After the invasion of Tibet by China in the 1950s, only a few of these dogs remained. In the 1970s the breed was replenished from India and Nepal and brought to develop breeding programs in the U.S. In 2005 the American Kennel Association placed the Tibetan Mastiff into its Miscellaneous Class. Do you know anyone who has such a dog?