13 Replies to “GRYM Esquire, Masha and Luytiy’s son, is famous, and a hero!”

  1. Yes all that is very noble and very nice of its owner and I honestly mean that, but this breed is so rare and I wish the owner would keep this stunning dog for what they were originally bred: livestock guarding or property guarding.
    I would hate to see the Caucasian Ovcharka’s being turned into some kind of a therapy dog with the temperament more similar to a Newfoundlander.

    As I said, as noble as this is, I still think it’s better to preserve this rare breed and allow it to be a flock guardian dog and not a therapy dog/ blood donor dog.

    But that’s just my opinion of course.

  2. Jean,

    You’re making a bit of an assumption. Grym is kept as a property guard. His stats meet what was needed at the blood bank, and so Grym’s owner volunteered him. It’s a bit of a logical leap to go from blood donation to “therapy dog”, there’s a huge gap there.

    Based on the logic in your comment above, you believe a CO is well equipped to guard property and livestock but not to give blood to the local canine blood bank? A CO cannot be a guardian and a blood donor, is that your belief? Why not?

    How does donating blood every now and then take away from Grym’s ability to guard his property (which he does very well, I might add)?

    Do you own a Caucasian Ovcharka?

  3. Jean, there’s quite a few things that drive me nuts about CO enthusiasts, and this is one of them. If people aren’t presented with videos of a feral CO frothing to kill a baby in a stroller 100 yards away, or killing a wolf, then they assert the dog does not have true CO temperament. Being well behaved in public and being able to guard property are not two mutually exclusive behaviors. Are you saying you think a CO should be human aggressive at all times even when not guarding and in benign situations? Are you saying it’s better for the breed to NOT have good discrimination of actual threats vs non threats? Do you actually believe that a person would buy a dog like this so it could spend the sum of it’s existence donating blood for only 10 minutes? 

    If so, you are delusional, and I honestly mean that.

  4. Yes I actually do own a Caucasian Ovcharka. And they were bred to be aloof around strangers when outside their own property.
    I’m from Russia, where this breed has been formed into what it is today: the best guardian breed that can be found.
    I’ve been around Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka’s as long as I can remember.
    In Russia an adult Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka that allows strangers to pet him or her is considered to not have the right temperament.

    Why don’t you just call it as it is? Some Americans don’t like the difficult temperament of the Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka and are trying to soften them.

    Actually I’ve talked to a few owners who have turned their Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka in a therapy dogs and I think that’s a wrong thing to do as there are breeds out there who are far better suited for that role.
    Not to mention that Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka is a rare breed that should be perserved.

    And as for you Lindsay, you are the one who is delusional and quite rude actually.
    I guess you can’t handle people having an opinion that’s very different from yours so you result to belittling.

    1. Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka is a rare breed that should be perserved

      While I understand that the Ovtcharka is a rare-breed, the fact that it is a rare-breed predisposes it to being subjected to risk of being too highly inbred, especially in the hands of people who wish to maintain the breed in a closed registry.

      To avoid this, one must understand population genetics; and when one acquires knowledge of variation within population, then a breeder can make wise decisions on breeding his dogs. If Grym is deemed to be too soft, he can be bred to a female who has a harsher temperament.

      Since people knows who bred Grym, and I certainly I know who, he can be trusted to maintain the original type and temperament of the breed; especially since he is extremely knowledgeable about the variations in their homeland. Besides, he has a big market here in North America: ranchers are keen on owning aggressive livestock guardians, so the concerns they will end up being softened for pet-owners is minimal. Initially I was wary of Grym`s breeder when first contact was made, but when he showed keen interest in reading about conservation biology as practiced by wildlife biologists, he gained my trust that he is a good guy.

      If Grym was bred by a show breeder, then the criticism is just. Those people want dogs that are easy to live with while drumming about “preserving the breed.”

  5. I OWN this dog, his parents are serious guardians, and he is used primarily for property protection and is my flock guardian and coyote control. Quit trying to steal other peoples’ joy. Don’t call me rude when you post your unsolicited 2 cents opinion on a dog you have seen maybe 60 seconds of material on but never met in person. Socializing a dog with research based practice is never a bad thing. Maybe people in Russia should do more of that now that the Cold War is over.

  6. You own this dog, I already know that and so what?
    Imagine if Russians took an American breed and tried to change its character and then if an American guy would find a blog by some Russians and tell them that the breed is very differently bred in America.
    Simply giving them his opinion, cause after all if the creator of this blog didn’t want people to be able to leave comment, he’d disable that function.

    And then imagine Russians attacking that American person just for giving his opinion that comes from long time experience with his beloved breed and currently owning 2.

    You seem like a very angry and very closed minded person.
    Very rude too; trying to belittle me in every way just because I don’t agree with you.
    It’s silly and very immature.
    Besides, this is not your blog and I found this blog because I was looking for the video’s of the dogs from the Esquire kennel.

    I’ll stand by what I said: in the country where this breed was formed, it is not desired for Kavkazskaya Ovtcharka to be friendly with strangers whether outside or on it’s property, but not overly aggressive either.

    If you don’t like how these dogs are bred in Russia, buy yourself an American breed and do not ruin ours.

    I’m out and I will not bother reading further comments on here, obviously it’s impossible to have a civilized conversation with you.

    1. Imagine if Russians took an American breed and tried to change its character and then if an American guy would find a blog by some Russians and tell them that the breed is very differently bred in America.

      If you don’t like how these dogs are bred in Russia, buy yourself an American breed and do not ruin ours.

      Actually, Russian hunters are importing our North American breeds, especially our hunting dogs, and they are tweaking them to their own flavour. No one here is shedding any tears over it because most people, especially in the ranching and hunting communities, understands that no dog is perfect for every situation. Living in Russia requires slight changes in the temperament and performance of the dogs, and people who breed dogs for work or performance are okay with that.

      If it appears I am attacking you, I apologize; however I would like to correct the misunderstanding in the above two quotes.

  7. How can you possibly make any guess on this particular dogs’ temperament and guarding ability based on a small amount of film? He knows these people well and they are not strangers. Go make your ridiculous assumptions somewhere else.

  8. Jean – Thank you for your comments. I’m sorry that blog post offended you.

    However, I didn’t see Grym as being friendly in the video. He certainly was not aggressive, but he wasn’t overtly friendly with the people either. He entered the scene, got on the table, gave blood, jumped down, gave a shake, and then left. I didn’t see any overly friendly behavior there. Under the circumstances (at the vet), it wouldn’t be very acceptable for him to be acting aggressive as then he wouldn’t be able to get medical treatment easily.

    My wife and I work hard to preserve Japanese breeds, and work very close with the preservation society in Japan on this. So, I certainly understand the interest and passion in not changing a breed to fit a different culture. On the other hand, it’s near impossible to do that. As soon a a breed is removed from their natural setting and their country of origin the breed is changed. I think it’s up to the breeder to do their best to produce dogs of that breed who fit their interpretation of the standard.

    In my humble opinion, I would rather see Grym protecting his home and property, and occasionally giving blood, then to be sitting on a couch with no work to do at all. No, it’s not the same as him running off wolves in the Caucasus Mountains, but it is work – and it is the work he was created for (guarding).

    I think that you would probably have a different opinion of Grym if you met him at his home, where you would be a stranger, and he would not be pleased by your presence. So, let’s keep it all in context as this is just one tiny clip of Grym – it is not as tho he is giving blood every day like this.

    Also, Grym’s parents are working dogs. They works hard here on our ranch. The very reason why we got our CO was for their supreme guarding ability – and their aggression toward human and animal threats. No need to remind us of what their temperament is as that temperament is why we own them.

    We live in a very remote area, where we have some wealthier eccentric neighbors. Right now there is an organized group of robbers who are robbing the houses on our road pretty frequently… But they don’t come to our side road. They don’t even go to our next-door neighbors… Why? Because of our CO.

    Our CO guard our entire side road, and keep us safe. They are working dogs, being used for what they were meant to be used for (guarding). We are very pleased with them and their temperament.

    ~Brad

  9. I don’t see anything that would indicate Grym being a therapy dog.. He didn’t act overly friendly either I mean he’s not jumping up on the people and licking them or anything..

    Anyways Congratulations on it! Glad Grym is able to help some dogs.

  10. As Lindsay already pointed out, why is the Vet & staff assumed to be strangers? Most responsible pet owners have an ongoing relationship with the staff. Especially with a breed known to be aloof and aggressive with strangers, I would put extra time into socializing them with their health providers.

    Anyways, congrats to Grym! They must have fun finding a vein under all the poof and fluff. 😛

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