Regarding the birth of the Tibetan Mastiff, there are many types of theories circulating on the Internet. However, what few people know is that the early Qinghai-Tibet Plateau did not even have dogs, let alone Tibetan mastiffs.

Among all the dog breeds in China, the Tibetan Mastiff is the best known, a breed originating from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, sought after by many Chinese people in the 1990s and 1990s. early 21st century.

At that time, the price of Tibetan Mastiffs was extremely high, even selling for as high as one million dollars. In fact, in the early days, Tibetan mastiffs were only popular among small groups such as herders.

By the 1980s, because of its unique appearance and fierce personality, it became popular abroad and was sought after by a large number of foreigners. In the 1990s, the Tibetan mastiff breeding movement returned to China and created a wave called “Tibetan mastiff fever”.

At its peak, many people were very proud to own a Tibetan Mastiff, but the results afterward were completely predictable. After 2013, the Tibetan mastiff breeding movement gradually ended, causing people’s evaluation of the Tibetan mastiff to drop sharply compared to the initial praise.

In fact, Tibetan Mastiffs are completely unsuitable for raising in low altitude areas. As a highland dog breed, they are large and strong dogs, where they can fully develop their true advantages is in the highlands rather than in a captive environment in the city.

In the photo, two Tibetan mastiffs are not afraid of strong winds and falling snow. In minus 40 degree weather, they still stick close to the sheep pen, lean their backs against the fence, use the ground as a bed, the thick snow as a cotton blanket, curled up to sleep.

In this environment, most other dog breeds cannot endure for a long time, but the Tibetan Mastiff can still hang on, which shows its adaptability in the high mountain environment. So how did such an outstanding Highland dog breed come into being?

Regarding the birth of the Tibetan Mastiff, there are many types of theories circulating on the Internet. For example, “ten dogs give birth to one mastiff”: The herdsmen would confine all the newborn puppies into a small room without providing them with food, so that the puppies would be hungry will fight, in the end, the fiercest and strongest puppy alive is the Tibetan mastiff.

Of course, these are just stories seasoned with details that are just people’s imaginations. In fact, the early Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau had no dogs at all, they were brought by early migrants.

The dogs that lived on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau brought by early humans were basically low-altitude dogs, and like most dogs, they were very unlikely to survive. on the natural environment of the plateau.

However, the appearance of today’s Tibetan Mastiffs is completely different from many dog ​​breeds living at high altitudes. They have thick fur and large bodies like lions, which is the main reason why they are popular with foreigners. hunt.

The Tibetan Mastiff’s change is to adapt to environmental changes. After their ancestors entered the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, they continued to proliferate and began to come into contact with wild Tibetan wolves.

We all know that dogs were domesticated by some gray wolves at the end of the Pleistocene, and there was no reproductive isolation with wolves, so some dogs and wolves came together naturally. .

Hybridization with ancient Tibetan wolves is the fundamental reason why young Tibetan mastiffs acquired the ability to adapt to high altitude environments.

As we know, animals like snow leopards can survive for a long time in cold and hypoxic environments. To find out why, scientists went through a lot of research and finally discovered a gene called “EPAS1”.

This gene has been detected in many high-altitude species such as snow leopards, desert cats and Tibetan foxes, but not in low-altitude species such as gray wolves, domestic dogs and yellow-backed jackals. .

Studies have found that the EPAS1 gene can affect the mechanism that regulates hemoglobin production in animals, making the body very sensitive to changes in oxygen and can persist for a long time. even in oxygen-poor environments.

The EPAS1 gene is also inherited from puppies as a result of mating between dogs and Tibetan wolves, plus living in a cold environment for a long time, so the appearance of these dogs gradually changes. response. For example, becoming giant, hairy, thickened with fat,… helps them adapt to the environment.

Dogs and wolves separated from their common ancestor a long time ago, and both evolved in different directions, but then, by coincidence, they had intersections.

Scientists constructed a canine phylogenetic tree for the region where the EPAS1 gene is located and found that it is very likely that the ancestors of Tibetan mastiffs interbred with Tibetan wolves 24,000 years ago.

History has proven that the Tibetan Mastiff is one of the best sheep herding dogs on the plateau, and is also a fierce dog breed no less than a wild beast. With its outstanding abilities, they have left their mark. deeply imprinted in the long history of herdsmen, and is known locally as the “god of the snow”.