Kuchi dog
landrace dog
The Kuchi Dog, also known as the Afghan Shepherd, is an Afghan livestock guardian dog, taking its name from the Kuchi people of Afghanistan. It is a working dog following the nomads, protecting caravans and flocks of sheep, goats, camels and other livestock from wolves, bears, hyenas, big cats and thieves.
The Pashto name is De Kochyano Spai or Jangi Spai, meaning "Dog of the Nomads" and "Fighter Dog". It is found around the central and northern parts of Afghanistan. A livestock guardian dog of Molossoid type, the Kuchi dog shares a similar genetic background to the Alabai (Central Asian Shepherd). They may also be called Powindah dogs, Powindah being synonymous term for Kuchi used in southern Afghanistan.
Because intricately associated with nomad life in remote and rugged regions where Western breeding techniques are not used, it is difficult to identify a "true" Kuchi type dog. Warfare and general unrest in the region have also affected the Kuchi people, many of whom have settled around cities, creating ample opportunity for the Kuchi to interbreed with other dogs. There is no organizing body for dogs in Afghanistan or some Kuchi dogs have been exported to Europe.
Description
The Kuchi dog breed possesses a very rich gene pool and the dogs adapt well to varying environments.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kuchi dog” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.