imp Kazakhstan (Kaplan x Sary)
DOB 5/12/1990
Hottab died as I was working on this web site, 20th of June 2004.
Since 1990, when he joined our family coming to Moscow from Kazakhstan as a 2 month old pup, he shared all the many events and changes in our lives. He was a great dog with a lot of spirit and power, but also gentle and sensitive. He accepted with dignity all changes as they came but never changed himself, always on duty, till his last breath. The only time when he was separated from us was the 7 months of quarantine when he moved to Australia with us in 1995. Aleona was 3 when little Hottab assigned himself as her faithful bodyguard. She is turning 17 this year and it just feels strange not to have Hottab around. Hottab's contribution to the CAO breed in Russia is well recognised, and he was the first CAO to ever put a paw on Australian soil, giving a good start to the future of CAO breeding in this country.
He had it all; all the remarkable qualities of a true Central Asian were combined in this one Grand dog. Rest in peace old friend. We will always remember you.
Hottab was born in Alma-Aty in the State founded kennel specialising in breeding native livestock guardian dogs for the extensive sheep industry. At that time the breed was little known outside of the Central Asian Republics and was heading towards extinction in the countries of origin since the lifestyle was becoming more urban and shepherds were not dependant on the help of their traditional livestock guarding dogs any more due to a decrease of the predator population.
Hottab and two of his littermates were brought to Moscow as 2 months old pups with the aim of building up a population of pure Central Asian Mastiffs outside Central Asia, which would help to save the breed.
We were looking for a good guard dog at that time as we moved to a small farm just outside Moscow and the crime situation in Russia was getting out of control. We needed a dog with a strong natural guarding instinct, who would need little training and be intelligent and independant enough to work without much guidance from our side. We wanted a hassle free dog to live outside and be tough enough to handle cold winters and hot summers. We figured it had to be a native breed with strong instincts and good health, preferably unspoilt by commercial breeding. Basically we were choosing between two large native Ovcharka breeds - Caucasian Ovcharka and Central Asian Ovcharka. Both are known as tough, independant, strong and stranger-intolerant, but Central Asians were believed as more laid back, less explosive in their reactions, however highly intelligent and able to assess a situation rather than acting first and thinking later. COs by then had been around for quite some time and the breed was more or less established, while CAO, being the older breed with more heritage and many valuable qualities of a native working breed, wasn't that well known and in need of support in order to keep the breed from extinction.
When we started looking for a pup there weren't many around and a little pup just off the plane from Kazakhstan was the one we couldn't go past. He was small, didn't look at all impressive and was obviously full of worms. Earless and tailless with thick short coat, small buttons of very deep dark eyes and huge paws he looked like a very underfed polar bear cub just taken out of his den and yet not familiar with outside world. He was neither friendly no fearful but observant and a little reserved, didn't like being touched but gathered himself and stood very still not to show us his fear. He wasn't handled much before and obviously had no reason to trust people but coped with the new situation with dignity. We took him home and that's how our love for this breed began. This pup had everything we expected in him and much more.
The next week after arrival he was fighting for his life with parvo infection complicated by a burden of worms of all possible varieties. His two littermates didn't make it. At that time, as we learnt later, it was a fate of almost all aboriginal (native) pups being brought in from Central Asia and sold to the European cities. In their native environment they had to survive the toughest weather, parazites, starvation, injuries and long trips over mountains but brought to big cities proved to have absolutely no immunity to common infectious diseases.
Hottab survived to become a strong, very affectionate dog. He was one of the first recognised and well-regarded sires in Russia.
Today the breed profile is changing, and his beauty is not as obvious as of glamorous show dogs of modern days which you see in great numbers, since the breed has gained its well-deserved popularity in Russia and beyond. Even though he had the glory of winning at the most prestigious Moscow Shows at his younger days he never enjoyed the crowds and public attention. He'd rather lay on a hill with a good view of the property, so he can observe the house and the driveway at the same time, absorbing all smells brought by wind. His job has always been the most important for him, and still is, even at his 14 years, even after he lost count of countries and places he knew as "home"...