The Bakharwal Dog is an ancient working dog dog breed found in the Pir Panjal mountain range of the Kashmir Himalayas, where it has been bred for many centuries by the Gujjar nomadic tribes as a livestock guardian dog and settlement protector. A recent study says that this species of dog is in danger. According to experts, the Bakerwali dog is different from a common dog in many ways. It is vegetarian — it only feeds on milk and bread made of maize. This helps to keep it away from attacking the flock. Birth rate among the Bakerwali dogs is also low as compared to common dogs.
History
Belonging to a leaner variety of Asian Molossers, the Kashmiri Sheepdog is related to some types of the Tibetan Mastiff and dogs of Central Asia, but is claimed by the Gujjar herdsmen to be much older than any other breed of the region. While this is debatable, the black-and-tan colouring and physical build of the Bakarwal Mastiff have led some authorities to link a number of old Molosser to this dog, namely the Hyrcanian Mastiff, the Molossos tis Epirou, the Sylvan dog, the Tuvan Sheepdog, and the Siah Sag variety of the Iranian Sage Mazandarani, as well as the European descendants of these breeds.
