# My fuzzy monsters - Caucasian Ovcharkas



## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Hello!
Just wanted to introduce myself and my furry family.
My name is Yelena and I live in New Hampshire with my small "zoo".
My animals include various livestock - sheep, goats, chickens. Next year I am hoping to start raising mini cattle and emus.
While I am at work, these critters are being taken care of by a team of Caucasian Ovcharkas. I never worry about anything at home when my dogs are in charge.
I have lived with these dogs pretty much all my life, raised them, trained them, once in a while bred them, and even showed them (although, I am not a big proponent of dog shows for working breeds).
I will be sharing pictures of my dogs and can answer any questions about them.
Thanks for visiting.


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Caucasian Legend Beso, my gentle giant of a dog. Beso is short for Bessarion - Byzantine humanist and theologian, later a Roman cardinal, scholar, philosopher, diplomat. That pretty much describes his personality.


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Zherry Lee iz Legendy Kavkaza, home name "Dato" (it means Bear in Georgian).


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Kontact iz F.X. Malanichevykh, home name Nurem ("fearless and loyal").


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## BrownSheep (Dec 31, 2012)

BEAUTIFUL dogs. Remind me of my saints if mine were a bit bigger. 
Do you have an issue with the heat in the summer.


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

BrownSheep said:
			
		

> BEAUTIFUL dogs. Remind me of my saints if mine were a bit bigger.
> Do you have an issue with the heat in the summer.


Thank you very much.
They certainly do not enjoy heat in the summer, living on an iceberg would be their preference. LOL
But we don't have issues - they shed all winter undercoat, the coat they have left insulates them from heat fairly well, they have access to shade and water to pretend to be "water buffaloes". They also like to dig trenches in summer to get to the cool moist dirt to lay there and cool off their bellies.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Dec 31, 2012)

*Wow those are amazing! I want some!!! *


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## bonbean01 (Dec 31, 2012)

Beautiful!!!


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Thank you! I fell in love with them when I was just a baby, grew up with them and can't imagine my life without them.


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## Baymule (Dec 31, 2012)

WOW! I am blown away by your magnificient dogs. They are beyond beautiful. Thanks for sharing with us.


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Achee (her name mean "mischief girl", which she most certainly is).


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## Godsgrl (Dec 31, 2012)

they look like a cross between a German Shepherd, and Saint Bernard. Very nice dogs


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Caucasian Legend Aika (she is daughter of Achee and Dato), my kind and loving beast.


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## that's*satyrical (Dec 31, 2012)

Awwww, how sweet is the puppy with the little bitty kittens?? Love it!


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## ylevitin (Dec 31, 2012)

Caucasian Legend Burta ("brutal force", which is totally wrong name for her as she is perfect babysitter for chicks)


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## Goatherd (Jan 1, 2013)

Whatever shortcomings they might have, I don't want to know.  To me, your dogs and this particular breed are stunning!  They appear to have it all.


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## ylevitin (Jan 1, 2013)

Goatherd said:
			
		

> Whatever shortcomings they might have, I don't want to know.  To me, your dogs and this particular breed are stunning!  They appear to have it all.


LOL, thank you. 
I don't think any dog has shortcomings, I like to think every dog has his/her special talents.

The beauty of LGD breeds is above average intelligence, but like anything else - you need to develop the traits they are born with. And intelligent beings need to be mentally stimulated an challenged, otherwise they get bored and channel their considerable energy into wrong directions.
I do not believe in getting a puppy and putting it with livestock and limit their interactions with humans (unfortunately it seems to be a popular suggestion for raising an LGD). It often creates issues of dogs escaping away, doing what they feel like out of boredom, skittish behavior towards humans...

I raise my dogs in the house, they bond with me. I teach them obedience, they learn to accept verbal corrections, they get socialized with people, animals, places (like pet stores and vet offices - because there will be time when they need to go there and I don't want them to be stressed about it). I rotate my dogs from sheep to goats to chicken to living in a house with me every 2-3 month, so everyone gets different experiences, everyone gets a "vacation" on a couch, everyone gets a little "pampering" - a bath (if they need it), a good brushing and some ice cream for a treat, and I get to spend quality time with every dog.
My dogs are very gentle with the animals, but they are not particularly "attached" to them. They easily accept herd reductions or expansions, because they are working for me, not for the sheep.

That is kind of my philosophy on LGD raising, but I only work with one breed, it maybe different for others.


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## ylevitin (Jan 1, 2013)

Gayane Mtemi, at home just Nala - my son named her after watching Lion King.


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## Pearce Pastures (Jan 1, 2013)

Wow that is an amazing dog.  Love the kitty pictures.


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## Grazer (Jan 1, 2013)

ylevitin said:
			
		

> Goatherd said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I so agree with this. I think it's Ray Coppinger who first came up with that theory and then started indoctrinating farmers in U.S. 
Ray has been proved wrong about many of his theories, this being one of them.
My grandparents and some of my other relatives that have kept LGD's all their life, have all handled their dogs from the beginning.
So Ray's theory never made sense to me. 

I mean if one's dog has an injury or needs to go to the vet for whatever reason,
then at the very least the dog shouldn't start panicking when the vet or as I've heard in some cases even the owner him/herself tries to take care of their own dog.
Or what if an LGD has an ear infection or matted hair for example? It's just one of the many examples why LGD's should be accustomed to being handled by their owners.
I'm not saying working LGD's should be socialized like pets, but at the very least they need to be accustomed to being handled by the owner, riding in a car and going to the vet's office without any problems. 

Again, your CO's are absolutely stunning


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## treeclimber233 (Jan 4, 2013)

Very beautiful dogs.  Do you sell puppies ( noticed some in the pictures) and what do you charge for them?

I agree with teaching LGDs to be handled for brushing and vet care.  However I  am the only one that can get close to my dog.  He is absolutely terrified of anyone but me.  He is never aggressive toward anyone that goes around my goats--he just runs in the opposite direction barking over his shoulder.  Luckily my goat vet will give him shots as there is no way I can get him close to a vehicle either.  I practically had to hogtie him (and sit on him) so the vet  could give him his rabies shot.  But as long as he does his job I am not really concerned.  And if I take him away from his goats he freaks out.  He does not like to be seperated from them at all.  When I got him neutered (while he was young)  the vet suggested I keep him in the house (and calm ha ha).  He was totally stressed so I took him back to the barn that night.  He walked around the stall kissing all the goats like he was saying Honey I'm home.  Then lay down and went to sleep.  Silly dog


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## PendergrassRanch (Jan 4, 2013)

I LOVE the photos of them with the kitties! 

Such magnificent dogs! I wish I could have one.


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