KANGALA

Feathered Saluqi hound at Anbak village, Arabian Peninsula. 

tajik aboriginal central asian shepherd dog, tajikistan.

“The relationship of dogs within a flock is very far from the ideal picture that we draw for ourselves in our minds. The pack of dogs is not organized on the principles of unspoken domination of the wise experienced patriarch, who, lying on the rock of "council", which we remember from the story of Mowgli, gives orders to his subordinates, and they execute them with the agility of real lackeys. Dogs have no reverence for experience, age or beauty of constitution. The focus is on the strength and activity of the alpha male. But unlike the lion's pride, the defeated leader is not expelled or killed, he simply degrades in his status, continuing to carry out his service. After all, ultimately, the last word in the pack always rests with the shepherd.”

translated from russian (tajiki) to english from www.dahmarda.ru, a photographic and educational website owned by Latif Latifi (aka Latif La) who is dedicated to the aboriginal central asian shepherd dogs. this story takes place in the south plains of tajikistan during transition of flocks from summer pastures to winter camps.

the three yellow (fawn) dogs belong to shepherd or Dahmard (as they are called in tajikistan) Naim and the black dogs belong to Dahmard Muallim. these flock guardians have neighboring summer pastures and of course know each other. most likely, the fawn dog had proved their dominance long ago, which made this meeting between the dogs as ritualized and short-lived as possible. you can see as the black dogs close in on the fawns, the fawns stand their ground, tails raised, teeth bared. the scuffle ended just as soon as it began. no dog was injured or harmed as this is almost always avoided and is not in the nature of these dogs.