Livestock guard dogs are often confused with sheepdogs or cattle dogs. However, their function is quite different. To simplify things, we could say that livestock guard work from the inside out (they blend into the flock and protect it against outside predators), while sheep dogs work from the outside in (they concentrate on the flock itself, controlling their the movement and outside limits).
Flock guard dogs are generally larger and more massive in structure than sheep or shepherd dogs. They are often left as sole protection of the flock, which explains why they have an independent character and tempermant. Sheep dogs, on the contrary, usually work in cooperation with the shepherd. The Livestock Guardian dogs' independent and dominant temperament explains why some cynologists classify them under the molosser group. Most of these dogs can be found in Group 2, subsection "mountain type" of the FCI, but some dogs classified under Group 1 are also typical Livestock guardian dogs of the molossoid type. Moreover, some dogs that are clearly of the molossoid mountain type are known as "shepherd dogs", which adds to the confusion.
Even though they are not really suitable for urban living, they are often chosen as personal protection dogs because they will be as protective of their human family and their children as they would be of their flock.
There are several breeds of Livestock Guardian Dogs, many of which are still regional breeds that are little known outside their country of origin:
Akbash Dog
Anatolian Shepherd Dog (Coban Köpegi)
Atlas Shepherd Dog (Chien de l'Atlas, Aïdi)
Bosnian Tornjak (Croatian Mountain Dog)
Estrela Mountain Dog
Hovawart
Kangal Dog
Karts Shepherd dog
Komondor (Canis familiaris pastoralis villosus hungaricus)
Kuvasz (Canis familiaris undulans hungaricus)
Leonberger
Maremma Sheepdog
Newfoundland
Polski Owczarek Podhalanski (Polish Tatra Mountain Sheepdog)
Pyrenean Mountain Dog
Pyrenean Mastiff
Shepherd dog of Sarplanina or Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog(Jugoslovenski Ovcarski Pas, Sarplaninac)
Spanish Mastiff (Mastín español)
Serra da estrela Mountain Dog
Slovensky Cuvac (Slovenian Cuvac Mountain Sheepdog)
Today, the Kuvasz, Cuvac and Tatra are considered three distinct breeds)
Rafeiro do Alentejo
Tibetan Mastiff
And the Troika of the Russian Livestock Guardian Dog breeds:
Caucasian Ovcharka: Breed Standard based on the "Georgian Type"
Central Asia Shepherd Dog (Sredneasiatskaïa Ovtcharka): Breed Standard based on the "Turkmenistan Type"
South Russian Ovcharka (Ioujnorousskaïa Ovtcharka):
Breed Standard based on the "Ukranian Type"
See also: Russian Dog breeds
