Tag: Tibetan Dogs

4 Things You Didn't Know About Tibetan Search and Rescue Dog Services One of the reasons people travel Tibet is to take in the beauty of its scenery. Sitting an impressive 13,000 feet above sea level, Tibet is home to some of the highest scenery in the world. It has the highest mountain, the highest roads, the highest lake, and the highest tunnel. Although it welcomes adventurers, those adventurers should also be familiar with the many risks involved in being so high up. Fortunately, Tibetan search and rescue dogs are often available to help out in times of crisis, such as an avalanche on Everest or an earthquake. Although it's easy to assume many things about search and rescue dogs, there are plenty of facts people often get wrong about them. Tibetan Mastiffs Make Good Rescue Dogs People originally bred Tibetan mastiffs to serve as guard dogs. They have natural protective instincts and are easy to train to protect people, sheep, and other property. Although many have doubted that mastiffs can succeed as SAR dogs, some have proved them wrong. For example, Dusty, a Tibetan mastiff, has completed training and earned certification, so that now he is recognized as being a brave and heroic search and rescue dog. Demand for Tibetan Mastiffs Has Fallen Training mastiffs to act as Tibetan search and rescue dogs can help minimize some of the effects of over-breeding the dogs. At one point in time, Tibetan mastiffs were the "in demand" dog. Wealthy people in China have paid more than $1.2 million for a single dog. But over-breeding flooded the market with the pups and demand for them declined. As a result, the Daily Mail reports that there are more than 1,000 mastiffs who are abandoned in Tibet. Many of the abandoned dogs live in