Tibetan Mastiff – The Most Expensive Dog In The World
As with all things that money can buy – dogs are no exception to the rule. Unfortunately the new “Dog du Jour” in China is the big drooly, fur shedding Tibetan Mastiff. The roots of the dog are as sheep herders and guard dogs in Tibet. Historically – people believed that they brought health and security to a home. Now they have become the new status symbol for China’s ultra-rich and newly minted millionaires. The red mastiff is especially sought after – although colours can range from gold to brown and black.
Unscrupulous breeders in China will sometimes dye a dog’s coat a richer colour and add hair extensions to the animal so the photographs sent to the prospective owner make it look even more attractive. One wonders how the owner feels about his new status symbol – when upon arrival – the dog is not all that it was purported to be. Let’s pray that it doesn’t fall into the “blame the puppy” category. The dogs are also being badly inbred for colour and size which is damaging to the health of the animals and often shortens the dog’s life span.
In one especially disturbing story a breeder took his stud dog to a vet in Beijing to have plastic surgery. He wanted the dogs face – which had become a bit droopy “lifted” – to make it more attractive as a breediug male. The dog died of heart failure a short time into the surgery. The owner is now suing the vet. My only comment is – idiot owner for endangering his dog for such a stupid reason and idiot vet for doing the surgery in the first place. It was all about the money. Both are amoral.
Tibetan Mastiffs fall into 2 main categories:
The Lion Head – a smaller dog with long fur.
The Tiger Head – a larger dog with short fur.
In the USA a Tibetan Mastiff puppy can sell for $40,000 – while abroad people will pay from $100,000 to $500,000 and sometimes over a million dollars for one of these dogs. The newly rich in China – fuelled by an insatiable craving for personal importance and status – continue to run amok – my italics.
