Chang P'ei-hua's Tibetan Mastiffs

Chang P'ei-hua has been a television star for over two years, but has raised dogs for twenty. "I've raised every kind of dog," he says, and the listener has little cause to doubt him. At present, however, except for an aged Pekinese with a bad eye, there is only one kind of dog found at Chang's house, the Tibetan mastiff, which Chang calls "the most loyal dog there is."

The Tibetan mastiff will respond to whatever it senses to be the slightest threat to its master, which often brings grief to Chang's girl friend. "If she hits me, the dog bites her. If I hit her, the dog still bites her."

Such is the logic of the loyal dog. One bitch that Chang vividly remembers was sold to a home in Nanshihchiao in Taipei County. While out for a walk six months later, the dog took the opportunity to steal away from its new master. Ten days later, it appeared at the door of its original owner in Shihlin, at the other end of the county, having unaccountably found the right route amid a myriad of streets and alleys.

According to the records, the Tibetan mastiff owes its origins to the Central Asian Plateau, and is the oldest of the "primitive dogs." A well-sized animal, it stands 70 centimeters high and is 90 centimeters long, allowing it to withstand the extreme temperatures found on the plateau.

The breed shows up in many different places in history. One report holds that Genghis Khan used Tibetan mastiffs in his conquests, bringing the dog to the Middle East, while another says that the dog was given by Asians to Alexander the Great. In ancient China, many of them found their way from the periphery to the central cities, where they were used as watchdogs. In Tibet, they are used as shepherd dogs and guard dogs, and are usually found by the side of the Dalai Lama.

Big, yes, but slow and stupid, no. The animal can leap over fences a meter and a half high, and bring down a rider off a galloping horse. It also has good judge ment, says Chang, "not like Doberman pinschers, that will bite their masters if they come home over the wall instead of through the door at night."

Some owners take pride in the dog's fierceness, but Chang discourages such an attitude. "It's a very good guard dog, and people should appreciate its good points."

At present there are only 100 Tibetan mastiffs in the world, and they enjoy a privileged position in Tibet. Four years ago, Chang P'ei-hua came into possession of ten of them, and he hopes to continue to breed them, maintaining the purity of their bloodlines and the quality of their stock.