The Karakachan is a breed of dog that originated in Bulgaria as a mountain livestock guardian dog. Other names are Bulgarian Shepherd and Thracian Mollos. The dog is named after the Karakachans, Balkan Greek nomadic shepherds.
We really can’t say enough about these dogs. They are the ultimate when it comes to guarding sheep and goats. Our mature male Bucky will lie beside a ewe after she gives birth to protect her baby. Yet, he is as kind as can be to children and adults who visit the farm.
We have four dogs now (Bucky, Sofia, Tasha and Moose) and are planning on breeding our female next year and will have pups available for farm homes only.
The Karakachan dog Association of America describes the dogs in this way:
The Karakachan Dog is one of Europe’s oldest breeds. Its ancestors started forming as early as the third millennium BC. A typical Mollos, created for guarding its owner’s flock and property, it does not hesitate to fight wolves or bears or coyotes to defend its owner and his family in case of danger.
The dog is named after the Karakachans – nomadic shepherds of Thracian origin and the oldest inhabitants of the Balkans. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they managed to preserve some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe–the Karakachan sheep, the Karakachan horse, and, of course, the Karakachan Dog.
The breed flourished for centuries until, in the 1940s, the Bulgarian Communist Government nationalized the farming industry. All livestock were placed in communal farms and the Communist regime ordered extermination of the Karakachan dogs, whose services were deemed unnecessary on the collective farms. It was at this point in their history that the Karakachan dog became dangerously close to extinction.
Since then, through the dedicated efforts of a few special people in Bulgaria and around the world, the population of the Karakachan dog has grown steadily. Today, there are between 100 and 200 Karakachan dogs serving as livestock guardians in the United States.