„...The Caucasian shepherd is a large and powerful dog. Its confidence and independence make it not willing to submit to anybody..."
The aggressiveness, which is a common trait of every Caucasian Shepherd, is caused by how it was used by people – for centuries it served as a defender of the herds against predators, which in turn developed a strong instinct to possess both things and a territory. All these features made Caucasian Shepherd an ideal guardian of factories and workplaces. This is how it was used on almost the entire territory of the Soviet Union for decades. The animals selected for work, and in consequence for breeding were large, suspicious, and even downright viciously aggressive, because they were most suitable to their tasks. And this is the Caucasian shepherd that the European cytologists came to know about...The animal was supposed to be uncommonly aggressive, even in relation to their owners and could coexist with humans only when it was mortally afraid of them...
Shame to say but this is the Caucasian shepherd that has gained a lot of popularity in several countries.
Many owners did not even attempt to make contact with the dog. Adult Caucasian shepherds were very popular. People put them in steel cages and… boasted about which one is more dangerous, and how long the stick to give it food needs to be...Polish exhibitors were significantly influenced by the judges from abroad, especially from Scandinavia, who often disqualified the Caucasian shepherds for even the tiniest signs of aggression, not taking into account explanations that this breed is aggressive by nature. The fact that more and more puppies were adopted by ordinary people was also important. These people have not heard too much of the terrible legends, but were simply impressed by the sight of a large, beautiful dog…
Caucasian Shepherds need a lot of real contact and interaction with people.
Females have an especially strong sense of care and they really love children. However, you should not leave the dog alone with a child. Caucasian shepherds are dogs with a balanced, confident psyche and are not aggressive to weaker living beings – children, the elderly or smaller dogs. Often they are friendlier towards women than men. A well-trained dog will accept any animal or person belonging to a herd. Thus, the dog will protect it. As members of a family, they are nice, friendly, quiet and unobtrusive. As a rule, the Caucasian shepherds recognize only one person as their master… Caucasian Shepherd cannot be forced to do anything, so you should start socialization and training at an early age. Proper treatment of the Caucasian shepherds is a matter of proper training and establishing a hierarchy between the family and the dog. He needs to be given a lot of heart and sensitivity, but the training has to be very strict. It should be a part of life of the entire family. Caucasian shepherds are independent by character and are used to acting independently, so they will use any inconsistency and consent from the owner to act as they please. As every other molloser, they can become extremely dangerous when in the hands of an irresponsible owner. These shepherds have a great sense of ownership of both objects and areas, and therefore are not suitable to be kept inside homes, as they would recognize the staircase, the block and even the entire neighbourhood as their territory and defend it during the walks, which would be extremely uncomfortable. These dogs love open spaces…”