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Why is Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International (HMDCI) establishing this breed of dog?
Is HMDCI affiliated with FCI, AKC, Etc.?
Does FCI and AKC Recognize the Himalayan Mountain Dog (HMD)? Is this a new breed?
Is the HMDCI taking over local native breeds?
What dogs will be eligible to be registered as Himalayan Mountain Dogs?
If I register my Tibetan Mastiff as a Himalayan Mountain Dog, will I still be able to breed or show him/her as a Tibetan Mastiff?
How does this solve the cross-bred Tibetan Mastiff problem?
It will take a long time to get the breed recognized by FCI. Why are you doing it?
Why not just have native dogs approved for registration as Tibetan Mastiffs?
This sounds like a lot of work.
Why is Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International (HMDCI) establishing this breed of dog?
We started as a group of like-minded Tibetan Mastiff owners from several countries in November 2018.
Our group was concerned about the cross-breeding of Tibetan Mastiffs with other unrelated breeds and the loss of the nomadic lifestyle of the shepherds that sustained these types of dogs.
We agreed it was important to preserve the Himalayan guardian dogs AND a new course of action was needed to accomplish their preservation because:
1. The major dog registration organizations are not able to stop the infiltration of the cross-bred dogs into the registered Tibetan Mastiff gene pool.
2. All the varieties of these dogs are in danger of genetic isolation because of the loss of traditional lifestyles.
3. The varieties of these guardian dogs that are of similar appearance, temperament and purpose are related to each other and each of the varieties should be protected and preserved.
HMDCI believes the best course of action to preserve the varieties of guardian dogs of the Himalayas is to recognize them under one breed name.
HMDCI allows for the varieties of landraces to help restore the free exchange of genetics between them, both inside and outside of their native lands.
Is HMDCI affiliated with FCI, AKC, Etc.?
HMDCI is not affiliated with FCI, an FCI member club, or AKC, etc.
These organizations do not have a path for club affiliation for individual dog breeds they have not recognized.
Does FCI and AKC Recognize the Himalayan Mountain Dog (HMD)? Is this a new breed?
One of Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International’s objectives to preserve these dogs is to have them recognized by FCI, AKC, etc. as a new registered breed called Himalayan Mountain Dog.
The dogs that will be used to establish the breed have been identified as the guardian dog landraces that are of similar appearance, temperament, and purpose of the Himalayan Mountain regions of:
1. The traditional Tibetan Cultural Area
2. Nepal
3. Mongolia
4. India
5. Bhutan
6. Pakistan
Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International (HMDCI) will also accept dogs currently registered as Tibetan Mastiffs by FCI, AKC, etc. providing they meet the breed standard and guidelines that will be established by Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International’s Genetics Committee.
FCI and AKC has regulations for recognizing a new breed. They will not recognize the Himalayan Mountain Dog until we can present them with the data that meets their requirements for recognizing the breed.
It is one of HMDCI’s objectives is to gain breed recognition.
HMDI has structured the club and will structure the Himalayan Mountain Dog breed standard, etc. to meet those organizations' requirements for establishing a new breed.
Is the HMDCI taking over local native breeds?
The Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International (HMDCI) is not taking over any other breed.
HMDCI is allowing for the preservation of the working landrace varieties by sheltering them under the breed we are calling the Himalayan Mountain Dog (HMD).
To meet HMDCI’S objective of genetic diversity, the different styles of HMD are allowed for HMD Breed Standard.
HMDCI’S mission statement implies we are including all the styles of the landrace that are related to each other.
HMDCI’S does not plan to interfere with anyone else's projects.
When will HMDCI start registering dogs?
We are about ready to start registering dogs. Look for that in the next few months.
What dogs will be eligible to be registered as Himalayan Mountain Dogs?
According to Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International’s Constitution and Bylaws, the club will be accepting the following dogs for registration as Himalayan Mountain Dog:
1. Currently registered Tibetan Mastiffs that meet the breed standard and genetic requirements that will be established by this club.
2. Native dogs that meet the breed standard and genetic requirements that will be established by this club from the Himalayan Mountain regions of the traditional Tibetan Cultural Area, Nepal, Mongolia, India, Bhutan, and Pakistan.
If I register my Tibetan Mastiff as a Himalayan Mountain Dog will I still be able to breed or show him/her as a Tibetan Mastiff?
Yes.
At this time Himalayan Mountain Dogs are not recognized by FCI, AKC, etc.
If your dog is registered as a Tibetan Mastiff with these organizations, having your dog dual registered will not affect your ability to show or breed your dog and register the eligible offspring with their registration.
Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International’s goal is to establish the Himalayan Mountain Dog (HMD) as a breed recognized by these organizations.
HMDCI anticipates there will be a time members will be asked not to register their HMDs as Tibetan Mastiffs. Once HMD is recognized by FCI, AKC, etc., dogs registered as Tibetan Mastiffs will not be able to change the registration to HMD or be dual registered.
How does this solve the cross-bred Tibetan Mastiff problem?
Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International’s purpose is to preserve the landrace guardian dogs of the Himalayas, including the types that were used to establish the registered Tibetan Mastiff in the western part of the world.
It will not eliminate the cross-breeds in the registered Tibetan Mastiff gene pool.
This offers breeders who have stayed true to the founding Tibetan Mastiff an opportunity to register their TMs as a new breed, the Himalayan Mountain Dog.
Our founding members are from several countries, including Nepal, Pakistan, and India. We hope to attract members from all over the world who can work in cooperation to establish this breed.
In short, we can’t remove the cross-breeds from the registered Tibetan Mastiff gene pool, but we can offer a way to preserve the genes of the TMs who have the original genetics in the new breed.
It wil take a long time to get the breed recognized by FCI. Why are you doing it?
Recognition of the breed by the major registration organizations of the world is just one of our objectives in achieving preservation of these dogs.
FCI modified their recognition rules in 2019. The amount of time it takes depends on how quickly we can establish the required families for genetic diversity. That will depend on how many people are willing to work together to establish those families and produce offspring.
While we are doing this work together, we will be preserving genetics per our mission statement and doing what we can to support these dogs in their native lands. We feel this is urgent, because native dogs are being lost daily due to the loss of traditional lifestyles and other challenges.
The same loss of genetics is happening with TMs with clean pedigrees through breeding to dogs with cross-bred pedigrees. Genetic diversity is also being lost through high Coefficient of Inbreeding because of the reduction of the number of TMs available for breeding who have clean pedigrees.
Why not just have native dogs approved for registration as Tibetan Mastiffs?
Our founding group observed that the cross-bred dogs are more numerous with each passing year and are being bred to TMs with clean pedigrees. This practice has become so prevalent that adding native dogs may result in breeding them to cross-bred dogs. This would result in the loss of valuable genetics.
The current registered Tibetan Mastiff does not allow for the preservation of the different styles.
Himalayan Mountain Dog does include the different styles and is allowing for the sharing of genetics between the styles.
The history of the registered Tibetan Mastiff shows us that the popularity of a specific types eliminated other types. In accordance with our mission of preservation and genetic diversity, Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International will work to create a culture of breeding for genetic diversity and the varieties will not compete against each other in the show ring.
This sounds like a lot of work.
Yes. There is much work to be done to preserve these dogs.
The more people we have working together the easier it will be.
Please consider becoming a member of Himalayan Mountain Dog Club International.