Dogs have many purposes. Hunting, herding, protecting or helping people with disabilities. But back in the 16th and 17th century England, there was a dog used as a, lets say, a high-tech solution to a kitchen and household needs. This dog was known as the Turnspit dog, or Kitchen dog, Cooking dog or the Underdog.
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Back in the 16th century, people were cooking meat on an open fire, which required continuously spinning the meat so it would be evenly cooked on all sides. Until the invention of turnspit wheel, this was done by a person, but since than, it was done by a dog! The Turnspit dog.

These dogs were not considered as pets, but rather as household tool, a machine. The Turnspit dog was specifically bred to run on a wooden wheel that was turning the meat. The wooden wheel would be attached on the wall near the fireplace and also attached directly to the spit. The dog would ran in the wheel, similarly like a hamster, and as they ran the meat was rotating.

The Turnspit dog was not a pure breed, but it is speculated that they might have been related to Welsh Corgi or Glen of Imaal Terrier, both displayed in this video. Some people say, that they were some kind of a Spaniel dog.

The Turnspit dog had a long body and short legs. It was a small dog breed. They had very muscular and very often bent legs, which was a result of the never ending running in the wheel. From pictures we have, the Turnspit dog had a shorter coat and longer muzzle, thick tail and they came in all kinds of different colors.

As you can imagine, this was extremely hard job. The heat of the fire, the neverending run in the wheel, the clanking of the spit.. From todays perspective, it was absolutely cruel and inhumane to use a dog like this.
There are even stories that say, that in order to make the dog run faster, hot coal or wood was thrown into the wheel.

The Turnspit dog was mainly used in Great Britain, but they were also employed in United States since the end of 18th century. They were used for this cruel purpose until the 1850s, when the future founder of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was appalled by the way the turnspit dogs were treated in the hotels of Manhattan. It is believed that the treating of Turnspit dogs was one of the reason to found this organization.

At the 18th century, Turnspit dogs were everywhere in England, in majority of households. At the end of 19th century, they dissappeared and today, they are completely extinct.

The last Turnspit Dog, well, a stuffed Turnspit dog, is displayed at the Abergavenny Museum in Wales.

1) Ancestry
The Hangin Tree Cowdog was developed by Gary Ericsson and his son Choc. It was developed by crossing four breeds together – the Border Collie (3/8), Catahoula Leopard dog (1/8), Australian Kelpie (¼) and Australian Shepherd (¼). It is important to say, that only dogs that can be traced to the original stock of Gary Ericsson can be registered as pure Hangin Tree Cowdogs. So even if you own a mixture of the four original breeds, you should not call it as Hangin Tree Cowdog if it can not trace its ancestry back to the original dogs.

2) Name
The breed has unique and very unusual name. But the origin of the name is simple. They are named after the Hangin Tree Ranch in Texas USA, a ranch of Gary Ericsson.

3) Cattle dog
The idea behind creating the Hangin Tree Cowdog was to make the best possible cattle dog and indeed, this is extremely skilled working ranch dog. This breed is known for their courageous and tenacious nature which helps them to handle any kind of cattle. They are good at gathering, retrieving and herding. It is said, that the Hangin Tree Cowdog is ultimate cowboy’s dog. And all the dogs used in the breeding process were used for a good reason. The Border Collie for its intelligence and herding instincts. Catahoula for its power and ability to tail and find the cattle. The Kelpie was added for similar reasons. And lastly, only one Australian Shepherd was used. It was named Black Bear and it was extremely skilled herding dog that could manage any cattle. And the Hangin Tree Cowdog should ideally be a perfect combination of all four dogs.

4) Companion
But the Hangin Tree Cowdog was not only created to be a cattle dog, but also tobe a perfect family pet. And indeed, it is wonderful pet, but they are definitely not for everyone! It is mostly because of their desire to work and very high energy level. As a companion pet, this dog is only suitable for active people and families. Other than the high energy, this is absolutely loyal, obedient, easy to train dog with high intelligence, always playful and curious. Overall, this is very good companion dog.

5) Exercise
And it is absolutely crucial to provide these dogs with enough exercise. It can be long walks, hikes, jogs, vigorous playtime. They are very intelligent so they need some mental stimulation as well. You can train them new tricks or prepare some puzzle toys. These dogs are also great adepts for various dog sports, such as herding trials, agility, obedience or rally. They will definitely prefer to live in a house with big yard and they are not the best choice for apartment living. Proper exercise is just essential with this breed, without it, they can develop some problematic behaviour, such as excessive barking or destruction.

6) Size
This is medium sized dog with very strong and powerful body and with heavy bone structure. The average height is somewhere around 22 inch, which is 55 cm and weight between 40-55 lbs, which is 18-25 kg. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males.

7) Eyes
Just like its ancestors, the Border Collie, Catahoula dog and Aussie, even the Hangin Tree dog can have eyes in different colors. It is not uncommon for them to show heterochromia, which means they have each eye in different color. The typical colors are blue, brown, hazel and golden.

8) Coat and color
The Hangin Tree Cowdog has a short and slick hair, perfect for working all day long even in heat without any problems. The coat can have feathering around its chest and hind legs. And what about the color? Well, there is no limitation to it. These dogs can truly have almost any color you can think of. Merle and brindle colors are quite common. Black, brown and red colors, with or without tan markings are also very common.

9) Maintenance
Speaking of the coat, it is important to mention the grooming and maintenance as well. And luckily, it is extremely simple. Even without any grooming at all, these dogs will keep its coat in good condition. They do shed some deal of fur, but it is nothing terrible. You can brush their coat from time to time to remove any dead and loose hair and also to redistribute natural oils all over the coat. No other grooming is not needed. Just like with all dogs, you should also regularly check their eyes, ears, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

10) Health
The Hangin Tree Cowdog is a hardy and usually extremely healthy dog breed. They are not linked with any serious genetic health issues, but of course, they can still suffer from time to time with some typical doggy issues, such as allergies, infections, some eye problems or joint problems. But typically, they remain healthy and active for a long time. And they usually have a long lifespan, which is typically around 15 years.

 The Schnauzer is a popular German dog breed, that comes in three sizes, miniature, standard and giant. All three are recognized as separate breeds by majority of kennel clubs, but they are closely related together, as the miniature and giant Schnauzers are descendants of the original and oldest standard Schnauzer.

And indeed, the size is not the only difference in these dogs. Since they all have slightly different ancestry, they also have slightly different temperament. The Miniature Schnauzer was most likely developeded by crossing Standard Schnauzer to Affenspinscher, Miniature Poodle, Miniature Pinscher or to Pomeranian and the Giant Schnauzer was most likely developeded by crossing the Standard Schnauzer with Great Danes, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Boxers and Bouvier des Flandres.

The typical temperament of the Standard Schnauzer is described as extemely intelligent, alert, lively, quite playful, kind of independent and strong willed. It is a great choice for guarding, but it also has higher prey drive, as it was used for a long time as vermin hunter. Very often, they are described as dogs with human brain. They are always thinking and it is natural born explorer. They are very curious. They have deep instinctual roots as a guard dogs and vocal dogs and they will most likely bark on any strangers approaching your home. Even though all the Schnauzers are kind of independent, they are relatively easy to train and thanks to their intelligence, they will learn all the basic commands easily.

It is true, that the Miniature and Giant Schnauzer share very similar temperament with the standard Schnauzer, but it is not identical. Lets start with the Miniature Schnauzer.

And the Miniature Schnauzer is described as little bit more affectionate dog, with less prey drive. They are still good alert watchdogs, but they should not bark that much as the standard Schnauzer. Because of their size, they have lower exercise needs, but it is still an active dog. They are probably best to live with kids and they are much more biddable and companionable. It is also very inquisitive and spunky breed.

And what about the Giant Schnauzer? Well, all Schnauzers are good guard dogs, but the Giant Schnauzer is above them. It is extremely strong breed with very smart, independent and protective nature. This Schnauzer, unlike the Miniature one, is not the best choice for novice dog owners. They have natural inclination to protect its people. But they are absolutely loyal and very friendly towards its own family. If you want your Giant Schnauzer to be okay with other dogs or other pets, early proper socialization is absolutely needed, but that can be said about all the Schnauzers. It is also very active dog breed, they need a lot of daily excercise to stay healthy and happy. It is very bold and courageous, rambunctious and reliable dog breed.
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So now you know what is the temperament of each Schnauzer breed. And what about the differences in appearance? Well, the obvious one is their size. You can see the size differences on the screen right now. And the size differences are quite huge, there is a massive difference between the giant and miniature Schnauzer. The second difference is in the coat and color. Again, you can see the color possibilities for each Schnauzer breed on the screen. They all typically have medium to long non shedding coat. The Giant Schnauzer is slight exception, as they can have shorter coat as well.  

The Czechoslovakian and Saarloos Wofldogs are two very similar wolfdog breeds with similar ancestry, similar appearance, but very different temperament.

They are both creation of crossbreeding German Shepherd with the wolf. But of course, different lines of German Shepherds, different wolves and different number of animals were used in the breeding process, which created difference in the breeds. The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is an offspring of Carpathian grey wolf, while the Saarloos Wolfdog is an offspring of Siberian grey wolf.

The wolf content in those breeds is typically between 10-30%. Different studies show different results, for example one genomic study from 2019 found that the amount of grey wolf ancestry possessed by the Saarloos wolfdog is 18–33% and the Czechoslovakian wolfdog 11–12%.

The utilizaiton of these dogs also played role in the breed development. While the Czechoslovakian wolfdog was succesfully used for police and military, especially as border patrol dogs, later also as search and rescue dogs. These dogs are true workers!

The Saarloos Wolfdog was also bred with the idea of creating less domesticated version of GSD, which will be much better for working purposes. But this was never reality, and the Saarloos Wolfdog was never used in large numbers for any utilization, other than being a companion dog.

So now you know, why there are differences between those two breeds, even though they are both GSD and wolf mix. But what are the actual differences? Lets start with the temperament.

The Saarloos wolfdog is more reserved, shy and timid around strangers. They take much longer to accept a complete stranger and they are harder to socialize to live in areas with a lot of people. They also have lower exercise needs. Dont get this wrong, they are always ready for long outdoor walks and hikes, and you should provide them with enough exercise, but they are not a real working breed that need excessive ammount of exercise and they are very calm and relaxed when they are indoors around their family.

On the other hand, the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is much more courageous. It is a very brave breed that should never be shy and they are also more confident and they accept strangers faster, if you show them that they are your friends. But they are still pretty reserved dogs, dont expcet them to be friendly with everyone, definitely not. The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog is very very active breed and they are only suitable for physically active people and families who will provide them with a lot of daily physical and mental stimulation.

But these dogs have a lot of common characteristics as well. First of all it is their absolute loyalty to its owners and family. They love its family and want to be around them all day long. And you should not let them alone for long periods of time, especially the Saarloos Wolfdog is known for having troubles with separation anxiety.
Both also typically have higher prey drive and they migh exhibit same sex agression, but of course, this can be vastly influenced by early socialization.

Another similarity is their intelligence. I would say that the Czechoslovakian is little bit easier to train, especially because they are more food motivated, but both breeds are excellent problem solvers. And escape artists. They are able to find any weak spot in your fence and escape in a moment, either by jumping and climbing over it, digging under it, clawing and biting through or pushing and sliding doors. They are really really good at this.

And what about the appearance? Again, they are both very similar and they have the typical wolf like appearance. First of all, the Saarloos Wolfdog is slightly larger and heavier than the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog. You can see the size comparsion on the screen right now. The difference is not extremely big.

The second important difference is the color. The Czechoslovakian Wofldog comes in yellow-grey to silver-grey, with a light mask. The Saarloos Wolfdog comes in wolf-grey, red and white and also with white mask, but the mask is usually much bigger on the Saarloos Wolfdog.
Other than that, these two dogs look very very similar.  

Appearance
The Cane delle Alpi Apuane is a medium sized herding dog from Italian Apuan Alps, with rustic appearance and powerful and athletic body and with alert and curious expression in their oval shaped brown eyes.
The average height of the Pastore Apuano is between 50-65 cm, which is 19-25 inch and weight is usually between 17-35 kg, which is 37-77 lbs. Females are naturally slightly smaller than males.
The coat of this breed is straight and in medium length. It is a dense doublecoat, which is protecting the breed from harsh climate and weather and enables them to work outside for all day long without problems. The coat is longer around the neck, tail and back legs.
And what about the color? According to the breed standard, the Cane delle Alpi Apuane comes in black, black and tan, fawn, gray and merle. Merle dogs can also have one or both eyes in blue color.

Temperament
The Cane delle Alpi Apuane shares similar temperament and personality with many other herding dogs. This means that it is very very lively and active, intelligent, alert, attentive and docile dog breed.
Indeed, this is very active breed that is always ready for any kind of an action. If they are not used for herding, than they need proper daily exercise, including long walks, jogs, but also mental stimulation like regular training or vigorous playtime. This breed is also excellent for various dog sports, like agility, rally, obedience or disc. Without proper exercise, they might develop some problematic behaviour, like destruction.
These dogs love to work and learning new things. They are able to learn almost any trick you want to. It is also a dog breed with docile and well balanced character, which just loves every member of its family. It can live with kids, other dogs or even other pets in the family, especially if socialized together from the puppyhood. On the other hand, they might be alert and little bit distrustful towards strangers, but they should never be agressive without a reason.
Overall this is a passionate worker, but also loving family companion, especially suitable for active families.

History
The Pastore Apuano has a long history in the Apuan Alps, mainly in Italian regions of Liguria and upper Tuscany, where it was developed to work with local herds of sheep, goat and cattle.
This is a herding dog with long, but not very well documented history and ancestry. It is believed, that they are descendants of various ancient shepherd dogs of the Alps. But we will never know the exact ancestry or date of origin of these dogs.
Today, the Cane delle Alpi Apuane is a very rare breed and you can mainly find them in the mountainous area of Eastern Liguria and Upper Tuscany, with a prevalent density in the areas of Lunigiana and Lucchesia, where shepherding is still quite popular. The main reason for the decline in popularity of these dogs is general reduction of herding and also import of foreign herding breeds, such as Border Collie, into Italia. But the Apuan Shepherd is not on the verge of extinction anymore, even though, it is remaining very rare.
The breed is officially recognized by the official Italian kennel club.

Health and grooming
There is not much documentation about the health of this breed, but it should be rather healthy dog breed with average lifespan around 14 years. They should not suffer much from any serious hereditary health issues, but they can suffer from the typical doggy issues, such as joint problems like hip dysplasia, eye problems like lens luxation, different allergies and infections, but none of this should be very common in this breed.
And what about the grooming? The double coat does shed some deal of fur, which can be minimized by regular brushing. Regular brushing is the only thing needed to keep the coat in best possible condition, no other grooming is required. Of course, you should also regularly check the ears, eyes, nails and teeth and clip them or clean them if needed.

Video transcript:
Not so long ago i made a comparsion video between Caucasian and Central Asian Ovcharka. Following this video i have received several questions what is the difference between the Caucasian Ovcharka and Caucasian Shepherd.

And it will be very short video, because there is no difference at all between the Caucasian Ovcharka and Caucasian Shepherd. It is referring to exactly same breed and the only reason for the difference in the name is the language.

The Caucasian Shepherd was developed in former Soviet Union in 1920s from different livestock guardians of Caucasus mountains. And in Soviet Union, or todays Russia, they called this dog as Кавка́зская овча́рка, or Caucasian Ovcharka. In russian language, the word Ovcharka means the same thing as shepherd dog in english language. It is describing all the dogs that are working with livestock. And even the German Shepherd for example, is known as Nemetskaya ovcharka in Russia.

So yes, there is no difference at all between the Caucasian Shepherd and Ovcharka. There is also no difference in Central Asian Ovcharka and Central Asian Shepherd. The name Caucasian Ovcharka is mostly used in Russia and in the states of former Soviet Union, while the name Caucasian Shepherd is mostly used in western and especially english speaking countries. And sometimes, especially in North America, this breed is also known as Caucasian Mountain dog.

The Caucasian Ovcharka is an extremely strong dog breed with longer coat, native to Caucasus mountains, where it is traditionally used for protecting the livestock, but also the property. It was later used by soviet miliatry, for example for patroling borders. It is extremely independent, territorial, loyal and alert dog and it is an active protector, which means it will use its power and force to defeat any intruder without hesitation. The breed is very decisive.