The breeds · working
AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Guardian · FCI standard 335
Central Asian Shepherd Dog.
Livestock guardian and guard dog. FCI 335 utilization: guard and watch dog; history: protected cattle, caravans and dwellings, in places of origin mainly herds from predators; shaped by four thousand years of natural selection from the Caspian Sea to China and from the southern Urals to Afghanistan; fearlessness towards large predators is a characteristic feature; self-assured, balanced, quiet, proud and independent, with a natural territorial instinct; full maturity by about 3 years. UKC: for centuries worked alone or with several other dogs without much intervention from herdsmen, relying on its own intelligence and instincts; protects livestock from predators and property from thieves; working dogs are still found in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; devoted to family, suspicious of strange people or dogs, slow to mature; mild dog aggression is a normal characteristic and is not penalized. AKC breed page: self-assured, balanced, quiet, proud and independent; very courageous with a high working capacity, endurance and a natural territorial instinct; fearless toward large predators; watchdog and protective nature 5 of 5. Scientific Reports 2024 (Perfilyeva et al.): selected in Central Asia to protect livestock from wolves in extreme climates; whole-genome data group the Central Asian Shepherd Dog with the Akbash and the Kazakh Tobet, and describe it as established in the 20th century from several indigenous Central Asian populations.
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Minimums only, no ceiling printed, so high is blank. Low is the UKC serious-fault line (24.5), the lowest figure printed.
Weight
Minimums only; no ceiling printed, so high is blank. Low is the AKC band floor and the FCI minimum (88.2).
Coat
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the coat description (3 = medium double). Short and long varieties are both accepted; the long variety would score lower.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
No Royal Kennel Club band for this breed, so exercise_need_min is left out.
Energy
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming load
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming
UKC and FCI coat lengths are not identical (UKC long coat 2 to 3 in against FCI 7 to 10 cm); both stand. No Royal Kennel Club band, so grooming_load is left out.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
FCI says the Central Asian is closely related to the Mongolian Shepherd Dog and the Tibetan Mastiff; the Scientific Reports paper states the breed grouping with the Akbash on genetic data. Both stand. The wolf-selection sentence in the paper is about Central Asian LGD breeds in general (stated for the Kazakh Tobet), not a measured result for this breed.
Also used on
No hunting use is stated.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher. Current all-data figure, undated.
Elbow dysplasia
Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher. Current all-data figure, undated.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
- USElbow evaluation (OFA lists a CENTRAL ASIAN SHEPHERD elbow statistics row)OFA · Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Disease Statistics by Breed (hip and elbow dysplasia tables, all evaluations on record), read from the OFA statistics service on Oct 5 2026
- USHip evaluation (OFA lists a CENTRAL ASIAN SHEPHERD hip statistics row)OFA · Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Disease Statistics by Breed (hip and elbow dysplasia tables, all evaluations on record), read from the OFA statistics service on Oct 5 2026
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Central Asian Ovcharka, Sredneasiatskaya Ovtcharka, Alabai, CASD
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour central asian shepherd dog, on the record.
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