What is a CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog?
The CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog began in 2008, with a single dog, Caspian, who had a wonderful combination of working aptitudes which made him suitable for small acreage farming. He barked and wandered less, and was accepting of people he didn’t know, as long as they didn’t pose a threat. Our breed is based on this stud, whose traits have been expanded into diversity via Dr. Jay Lush formulas for the development of a breed on a stud animal by mindful line-crossing. The Morgan Horse is another example of a breed formed from a stud animal. Not all lines of CMDR CMDs have Caspian genetics.
We continue to strive for a dog who wanders and barks less, and who can either be kept in fields or pens. Over-barking is considered a DQ for a CMDR CMD. The overall presence of the dog should be mellow, and not over-active. Dogs who move deliberately keep the herds calm. The breed is still being developed, is only a 15 years old, so people who purchase a CMDR CMD should meet the parents and make sure these traits are being propagated. Wendy Francisco, who founded the breed, continues with the CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog Registry, and works with farms all over the country who have been raising this type of LGD cross for this purpose.
What is the actual breed cross of a CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog?
The CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog is not a specific breed cross — dogs are heavily influenced by LGD breeds, but selected by function rather than breed title. Although Caspian was a Pyr x Anatolian Shepherd, the dogs are being individually screened and accepted for temperament and guarding aptitudes. Currently the CMDR CMD may consist of Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherd, Boz, Maremma, Kuvasz, Akbash, or other livestock guardian working group breed. Dogs that pull up small percentages of other breeds in a DNA test are considered on a dog by dog basis depending on function.
We are not mindless dog breed purists. We’ll take a proficient working guardian who has 12% lab over a purebred Anatolian who kills animals. And these are scenarios we have faced. We don’t register oops litters from the field of LGDs crossed with herders but we do accept successful guardians on duty on their farms who may have small percentages of non-working genetics. Breeders have found this to be good for health and breed genetic diversity, as well as a welcome short cut to our goals at times. Function, function, function. Not category purism. Breeders know that a 12% outcross thrown in, becomes a 6% the next generation, and then a 3%, until those percentages become vanishingly small… yet a good breeder practicing mindful trait selection, can capture what he or she wants, and improve their stock. This is the basis of domestic breeding, whereas sticking to breed names and ignoring an individual dog’s natural aptitudes is nothing but ignorance. Often we hear the most ignorant sentiment of all “why do they think they can improve an ancient breed?” The ignorance here is that all breeds must have constant trait selection or they decline. Believing a breed is a breed destroys the breed. Also, farming changes, and never more so that right now with the explosion of tiny farms. These farms still need protection… but they don’t need complaints of noise from neighbors or dog bite liabilities.
Many people think that any Pyr/Anatolian cross dog can be called a CMDR CMD, but that is not true. All lines of CMDs have to be screened by the CMDR for the traits we are looking for and registered into the CMDR to be CMDR Colorado Mountain Dogs. Many people think a CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog is a Pyr hybrid” that is untrue. The CMDR CMD is not a “designer breed” but a function selected dog.
Do CMDR Colorado Mountain Dogs accept all people?
Yes and no. In general a CMDR CMD should greet daytime visitors in a friendly manner, but they should also discern an obvious threat. Dogs that are either hostile to all people, or dogs that are friendly to all people lack intelligence based discernment. A dog that initially accepts all people but then reacts to an obvious threat is displaying intelligence. Many CMDR CMDs are friendly to all, unless an unknown person disturbs the livestock or is a threat to the family.
Does the CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog have a Physical Type?
Yes. Type takes a second seat to function at this stage of development, but the physical type is based on the founding stud. Caspian was a stunning, giant dog, 31 inches at the shoulder, more slender than some LGD breeds, but tall, with good bone and powerful legs and feet. Everyone who met him stopped in their tracks. Read the breed standard, linked at page top.
The CMDR CMD community has been educated to understand that since we are only in our early generations, physical type should not take precedence over intelligence, guarding aptitudes, and gentle temperament. So at present, physical type may vary, and is a lower priority than utility. The link to the standard for the CMDR CMD is listed above.
How Widespread is the CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog?
We are coast to coast and now up into Canada and Alaska. The enthusiasm for the CMDR CMD idea comes from the proliferation of small sustainable farms, and the need for a dog who works well with humans, barks and wanders less, and can participate in every aspect of a small family farm. LGDs in general are becoming important for wildlife populations as well, since they tend to repel, rather than hunt predators, keeping incidences of predation down.
These answers were created by Wendy Francisco, founder of the CMDR Colorado Mountain Dog. For more information please visit https://coloradomountaindogs.com/what-is-a-colorado-mountain-dog