Stoehr Tibetan Mastiffs

02/24/2026

01/22/2026

Because of the saturation of the dog market that exploded during covid, there are a lot of "Tibetan Mastiff" puppies being produced every year. 95%(my estimate) of the puppies on the market are Chinese Mastiffs. The genetic testing will call these 100% Tibetan Mastiff. Pressure from breeders, demanding that their registered "Tibetan Mastiffs" with Shiba Inu, Chow Chow, Thai Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Shar Pei, etc in their genetics are accepted by genetic testing today. Early testing showed these breeds. They no longer do.
I know this because I had a Chinese TM and tested him BEFORE they made the decision to deceive the public. When I sold that dog, and he was retested by the new owner by the same genetic tester, the results went from 83% Tibetan Mastiff, to 100% on the SAME DOG.

12/04/2025

01/18/2025

Do you know how fast desirable traits can be lost? It only takes a few generations to destroy a line.

This is the reason I'm constantly reminding people to quit asking about what breed they should get.

You should understand the history of the breed and the characteristics that you want, but your Google search or request for information on breed traits on these pages is completely irrelevant if you're going to take that information and find the closest dog of that breed and buy it. If you don't take the time to call on references, go see the parents, and talk to the breeder about your situation to find out if it will be a good fit, you're simply gambling.

10/24/2024

Pretty exciting! Due 12-26.
3/4TM, 1/4 Sarplananic.
These will be great LGDs. They are both athletic, loyal, and good with poultry and cats. Can't wait for this litter!
Roy WA.
Message me if interested.

10/23/2024

I want to address the "they need time to bond with their owners" thing. This is your chance to make your case in the comments, but please read this in it's entirety before you respond. I'm writing this for "Farmers Only LGDs."
I think we should all be able to agree that farming/ranching in 2024 looks very different than it did 1000 years ago, or even 100 years ago. The problem is, we all take that knowledge and come to different conclusions(like politics). In this group, I'd like to be more on the same page on this topic. Even though we've banned the promoting of raising dogs inside, I know you're still lurking here 😆. Let me appeal to you.

Listening to the adult dogs barking at the wolves through the thin walls of a tent is not the same as bringing a puppy in your house at night. I know a guy who has actually pitched a tent out with his dogs, to be there with the animals, and with the dogs for support and bonding. He still does this some nights. I think he's a little crazy, but his commitment to raising LGDs in a historical context is more accurate than anyone here. The dogs don't actually sleep in the tent with him either.

A Shepherds life has always been out with the animals. The conflating of tent to house is silly. In a house, the smells and sounds are separate and far away from the livestock, and the other dogs. The point of puppies coming in the tent was never "bonding". The point was that very small puppies are vulnerable. Still their entire puppy hood was spent with livestock and with the family (who also lived with the livestock). I would even argue that many times, puppies lived in huts with the animals at night,(similar to our barns and barn yards) where predators were not able to sneak in, while the adults guarded the entrance.
All this to say, we need something different from these dogs, than what was historically needed. Many of us work jobs away from our farm. We need them to be reliable, self workers. That's never really been asked of these dogs before very recently. We should still breed for what we want, (a dog that requires minimal human direction) but we should not ignore thousands of years of development in understanding these breeds. That context is important.

We should not need to "train" a well bred dog, but it's important to understand, the person raising a puppy for the first time, with no mentor dogs is likely going to encounter some problems. They're missing important pieces of what has always been part of raising these dogs(mentor dogs, a 24/7 Shepherd, and livestock that are used to LGDs). Living in the house is not the missing piece 😆

It's very simple for those of us with an established pack, and livestock that are used to LGDs, to bring a new puppy to the farm. They are going to be successful with a puppy that a new farm might struggle with. I think that a lot of established programs are unfairly critical of folks who are struggling with a puppy, when they have no established pack.

I just had someone asking about upcoming litters, and asked about my guarantee. While I absolutely guarantee the health of my dogs, it's difficult to guarantee that they will work for you, when we've all seen so many dogs ruined by mistakes new farmers make. We are asking these dogs to do something that we never asked from the beginning of time, to grow up without a mentor, around livestock that are scared of dogs, and to do that with minimal human interaction. It's actually amazing how often it does work out, but rescues are still full from those that don't.

You can believe with all your heart that it's important to raise puppies inside for a period of bonding, and maybe it works out for a certain % of people, but it is unnecessary, and very easy to create a needy, dependent dog, when in the end, we all need independent dogs. I started this group because of this debate. The pet people dominate the other major groups, and with good intentions, are ruining thousands of dogs every year with their bad advice.

Last thought....if you buy a puppy from a reputable breeder,(and you better be asking for references) it's your responsibility to follow the advice of the breeder for what works for their dogs. Most of you have gambled on puppies from folks with no record as a breeder(me too). That's very risky. Don't do that.

Hope this has been helpful. As said in the beginning, please make your case for why you might disagree. I'm open to conversation. This is the one time you can make your case lol

09/25/2024

Have not figured out which female we're breeding him to yet, but I'm excited to announce a solid LGD litter coming with some nice color. Really looking forward to working with you Judy. He's a nice looking guy, and you've done a good job raising him like they should be raised.

09/19/2024

Our keeper from last January, Iris. She's being a really good girl. Mostly good reports from the entire litter. Just one trouble maker, and it's entirely owner created lol. These dogs need a strong leader, and typically need a job.
We're planning to cross the same dogs again next month. We also have a couple other litters planned.

09/11/2024

This will be Boris' first year to produce. I have 4 females I'm considering. It's always a tough decision and a bit of a gamble when choosing to cross two dogs. Boris is 1/2TM, 1/2 Sarplananic. He will be crossed to nice 100% females. If he gives me what I'm after, his offspring will be crossed back to pure dogs, and the Sar will eventually be far in the past. This is no different than what people have always done, but it is hard for some to wrap their minds around.
It's a long term investment. After that initial breeding, you have almost a year to watch them develop before deciding if that was a good cross or not. You have to find good homes that will raise the pups properly, and you have to try to match pups well with the new homes. That's complicated with this breed because some will be wanted as family farm dogs, some just at guard dogs, or even just pets. The TM is best geared to be a family farm dog, but they really are a unique breed, and have historically served in different vocations. As I develop my lines, of course, my focus will be to develop strong LGD lines, but many of these dogs protected monasteries, and villages over the past 6000 years. So there will always be the "throwback" to some of those other vocations. Some will be more aggressive than I want. Some will not do well with livestock.
When I identify undesirable traits, they leave the program. Culling is a dirty word here in the US, but that's how all breeds developed over time, and we're committed to keeping individuals with only the strongest desirable traits. If you're interested in learning more about participating in this journey of developing these working LGD lines, I have deposits in for both pure bred, and 3/4 TM pups this winter. Let me know.

06/07/2024

There doesn't seem to be much argument that the LGD market is saturated. So keep on reminding the new people who think they're going to make a few $$ on puppies to not get stuck with puppies they have to basically give away.
So unless you want to become a serious breeder, just spay and neuter everything, right???
Well, there's a lot of credible data out there, that would encourage you not to. For the longevity of your dog, those natural hormones are important. It's something to consider. This was one of the reasons I chose the Tibetan Mastiffs. They cycle only one time in the fall. So rather than fixing all my dogs, we have one month a year that the males need to be locked away from the females. It makes preventing accidental breeding very simple, and not a constant concern. We just mark it on the calendar.
The reason for this, as I understand it... Tibetan breeders occasionally will breed wolves to their dogs. Wolves typically only cycle once a year. I know the TM isn't the only ancient breed that cycles only one time each year, but there aren't many.
Something to consider when you're looking at dogs. I think it's interesting.