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The Bankhar dog (Buryat language: хотошо, Mongolian: банхар, Russian language: Бурят-монгольский волкодав), is a landrace livestock guarding dog. Originally bred by the Buryats, their success contributed to their spread across Buryatia and Mongolia and into adjacent regions before they were nearly annihilated in the mid-20th Century. Bankhar dogs are prized for their intellect and perseverance even in hostile weather conditions. They are loyal and affectionate with their families, but formidable against intruders, including humans, wolves, eagles and snow leopards.
Marco Polo was so impressed with the Bankhar dog that he brought one back home to Venice. Erich Von Salzmann describes this shepherd as a big, beautiful dog similar in size to a German Shepherd. It has a dark coat and is very fierce; the Bankhar attacks strangers mercilessly. Wilhelm Filchner gives an interesting account of a wild, big dog-monster the size of a bear. Children can play with these sensitive dogs, but these same dogs are not afraid of wolves and bears.
As infrastructure and travel made the Bankhar dog's native regions more accessible, non-native dogs began to intermix with the breed. During the Communist era of Mongolia, Bankhar dogs were let loose or exterminated to forcibly relocate nomadic groups into socialist-style settlements. Their pelts became fashionable for stylish Russian coats, and the largest dogs were killed to feed the growing dog coat industry. By the 1980s, the breed had almost disappeared.
The decline of effective livestock guarding dogs has caused nomadic herders to resort to shooting or poisoning any threats toward their herds. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the populations of Wolf and in these regions. There has since been renewed interest to preserve the breed in Russia and Mongolia; however the breed is still endangered.
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