Mastiffs make a motza for breeders in China
Date
March 11, 2013
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Amy Corderoy
Health Editor, Sydney Morning Herald
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Very cute but expensive: Tibetan mastiff puppies for sale at a mastiff show in Baoding. Photo: AFP
The mid-north coast of NSW is a far cry from Beijing. But Kristie Bates has something in common with China's highest flying residents: a love of the Tibetan mastiff.
One of the enormous dogs snoozed on stage on Saturday at a dog show in Baoding, a few hours' drive from Beijing. It didn't need to put on a show, despite an asking price of 5 million yuan ($790,000).
''This is the greatest dog in China,'' breeder Yao Yi said.
Mastiffs have become a prized status-symbol amongst China's wealthy, with rich buyers across the country sending prices skyrocketing. Photo: AFP
Ms Bates, from Jangbu Tibetan Mastiffs, said pet puppies typically sold in the Australian market for between $2500 and $3500, while show dogs sold for $5000 or $6000.
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She said even the prospect of earning $1 million could not tempt her to sell her dogs to China.
"In China they breed them to be quite ferocious. They also don't socialise them and can sometimes keep them in poor living environments," she said.
Tibetan mastiffs have become a prized status symbol among China's wealthy, with rich buyers sending prices skyrocketing.
One red mastiff named Big Splash, reportedly sold for 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in 2011.
Owners say the mastiffs, descendants of dogs used by nomadic tribes in central Asia for hunting, are fiercely loyal and protective.
Breeders still travel to the Himalayan Plateau to collect puppies. ''It takes over a month to drive back from Tibetan areas with the dogs,'' said Wang Fei, a breeder in Beijing, who collects white puppies from western China. Most of them were unable to adjust to low altitudes and died during the journey.
Zhang's wealthiest clients included the owners of coalmines in northern China, he said. ''One buyer paid for a dog with a 30,000 yuan Omega watch and a car, just for a small dog.''
Intensive breeding had led to inbreeding and some vendors injected glucose into their dogs' legs to make them appear stronger, the Global Times daily reported.
with Agence France-Presse
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/a...rs-in-china-20130310-2fu3u.html#ixzz2NB3WGtpz
