Netflix has a short series available called “Muster Dogs” that I think everyone should watch.  It’s about dogs, it’s educational, but most importantly, it’s just good TV.  No spoilers here.

“Muster Dogs” follows 5 puppies from one litter of pure-bred Australian Kelpies over their first year of life.  The puppies are kept by the breeder until 3 months of age, at which time they are delivered to 5 different shepherds in all corners of Australia.  These are experienced shepherds that use packs of dogs to muster their herds, and thus know very well how to train these pups for their life’s work.  The goal for this show is to have each pup work as well as a three-year-old by their first birthday.  Episodes are organized around behavior assessments given at 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of age.

Although many of the milestones employed in these assessments are specific to herding, some might be applicable to Tibetan Mastiffs.  Mostly, they make me wonder if it’s appropriate for Tibetan Mastiff breeders and fanciers to negotiate and publish a similar set of checklists for our breed.  This would allow Tibetan Mastiff owners to have maturation benchmarks to consider while raising their own puppies, even if they aren’t working dogs.

Let’s take a look at the 4-month checklist from the show. I’ll use my 5-month-old puppy as a Tibetan Mastiff single subject.  Heck, I was evaluating Courage like crazy while watching anyway.  The 4-month list is more general than the latter assessments as they are more targeted at herding skills. The 4-month list is as follows:

1 – Bluetooth connection – this is a clever way to describe a bond between puppy and owner.  It is evidenced by eye contact, in a calm and playful moment, that is natural, desired, and resists distraction.

2 – Drag 3-meter rope – shepherds train puppies with a 3-meter rope attached to their collar.  This allows the shepherd to stop the dog from doing whatever stupid stuff they are doing by stepping on the rope and reeling them in if necessary.  The puppies need to have the rope attached without fussing about it or playing with it.

3 – Relaxed when held – the shepherds are asked to pick up the puppy and hold it in their arms without the pup wriggling, biting, or trying to get free.

4 – Loose lead walk – the puppy should be able to go on a leashed walk and follow the owner without commands or resisting the leash.

5 – Responding to name – this is not so much a command response as a demonstration that the puppy can look up or make a noticeable response to the use of their name.  Obviously, when you have many dogs working a “mob,” each dog needs to know their name and be able to respond to commands individually.

6 – Calm on chain – these dogs are moved around quite a bit by motorized quads, and the puppies need to comply with very short tethering without resistance. 

7 – Communal feeding – every one of these shepherds had loads of dogs and they were fed together with dry food spilled into a giant feeding trough or bowl.  The puppies need to show that they are one of the gang and head to the bowl with the others and feed without arguing.

So, how does Courage stack up?  Not too bad.  1) She and I have a profound Bluetooth Connection.  I have no doubts.  2) I haven’t tried this, but I don’t need to.  She would just lie down and start chewing on the rope.  3) She passes this with flying colors, although she is getting too heavy now to try.  She just passed 60 lbs.  4) She’s not as bad at this as she might be.  She walks like a drunk, but doesn’t resist the leash and comes back to me when I ask her to.  5) She definitely knows her name.  Which is weird as I mostly call her “puppy.”  I am at the point where I’ve owned enough dogs to forget her name and call her by one of the other dogs’ names.  It’s uncomfortable when I call her Magnus.  6) I know Tibetan Mastiffs are the “tied dogs,” but I would never tether a Tibetan Mastiff.  Just . . . no.  7) She’s an only child at the moment, so I don’t know, but she is a casual eater with no apparent possessiveness or aggression.  I think she would do okay.

This would give Courage a score of 5 out of 7.  Well, that’s my score and I’m sticking to it.  Way to go little girl!  If we ever make a checklist for Tibetan Mastiffs, I vote for an item where the puppy demonstrates self-confidence by looking at the owner while cocking its head to one side and spitting a molar across the kitchen: all without a patch over one eye and a parrot on their shoulder.  Courage is a badass.