"貔貅仔" /貔貅之子 / 貔貅的小子/ 貔貅孩子们
Pi Xiu Dogs aka Ufan Farm Dogs
Early History
In the AD 1200s (Yuan Dynasy) there was a "dragon king's son" breed (Pixiu de XiaoZi) of herding dog that was barely registered in earlier history and later, became established in Kharkhorin and surrounding region. It shares similar traits with a dog of the Shang Dynasty and is presumed the same dog seen in many earlier Han Dynasty figurines. The dog would've been considered large ("He-goat size") though not as large as most guardian breeds are . The few descriptions are of an animal that was about 60 pounds with the higher valued specimens sporting a unique cording of their triple coat on the core body with feathered fills around face, neck, elbows and haunches. A very plumed tail end. Also the type valued came in a deep red with or without sable and a multicolor "cloud" pattern which was most likely a type of merle dilution that is seen in modern examples of the descendants. There was a smaller version in rough and curly coat. Originally dark masked and dark footed animal that had the" head of the dragon and the body of a lion". A long, lithe body low to ground long, graceful neck .The thick coat's plate-like cording only affected the main body, with heavy feathery fringing on the ear's, elbows(wings), haunches, tails end and a plush mane. The butterfly ears are described as round which seems to be the effect of when the fuzzy ear is held in its relaxed position of folded forward.
The spread of the dog first was in Siberia and Mongolia. Not many hints of their dispersion south before the 16th century. They were better used in pastoral environments even in the tenacious smaller variation and the heavy triple coat would not fare well in south
In the 1300s is when there seems to have been some crossbreeding with a giant "molosser" dog that was similar to the Caucasian shepherd or Tibetan Mastiff. More likely the mastiff which in itself has long history as unique phenotype in Asia and Siberia since the middle ages
The dog jumped to a third pony-size (80-100lb) but the cording "scales" became more rare. The dog itself can rarely be confused with true molossors because the muzzle has been consistently a long gaping "maw" with strong defined masseter muscles and thick cheekbone for support and primitive tooth setting with double canines in larger variations. Identifiable examples were in very few lasting media because of the region and the dog's use. backlash saw neglect and destruction for their origin. An Irish spotting pattern was introduced in the two smaller versions with turn of next century. Probably crossbreeding with herding dogs around the Ural, Balkan and Carpathian Mountains. By the mid 1600s the medium version(40lb) is verified at the surroundings of Eredene Xuu temple. Historical mention in media is also the most in this time. The animals seems to have had a diaspora along the silk road as pockets are dotted westward to Ukraine and select areas of Eastern Europe, southward especially in the smaller versions as far as Hungary. A stopping point for the large core gene pool of the dogs being used in a population was in Almaty. The smallest as identifiable version stopped westward in the Aral sea region. The largest version stopped its westward movement in Herat. The medium size dog was sprinkled in East and Central Europe, never Romania or Bulgaria or Poland.
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