Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) | Dog Breed Information & Facts – Pictures

If you are looking for a faithful and reliable guard for yourself and your home, then the Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) will suit you.

This breed is not suitable in spirit for every animal lover, as it is not very sociable, prefers solitude and has a strong character. By its nature, the Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) is an unsurpassed watchdog with a quick reaction and an excellent sense of smell, it is these qualities that enable it to protect you and your home from the threat that has arisen at any moment. Due to his watchdog qualities, he’s ideal for service in law enforcement.

Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) was first bred in Morocco, where he regularly served, guarding the steppe nomads and their homes. The main advantages of the dogs are smart eyes with a benevolent and attentive gaze, a strong physique with developed muscles, energy, agility and fearlessness. Heat or extreme cold are not terrible for these species, as they adapt perfectly to any weather conditions.

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Its appearance and physical characteristics characterize it as a hunting dog, because the Atlas shepherd has a well -developed muscular body, a big head, a massive neck folded in folds, strong jaws and strong teeth.

It has a physique proportionate with a musculoskeletal system and well-developed muscles.

An adult male adult atlas dog can reach a tourist height of 54 to 62 centimeters and weighs from 28 to 35 kilograms. The females weigh 25 to 32 kg with 52 to 59 cm.

• Head: the head is proportionate to the body. The skull is flat and rather wide. The transition from the forehead to the muzzle is soft.
• Teeth: strong, white teeth. The jaws are powerful.
• Ears: Middle, rounded coccyx. The ears are semi-sized, when the dog is excited, the ears are raised and directed forward.
• Eyes: Medium eyes, dark brown, whatever the color of the dress. Fixed obliquely.
• Body: the chest is deep, which allows the dog to cover long distances in hot weather. The ribs are elastic, the belly is rolled up. The back is straight, rather strong and muscular.
• Members: The members are strong, muscular. The joints of the hock and the knee are blunt. The legs are rounded, the claws are strong, the color of the claws depends on the color of the dog.
• Coat: the coat is dense, thick, about 6 cm long, the hair is shorter on the muzzle and the ears. The color can be any: fawn, white, sand, light brown. Two or three colors are combined.

This dog demonstrates its intelligence like other breeds in the service of shepherds to control herds, group them and lead them with shepherds along the mountain range of northern Morocco where nomads take their herds in search of new pastures.

The Aïdi – Atlas Mountain Dog is a solid animal, of a remarkable mobility, energetic, of solid structure without any heaviness and endowed with a dense hair which protects it at the same time from the sun and the cold of the mountains from which it comes. This fur forms a shell that protects it during clashes against jackals and other predators.

its eyes are alert, direct and determined, because it is a guard dog always ready to fulfill its role of guardian. In some areas, it is usual to cut the ears and amputate the tail of working dogs, to make them less vulnerable to wild animals.

This dog knows how to love and knows how to show its affection and fidelity to its masters. It behaves in a very passive way to be educated in a simple way, but its best asset is to be a defender of both its family and its territory.

It is worth knowing that Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) is distinguished by his freedom-loving and independence. These dogs are quite confident and like to dominate. The complex character of the animal can only be settled by the pros, so a beginner should wait a little while choosing this type.

In spite of its particular origin, the Aïdi – Atlas Mountain Dog is a breed which serves to live in the suburbs and in city. But its character allows it to open up to accomplish various tasks that it can solve without any problem and, besides, to keep busy and to exercise makes it happy and active.

The Aïdi – Atlas Mountain Dog is a beautiful dog who, because of its large breed genes, usually accumulates a lot of energy that is constantly being spent on its desire to protect and watch. Its behavior is very intuitive, it is always ready to jump, run or play. it looks like a very happy animal who establishes an excellent connection with its masters. This dog has great intelligence comparable to guide dogs for the blind.

It is very loyal to its family and ts patient behavior helps t to obey without complaining. The Aïdi – Atlas Mountain Dog knows its role in the family and is more than willing to show its masters that they love them very much.

The Aïdi – Atlas Mountain Dog is a breed that does not present many health problems let alone inherited. However, it is not exempt from some of the common diseases of large breed dogs: dysplasia of the elbow, knee or hip, it may also suffer from neck problems and stomach twists.

However, these types of diseases can be avoided at an early age when the dog is well fed and strict control is maintained with the veterinarian.

The health care of this dog will also depend on its activities, if it is a dog who lives clearly outside, it is recommended to take care of parasites that may appear in his fur and in the dirt accumulated in its ears.

Having learned a lot of information about the difficult nature of the Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi), you will naturally have questions about the proper care and maintenance of such a wayward animal, so you definitely need to know all the features and secrets of their maintenance.

The conditions of city life are not suitable for this animal; a freedom-loving dog will like rural life. Unlike other dogs, this species prefers solitude, it will not entertain itself in noisy companies of people and animals. In the process of education, he can show willfulness and toughness in his character, so you need to be patient and be quite strict and demanding of him.

The thick (average 10 cm) hair of the Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) requires regular combing, but with bathing it is much easier, you need to do this only a few times a year with a special shampoo during the shedding period. Swimming in open reservoirs in the fresh air will bring great pleasure to the dog.

The Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) is very active and mobile, so you must provide him with the necessary amount of physical activity to maintain his tone and body shape in excellent condition.

The Aidi dog or mountain dog of the Atlas, the shepherd of the Atlas or the Berber dog is an old breed of molossiens similar to the Anatolian Shepherd and the white shepherds of the European mountains (Great Pyrenees).

The most probable of the hypotheses on its origins, says that it surely arrived at the Atlas with Roman legions and has its base in the Roman mastiff (mastiff which accompanied the legions and was introduced in different corners of the Roman geography there 2,000 years ago) whose root dates back to the Tibetan bulldog.

Over the centuries, the Aïdi – Atlas Mountain Dog underwent a natural selection in a harsh climate and in a state of permanent alert to wolves and jackals. It is currently an abundant breed throughout the Atlas, especially in Morocco and Libya and deals with the guarding and protection of property and animals in mountain villages and nomadic Moroccan tribes and has become a big pet in Morocco.

Although in 1963 his official name was “Atlas Shepherd Dog” in 1969, this was changed. And this is because the Aïdi has never acted as a shepherd in the same sense as the one attributed to this work in other countries.

The breed is recognized by the FCI.

In the past, the Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) was exclusively a working dog: it guarded people or animals and hunted. Recently, this dog has been increasingly found in homes, especially in rural areas. If the Atlas Mountain Dog (Aidi) has his own depot, in which he can invest his abilities and strength, then he can be kept in the city.