A Dog with a "Fur"....( please see large)

Thanks again, you are  right of course  when one has the time and possibility to do a "research". I  do stand behind my work ! ;-))

Hi Pnina,

 

I enjoyed  reading Jeff's comment  because it struck a solid chord for me, both as regards the link between these two and because I too get a sense that both of them are a bit rough around the edges and high maintenance yet  likely warm and true to one another.  Having spent most of my life with large breed guard dogs ( my two Pyrs are cousins to this breed )  I connect to the shared glance you captured here.  They may both be in their own worlds however the bond of the girl and her guardian insures that they keep one another close. 

A part of me always feels sad when I see large breed livestock guardians living in urban settings, I cannot help but want to envision this Komandor  on the perimeter of a flock of sheep perched on a mountain side in Hungary. The girl on the other hand would look a bit out of place as a Shepard and maybe love trumps geography.

I do not mind the line of light striking the roadway as it pulls my eye to the bottom of the page and obliges me to read the scene from bottom to top which seems a natural and appropriate read for the scene given that we are starting at the bottom of an ascending stairway.

I want to make sure there's no misunderstanding. I didn't bring up Cartier Bresson to challenge your photo. Your response about "standing by" the photo leads me to believe you may have seen a criticism in my bringing up Bresson here. I brought him up merely as a challenge to your statement that street shooters can't be choosy, but not as a challenge to this particular photo.

Pnina, gorgeous capture with great attitude & connection, crisp sharpness, also love the fantastic exposure under the shadows!     Best  regards

"......Known for their ability to protect livestock and property..........."  Who or what protects the livestock & property from this DOG?  Looks big enough to eat a sheep or a small cow.  And who is responsible for maintaining the dreadlocks, or are they a natural feature?  What a surprise a predator would get when attacking what looks like a sheep only to find out it has bigger fangs? Ha ha ha, predator!  As for the doggy treat the woman is reaching for;  how do you tell a dog that big, "Sorry but it looks like I don't have anything for you" ?  I think her left wrist is in imminent danger. :-)   Nice street capture.  Best, LM.

Gord, thanks for your feeling about this  scene . Those two touched me deeply. Being a dog/animal lover and living many years of my life with a dog and a cat, this was a very unusual breed for me.( I did not know that your dogs/Pyrs are cousins ;-)) with this breed.... It is interesting as I like so much your photos of your dogs, and their fur looks different, but  as I'm not a specialist of dog  breeds,I trust  you ,and glad to get this knowledge/information..;-)). I felt the bond between the two, as the dog was standing first but she talked to him and he then set down and they looked at each other.... That was the moment I took the  photo . You are right as well about this kind of dog living in an urban surrounding, but he looked well taken car of and  loved , so this is some consolation.She for sure looked a city girl....
 
Fred,thanks for your clarification, but what I meant about street photography not being choosy  (and not well explained , sorry) was the weather conditions ....;-)).The timing /composition is always important in street photograph as in every other subject.
 
Richard, thanks for feeling the bond between the two and expressing it. It tells me that what I felt was connected through the photo.

Len,thanks , you made me smile by your idea of  a dog disguised to a sheep ;-)) but he looked very sweet and not scary with a nice approach to strangers around him...so maybe he will be effective when he is doing his duty as a livestock kipper.....

It looks that this dog/breed is not very  familiar to many...;-))Thanks again  to all of you

Hi Pnina, here is some dog trivia for you.  Although my Great Pyrenees dogs do not have corded fur they do have very dense long fur which serves the same purpose as the corded fur on the  Komondor. Both breeds are use in mountainous regions to guard livestock and this historically meant dealing with bears and wolves. Their thick coat makes it very difficult for these predators to get a hold on the dog or penetrate the fur to cause harm. Most often the wolf ends up with a mouth full of fur rather than a mouth full of dog.

There is an ancient lineage of large white guard dogs stretching through the mountains from the middle east northward  to Siberia all of which are related to one another and believed to have come from Tibetan Mastiff stock originally introduced by the Phoenicians.

In Morocco you have the Aidi, in Turkey there is the Akbash, in Italy they have the Maremma, the French have the Great Pyrenees, the Polish have the Tatra, the Slovakians the Chuvach and the Hungarians have the Kuvasz.  The Komondor is most likely the result of breeding the Kuvasz and another Hungarian dog the Puli. The Kuvasz is a large white sheep guarding dog ( looking very similar to Darwin ) and the Puli has the same strangely corded coat which the Komondor has.  So you see Jeff and Maggie are distant relatives of this Komondor you met on a street in Amsterdam.

Trivia? It is a bag full of knowledge/information! One of the best I have received about dogs ever! Thanks so much! It is the second subject that I have learned  so much from you (Orchids !);-)) I will print it and look for more information about all the breeds you have mentioned.

Thanks again for adding it in this thread so people will learn from you as well. I'm overwhelmed!

Pnina, Dogs and orchids are among my greatest loves.  I realized too late to edit, that in my last post I wrote Jeff and Maggie rather than Darwin and Maggie.  Jeff was actually my first Pyr many years ago along with his deaf sidekick Bartok, both were adopted from a Pyr. rescue person.

Pnina, I cannot stay away from dog pictures, especially ones which have an unusual specimen in it like this guy. I love that he is intently watching the lady; I can't be sure they are together, but I assume so. She seems oddly indifferent to him. I have seen this breed up close, and it is mind boggling how that fur works. Great capture, with a great story in there somewhere.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, I don't have the whole story as being traveling ,and therefor a passer by, but they were together and she was not indifferent to him. See the second version I have photographed... he was very friendly, and unusual breed for me.

So what should I say after these miles of comments ?!

"Don't light you cigarette, Madame !

Lemme do it for you, chere maitresse !"

:)

Very nice street shot. You do certainly not need to excuse yourself for showing it. Pet photography can indeed be awfully kitschy but what you got is far from it.

There is clearly a dialogue going on between the dog and the girl that makes the picture a captivating one.

As for the komondor, of course I am familiar with it but their place is usually by a Hungarian shepherds hut and not on the streets of Amsterdam.

Regards, Tibi

 

Nice find. My first thought also was "What the heck kind of dog is that?"

O la  la, Florin, thanks for all your comments ;-))

Tibi, sorry as well for the late answer, I loved that unusual Dog, and I thank you for looking at it as I saw it, a good street shot

Dale, thanks for all of them, that was my first impression as well, and that s what I have asked . If you read the thread patiently, especially Amal's link and  and Gordon's detailed answer  you will be much more knowledgeable as I'm now....;-))