24. Line Founders in the Karakachan Dog Autochthonous Breed

The Karakachan dog is an old autochthonous Bulgarian breed. Traditionally it was used by shepherds in Bulgaria for guarding of livestock herds from attacks of large carnivores and thieves.
The first investigations of the breed date back to the 30s of the 20th century. Implementation of more intensive conservational activities began at the end of the 1980s. The breed was officially recognized in 2005.
Maintenance of the line structure in the Karakachan dog breed, based on 25 founders of genealogical lines shows good potential for conservation of interbreed genetic diversity