Photo: Putin's dogs
Lovers of pets and dogs in particular are often interested in what pets live with famous people or idols. People often wonder what the breed of Putin’s dog is, and how many animals the head of the Russian Federation has. But Vladimir Vladimirovich is a distinguished lover of pets. In photographs, he often appears in the press hugging or petting the pets of other heads of state and high-ranking officials.
In total, Vladimir Putin had 4 dogs until 2021: black Labrador Connie, Bulgarian shepherd Buffy, Akita Inu Yume and Sharplanin shepherd Pasha. But the first pet was Connie, who accompanied the owner at all events.
Labrador Connie Polgrave (Horses)
Perhaps the best known to the public is Putin’s Labrador dog named Koni. She was a star of the press, often appearing on the pages of magazines and newspapers, as she often entered the room where negotiations and important meetings were taking place.
Photo from Wikipedia
By the way! One of her first “star” appearances in front of the camera took place at a meeting between the prime minister and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is terrified of dogs. A strong tension is visible on her face as the coal Labrador girl walks. Journalists wondered for a long time: was this an accident?
Photo from Wikipedia
On behalf of the presidential favorite, the book “Kony Tells” was written, which tells about life next to the head of state through a dog’s eyes. Residents of one of the Moscow apartment buildings pooled their money and erected a monument to her in order to save their yard from development.
So, the breed of Putin’s dog Koni is a purebred Labrador. Having an excellent pedigree, the dog was distinguished by loyalty, kindness, flexible character and intelligence. The black female was born in 1999 and was purchased for training in one of the canine units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. A year and a half later, the then head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and now Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu gave a puppy to his friend Vladimir Vladimirovich.
As an adult, Connie regularly produced offspring. So, in 2008, on the day of the parliamentary elections, she gave birth to eight puppies. Putin gave some of them to ordinary people who expressed their desire to adopt pets during the annual direct line with the president or in letters.
A couple of dogs were given as a gift to the Austrian President Thomas Klestil as babies. He did not live long - he died just 2 years later, but the widow did not even think of placing her late husband’s favorites in another house, leaving them for herself. Some descendants of the presidential Labrador serve in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other departments. At the end of 2014, at the age of 15, Koni's heart stopped, but people still remember her and consider Putin's favorite breed of dogs to be mainly coal-black Labradors - ideal companions for a family or a single person.
Other Presidential Animals
The former wife of the president also had a dog. Also in 1999, Putin gave his wife a toy poodle, Tosya. In 2013, the couple divorced, and Lyudmila took Tosya with her. The fate of the poodle remains unknown.
Vladimir Vladimirovich is distinguished by his love not only for dogs, but also for all our smaller brothers. In 2003, Putin was symbolically presented with a white goat in honor of the coming year. The goat was named Skazka.
In 2008, on the occasion of the president’s birthday, he was given a little tiger cub Masha. For some time Masha lived in the Novo-Ogarevo residence, and later moved to the zoo in Gelendzhik.
Putin also loves horses. He has quite a lot of them:
- The first horse was presented to the president in 2000. The Oryol trotter was given to him by Yegor Stroev, the former governor of the Oryol region.
- In 2001, Putin’s nursery was replenished with an Akhal-Teke stallion, with the help of Murtaza Rakhimov, the then president of Bashkiria.
- From the King of Jordan, Putin received three “Arabs”: the mare Aizis, the stallions Ibn Maruf and Hakim. Later, Musharraf sent two more Arabian horses.
- Saparmurat Niyazov, and later Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, both heads of Turkmenistan, presented Putin with Akhal-Teke horses as a present.
- In Nalchik, Putin received a horse named Kazbich of the Kabardian breed as a gift from Kabardino-Balkaria and others.
The title of the most famous horse of the president is honorably occupied by Vadik. This mini horse is only 54 cm tall. All of Putin’s pets are located at his residence in Novo-Ogarevo.
Alabai Verny
“I want to buy a dog like Putin’s, I don’t know the name of the breed, it’s big and beautiful!” — such search queries were sent by Russians after seeing touching photos of the president kissing a shaggy puppy. We are talking about Vepaly's alabai, donated in 2021 in Sochi, whose nickname translated from Turkmen means “faithful.” The Central Asian Shepherd Dog is the national treasure of Turkmenistan, known throughout the world.
Unlike other presidential pets, the alabai is completely unpretentious in food and eats everything that is given to it. Now Verny is a young male, distinguished by courage, devotion, excellent health and irrepressible energy. Despite their impressive size and menacing appearance, Alabai are as vulnerable as children and love their owner very much. They need supervision and training. It is noteworthy that from the very beginning Verny did not find a common language with the other inhabitants of the nursery; he often conflicts with anyone who encroaches on his freedom or the desired bone.
Loyal
Faithful is a gift from V.V. To Putin for his birthday from the head of Turkmenistan in October 2021.
The President of Turkmenistan presented Putin with an Alabai puppy
This thoroughbred dog received his nickname for the devotion and loyalty inherent in the Alabai, to whose breed he belongs. Alabais are smart animals and good guards. Their height can reach 90 cm. The color of the president's dog is white with pale brown spots.
An Alabai puppy will grow into a reliable guard and devoted friend
Sharplana Shepherd Dog Pasha
Photo from Wikipedia website
At the beginning of 2021, Putin got another shepherd dog, this time from Serbian lands. The puppy was presented by the President of Serbia. Before this generous and beautiful gift, few Russians had ever seen this rare breed - the Sharplanin.
The main advantage and calling of dogs like Pasha is the ability to protect the territory and their owner, herd the herd and fearlessly engage in battle with predators. This is a large herding breed, reaching up to 70 cm at the withers. It is not intended for apartments - its place is in open fields or a large area. It is noteworthy that for many years it was strictly prohibited to export Sharplanin Shepherd dogs from Yugoslavia. They are a symbol of loyalty and selfless love for the one who was chosen from family members in childhood, which is why Vucic chose such a sign of attention to the Russian leader, emphasizing the strong friendly ties between the peoples of the countries.
More about Buffy
The President (then Prime Minister) told the guy that he liked the nickname Buffy. He also boasted that the pet has grown noticeably and continues to grow right before our eyes. It is worth noting that the height of an adult Bulgarian Shepherd can reach 0.7 meters. At that time, Putin’s second dog, the photo of which is below, had not yet been trained, she knew almost no commands, and only responded to the call: “Sit.” Experts say that in general this is a very affectionate and picky breed.
VVP admitted that the present from the Bulgarian prime minister came as a surprise to him. In addition, he was very worried about how Connie would greet the “newcomer” in the family. His fears turned out to be in vain; the Labrador treated the puppy like a mother. She even allowed him to play with herself, but not for long, voicing the boundaries of the permitted limit with a growl.
At that time, the owner stated about Buffy’s character that it was too early to say anything concrete. One thing is clear - the guy is very persistent, shows confident behavior, and often runs up to open doors, standing on his hind legs. Putin compared Bulgarian shepherd dogs as a breed with Russian “Central Asians”, however, their coat is much thicker, which makes it possible to live in cold mountains and even sleep on snow cover.
Kyrgyz Greyhound (Taigan) Sherkhan
Photo from Wikipedia website
The six-month-old puppy was presented as a gift to Vladimir Putin by the President of Kyrgyzstan and was named Sherkhan. Giving a Taigan as a gift means expressing the deepest respect for a person, because the Kyrgyz hound has existed for more than 12 thousand years and is an endangered species, a national treasure. Intelligence, grace, speed, endurance, loyalty, calmness, and inherent nobility within nature make this dog a real treasure. Here are a few more undeniable advantages of Taigan:
- exceptional courage - often greyhounds alone go after a wolf during a hunt;
- high level of intelligence;
- independence, but at the same time contact, the need for affection;
- strong immunity.
Many people would like to have a dog of the same breed as Putin. But which one should you choose? In a small house or city apartment, Labrador and Akita Inu will feel best. For others, cramped conditions and limited space are extremely harmful. In addition, all these dogs need constant communication and education, physical activity, and special nutrition, which is provided by the constantly working canine service of the presidential kennel. Before buying a puppy, you should consult with breeders, owners and dog handlers and make a decision, soberly weighing all the pros and cons.
Yume
This red female dog is from the Akita Inu dog breed. Representatives of such Japanese dogs are famous for their high intellectual abilities and show amazing devotion and love for their owner.
The three-month-old puppy was presented to the head of the Russian Federation by representatives of Japan at a meeting in July 2012. With this gift they wanted to thank the Russian state for its assistance in the work to eliminate the consequences of the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant.
Putin named this dog, a gift from the Japanese, Yume (Dream)
Putin chose the name of another favorite himself. "Yume" is translated into Russian as "dream".
Representatives of the Japanese delegation saw the grown-up gift - Yume - again during negotiations in 2021.
The Russian President came to negotiations with the Japanese delegation along with his grown-up dog Yume
Buffy and the Journalists
The press also did not ignore this presidential pet. For example, at Avtoradio the presenters even composed a musical composition called “Just give the premiere a puppy.”
When asked by reporters to take Buffy with them to the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort, V. Putin refused. He justified this by the fact that the speeds on the slopes are rapid and the dog could get hurt. Moreover, such a misfortune almost happened to Connie; she barely managed to dodge the ski.
Despite its thick coat and resistance to cold, Putin’s second dog stayed in the house for a long time and slept next to the Labrador. It was simply a pity to leave the small puppy outside. After one of the press representatives remarked that it was dangerous for a puppy to be near an adult Labrador, Vladimir Vladimirovich replied: “You can’t do that,” which greatly amused those around him.
What breed of dog did Putin have after Koni?
The Bulgarian Shepherd, or Karakachan dog as it is called, was presented to Putin during his visit to Bulgaria by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Vladimir Vladimirovich was so happy with the gift that he couldn’t resist kissing the puppy right at the presentation ceremony.
The puppy already had the name Yorgo, but Putin didn’t like it. A whole competition was announced for the name of the dog. Putin chose the version of “Buffy” proposed by five-year-old boy Dima Sokolov. Putin said that Connie treated the puppy kindly, but Buffy drags the Labrador by the tail and ears, and when she gets completely tired of him, she growls. A group of Avtoradio presenters recorded the song “Just Give a Puppy to the Premier” in honor of Buffy.
Description of the breed
Putin's dog breed is called Labrador Retriever. This breed was originally bred as a working animal, so many of its representatives still serve as guide dogs and rescue dogs. The breed originates from Fr. Newfoundland, which is located in Canada. There are several assumptions about the origin of the name of the breed. At first, the dogs were exclusively black, the color reminiscent of labradorite stone. Therefore, scientists think that the name appeared because of the color. If we start from another version, then the first dogs were bred on the Labrador Peninsula. And the latest version: Labradors were named so by the Portuguese for their amazing performance; in their language, “Labrador” means “hard worker.”
To briefly describe the character of the breed, we can note the innate skill of the hunter and true passion. Labradors were hunting assistants: they must remain motionless and silent and watch, never taking their eyes off the hunter. The role of the Labrador begins after the shot. The command sounds, and he runs to where the game falls. Putin's dog breed was distinguished by a phenomenal memory, in principle, like all Labradors. Most dogs are able to retrieve game in the order in which it was shot.
