Beautiful Venus is very used to making heads turn when she comes into view as she is a Central Asian Shepherd which is a very rare breed to see out and about here in the UK. No one can ever quite work out what breed she is when they first spot her, but they’re always blown away by her size (almost 50kg) and majestic appearance.

At 4 years old Venus is fully grown and will need to find a family who have a home big enough for her to sprawl out in comfort and with enough space for her to manoeuvre about safely. We would love to find her a family who have experience of living with larger breeds, but are also open to matching her up with owners who are willing to learn all about her breed traits and are able to meet her needs so she can live the luxurious life she deserves.

Venus came into our care after being found straying, so we sadly don’t know much about her history, but we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her personality with all its little quirks. She LOVES to roll around in the grass, especially in the early morning when it is still damp with the dew, and she enjoys carrying a toy about when she’s out on a walk.

She also very much appreciates being able to do things in her own way and in her own time which is very much a breed trait! Historically her breed has been encouraged to rely on their own intelligence and instincts to protect livestock without much human intervention, so her independent nature is quite understandable. This doesn’t mean she isn’t open to learning new things, but it has to be worth her effort and time - high value smelly treats like liver and chicken have proved to be a good incentive.

Central Asian Shepherds are also known to be very loyal to their family unit and sometimes this can result in some protective tendencies so her new family will need to feel comfortable in managing this if needed. Venus likes spending time with her carers, has enjoyed getting to know our volunteers and is happy to stop to be admired by what we’re sure she refers to as her ‘fan-club’ when out and about.

We would like to find Venus an adult only family where she would be the only pet, so that her needs can be fully met, and she can feel completely at ease in her new home. Venus enjoys being given opportunities to interact with other dogs and has made a couple of firm canine play pals whilst she has been in our care, but she also very much appreciates quiet down time. She relishes opportunities to safely do her own thing off lead in our large, enclosed paddocks so it would be great if her new family would be able to hire enclosed fields so she can continue to enjoy similar bouts of freedom.