The breed was almost extinguished, and was only preserved through the fierce protection and dedication of the Bulgarian shepherds in the mountain regions.

The most numerous populations of working purebred livestock guarding Karakachan dogs are found in Bulgaria and the United States.

The Karakachan dog is a typical livestock guardian dog, created for guarding its owner's flock and property; it does not hesitate to fight wolves or bears to defend its owner and his family in case of danger.

In 1938 H. B. Peters wrote about it in the German cynological magazine, "Zeitschrift für Hundeforschung".

[citation needed] The word karakachan is most likely derived from Turkish kara ('black') and kaçan ('one that got away').

[full citation needed] They are registered in the International Karakachan Data Base in Bulgaria.

However, when a flock is passing through a village the dogs walk calmly without paying attention to people.

There is another reason for the lack of accidents: the tradition of guarding livestock with big, aggressive dogs has always existed in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov gave a Karakachan dog, called Buffy to Russian PM Vladimir Putin as a gift in 2010.