This old breed is hardly known at all outside of its native region in northern Iran. The Mazandarani dog (may be with difference names) can be find in the large region on north, north east and north west of Iran, from khorasan during the Alborz mountains till West Azerbaijan of Iran.

Sage Mazandarani is close related to the Sredneasiatskaia Ovtcharka and the Sage Koochi of Afghanistan, and like the Sage Koochi it can be questioned if this breed really is a breed of its own or just a southern variant of the Central Asian Ovtcharka with different name. Even so, we know that about 3000/4000 years before Christ, The earliest CAOs are believed to have come to the territory of modern Turkmenistan (the homeland of Alabai Cao's) by the people that came from Iran. The area of distribution of CAOs of today, is very wide, and includes former Asian Republics of the USSR, Afghanistan, North Pakistan, North and Eastern Iran and even North India. That is why the breed has so many different types and names.

We can find some kinds of these dogs (like Alabais or CAOs with horse head type) in all of the north Iran. One of these Dogs an "Alabai" from the Mazandaran area have been imported into Russia in 1975 by Alex Rozen and supposedly been used in the breeding of Central Asian Ovtcharka, which further suggest the close relationship of these two "breeds". this dog was a puppy male with cropped ears and tail. Mazandaran is a province in north of Iran, near the Turkmenistan area that their dogs were always famous in Iran. The same breed with difference types and local names we can find in north-east (khorasan) and north-west (Ardabil) and dogs that are more higher on the legs and widen in the back with shorter coats, in the Eastern part of Iran.

There is an interesting opinion for the people of these areas that the Mazandarani dogs are the most sloth and the "Talesh, Shahsavand and Ardabil" dogs are the most aggressors in the dogs of Iran.

So far we do not know what differs the Sage Mazandarani from the other Central Asian Ovtcharka types, but as we said, it is sure that even CAO dogs have their roots somehow from Iran.

I think that's because first dogs are Allabai kinds that are more relaxed and the seconds are Caucasians and more aggressive. In the area of northern Iran where this breed are located the now extinct Caspian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) were to be found in earlier times, and the breed was used as a flock guardian against the Tiger, but also against the other predators in the area, like the wolves, Panther and bear.

افراد محلی در شمال ایران سگ مازندرانی را بنامهای گوناگونی چون: "سیاه سگ" و "خرس کش" مینامند.  هرچند این نژاد یک سگ گله و نگهبان میباشد ولی در جنگلهای شمال از آن برای شکار حیوانات بزرگ نظیر گراز، خرس استفاده میگردد. صاحب عکس سمت راست تعریف میکرد که دوست او که صاحب این سگ است بهمراه پدر خویش در شمال ایران از این سگ برای شکار خرس استفاده میکند. همانطور که در عکس بالا دیده میشود، از این سگها برای شکار ببر مازندرانی نیز توسط سربازان روس در ایران استفاده شده است. در 4 می 1999 یک چوپان ایرانی در مازندران پس از حمله یک قلاده پلنگ به او در جنگلهای شمال، توسط سگهای گله خود از خطر مرگ حتمی نجات یافت. سگهای گله  این چوپان 40 ساله که صاحب خود را مورد حمله این پلنگ وحشی دیده بودند با هجوم به آن حیوان مهاجم را مورد حمله قرار داده و آن را متواری ساختند.

گزارش و تصویرهائی از وجود این سگ در مناطق مرکز ایران نیز در دست است و این بدین خاطر است که چوپانان ایران برای داشتن سگهای گله بهتر به نقاط مختلف کشور سفر کرده و سگهای محلی و مشهور آنجا را به شهر و روستاهای خود میاورند. همچنین بسیاری از دامداران که گله های خود را برای فروش به دیگر شهرها میبرند، سگهای گله آنها در کوچه های پیچ و خم شهرهای بزرگ گم شده یا پس از فروش دامها توسط صاحبانشان در شهرها رها شده  و به سگهای ولگرد تبدیل میگردند. بطور نمونه تعدادی از این سگها را در عکسهای گله های سگهای ولگرد در تهران (در سالهای قبل از انقلاب) میتوان مشاهده نمود.

غرب اصفهان - عکس از شراره کازرونی - 8-2000