the National Holiday of the Turkmen Alabay. The contest is held annually in Turkmenistan as part of the Alabay holiday celebrated on the last Sunday of April. The office of the International Association "Turkmen Alabay" is located in Ashgabat. In order to develop dog breeding in Turkmenistan, popularize at the international level the successes achieved in this direction, the Association "Turkmen Alabay" publishes the magazine "Türkmeniň nusgalyk alabaýy" ("Exemplary Turkmen Alabay"). As symbol Alabay dogs were the mascot of the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. The image of the Alabay is drawn on the state medals "People's Dog Breeder of Turkmenistan" and "Honored Dog Breeder of Turkmenistan". In November 2020, a 15-meter Alabay monument was opened in Ashgabat. Working requirements and tests The Central Asian is a working breed of dog, and different breed fanciers organizations issue sets or rules and recommendations important to preserve dogs’ abilities to perform certain duties. This includes special tests to determine a dog's inborn qualities, and training degrees or titles aimed to show what the dog can learn to do. The National Breed Club in Russia developed a temperament test to reveal a dog's willingness and ability to protect the premises, as well as titles in Obedience (such as OKD), and in Protection (such as ZKS or KS) for dogs in most pedigrees from Russia and other countries of that region. There are several other types of tests and training titles, from simple to extremely complicated. Breed Clubs in European countries seldom have requirements, while common dog sports such as Schutzhund or IPO are not perfectly suitable for a Livestock Guardian dog. Some European Union Countries developed special tests for large breeds of dogs aiming to reveal a dog's overall stability, such as The Dog Mentality Assessment test in Sweden. Fight tests are common in countries where the breed is still in aboriginal stage, or in the process of formation. Despite adverse reputation of commercial dog fights, fight tests are aimed to reveal a dog's willingness and ability to fight predators. In countries with highly developed open field sheepherding, major livestock herd losses may be caused by predation from feral dogs and wolf-dog hybrids, and the livestock guardian dogs must be able to protect the sheep from those. The fight tests were established to maintain this important breed trait. Classification The CAO is a versatile, universal breed and fits under different descriptions