Anatolian Shepherd - 6000 Years of Guarding

Introduction

Once a friend of mine bought a dog, to his simple apartment no bigger than a college dorm room.. A person who never owned a dog in his life,but yet choose to buy an Anatolian Shepherd. I wondered if he went insane, a dog this size in the city ? Even worse, in his small apartment..
He bought the dog cause he wanted, well, according to what he told me;" A friend ". I didnt believe him " And i did ask him;" Have you gone insane? "

Six months later, he gave it away. This was my first encounter with this dog, the amazing thing is, the same breed comes with a myth and a tale.

The story goes somewhat like this;" As a puppy, you throw it in to a livestock, one or more,and it has to survive on its own. The cold winters and the hot summers, if it dies, it means the dog couldnt do what he was breed to. As the years pass, the livestock becomes his pack of friends, safeguarding them from, bears, cougars, wolves, foxes, well anything who comes with a killing intention.

From what ive seen its breed for one thing, and one thing only, to protect the flock from "evil intentions"
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The Anatolian Shepherd Dog is a breed of dog which originated in the Anatolia region of central Turkey. It is rugged, large and very strong, with good sight and hearing that allow it to protect livestock. With its high speed and agility it is able to run down a predator with great efficiency.
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History

The Karabaş (Blackhead) is descended from ancient livestock guardian dog types that migrated with the transhumance, guarding flocks of sheep from wolves, bears, lions, tigers, leopards, jackals, and even cheetahs.
It is probable that dogs of this type existed 6,000 years ago in what is now Turkey.Anatolian Shepherd Dogs are members of a very old breed, probably descended from powerful hunting dogs from Mesopotamia. The breed was developed over time to meet a specific set of circumstances. The most formative were climate (very hot, dry summers and very cold winters), lifestyle (sedentary, semi-nomadic and nomadic) and duties (guarding flocks moving great distances on the Central Anatolian Plateau).

Anatolian Shepherds are still used to guard livestock.
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Temperament

The Anatolian Shepherd dog was developed to be independent and forceful, responsible for guarding its master's flocks without human assistance or direction. These traits make it challenging as a pet; owners of dogs of this breed must socialize the dogs to turn them into appropriate companions. They are intelligent and can learn quickly but might choose not to obey.

According to Turkish shepherds, three Anatolian Shepherd Dogs are capable of overcoming a pack of wolves and injuring one or two of them. These dogs like to roam, as they were bred to travel with their herd and to leave the herd to go hunt for predators before the predators could attack the flock.

The Anatolian Shepherd is not recommended for life in small quarters. They do well with other animals, including cats if they are introduced while still a puppy and have their own space. They mature between 18–30 months. Due to their history, both puppies and adults seem to have little interest in fetching. Rather, they prefer to run and sometimes swim.
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Source

Anatolian Shepherd

Star and flag, my cats insisted.

a reply to: HUMBLEONE

Cats are evil

a reply to: tikbalang

Very neat breed. I have one similar, the Great Pyrenees and she guards my chickens from predators. Old herd dogs are amazing and ridiculously intelligent. They can be a challenge as they inately desire a huge range.

a reply to: tikbalang

My half-Anatolian, half Labrador boy died just a couple months ago. Wonderful dog I rescued at age 3. He had the size of a lab (thankfully, as a pure Anatolian can reach 160 lbs, had a strong defensive streak which I managed to tame so that he got to know his friends/family, and eventually to understand that new faces were ok if we welcomed them in.

My wife sent her firearms owner ID application in shortly after he died, feeling less secure in the home - with our other dogs still around, a German Shepard and a Rottweiler. Yet, he was also the sweetest of the bunch in many ways. I've never known a dog to be as happy spending time with his people- walking, snuggling, playing as he was.

As I worked on projects around the house at night, he would follow me from room to room. Visiting family at their farm with him, I took an ATV for a ride about 2 miles. Turned around, started heading back and in the distance I could see him running towards me. Apparently when he realized I was going quickly out of range, nobody could stop him. I'll never forget his happy face and bouncing ears as he finished the sprint back to me.

Whenever my wife and I were in different parts of the house during the day, he would strategically place himself in the best midway point to "protect" and watch over us both. When our son was born, he was rarely more than a few feet from him.

Great dogs, but I don't believe most people should ever own one. They require far more work and training than even German Shepards.