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| There are five different
breeds of livestock guard dogs in Turkey that fall under the heading of Turkish
Shepherds. In the United States we call all of them
Anatolian Shepherds. They do not use that term at all in
Turkey. The different breeds emanate from different parts of the country
and have distinctive physical characteristics to help tell them apart. The
five breeds are Akbash, which is typically white, Secondly are the Kars dogs,
which come form the mountain regions near the Black Sea and are typically a
grey-fawn color with the longer (rough) coat. The third is the Turkish
Mastiff, which resembles the mastiff in this county and are often a dark
fawn or brindle color. They are thick dogs, with large heads and stout
frames. Fourth is the Yoruk Kopeleri. Don't ask me how to
pronounce it, but they seem like they can be just about any color including red
and the pinto markings. finally there are the Kangal's, which come from
the Sivas region and have the shorter fur (smooth coat) and are fawn with a
black mask. We learned that this was the national dog of Turkey. We were most interested in the Kangals' so our trip was in their part of the country and with the shepherds and breeders of the Kangal's. One of the first things we noticed was the abundance of Kangals in the villages. In America you walk through a city or neighborhood and see many dogs of many different breeds. In the villages of Turkey in the region we were in , there were many dogs in the yards of people's homes and the local businesses, but they were almost all Kangals. Even the few dogs running the streets were Kangals, or at least had a strong Kangals influence in their background. We thought we were in Kangal Heaven, but it was just the Turkish culture of that region. They use the dogs to protect their homes, businesses and flocks. Our host, Onur Kanli, was a breeder and would point out some of the dogs he had placed with some of the local people. Some of the dogs at a business would be chained during the day, but turned loose to run the fenced business property at night. In Turkey they do not have fenced pastures such as we have here, but they graze their herds in the hills and move them from place to place. There is at least one herdsman that lives out with the flocks that help keep the herd together and guide them to new sections of pasture from which to graze. Each herd has at least three dogs or more depending on the size of the herd. Some of the herdsmen live in tents, others just sleep under the stars. The dogs bond with the herd and the herdsman, and sometimes the dogs would lie down beside the herdsman and sometimes they are spread throughout the flocks. They use multiple males and females working in the same herd and fights amount the males or females are very rare. The dogs know well how to work together as a team to protect the flock and herdsman. The herds, dogs and even the herdsman's donkey just stay together as the herdsman guides them from field to field. |
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| It was fun to watch the respect and bond between the herdsman,
the dogs and the sheep and goats. The flocks were predominantly sheep,
but some herds had a few goats mixed in with them because the goats are
browsers and would help keep the herds on the move to new sections of the
fields, while the sheep, without the goats would tend to stay in the same
place. As we were observing the herds, the dogs would sometimes come up to us and we could touch them and they would sometimes stay there and other times go wondering back through the herd. It was much like being at home with our own herds and dogs. One hot day, we met up with a herd that was watering at a spring. There was one tree nearby and some of the dogs were lying in the shade with the shepherd. Just like our dogs at home, one would slowly wonder over, "check us out" and then go back to his herd or shade tree. The herd owner we were with that day spoke English but his herdsman did not. The goats they have with their sheep have the longest ears; they looked like lop-eared rabbits. I was so taken by the babies (goat kids) with long ears and in my Turkish pantomime I told the Turkish shepherd that I liked the baby goats with the long ears. He, being the gracious host, went over and caught one for me. Of course the little kid was not happy with the situation and was crying loudly to be put down. I walked over to pet the goat and touch those long, long ears and just as I was getting to the screaming kid, I saw a big bundle of fur out of the corner of my eye run up to me, the herdsman and the stressed kid. I made a quick decision that seeing those babies from a distance was probably the better choice. As soon as I stepped away, the dog checked out the kid, and the herdsman put it back down an all was well with the world again, and I was quite happy that I still had all my arms and legs. |
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The main predator in the part of Turkey
we were in is the wolf. The dogs had spiked collars made of long metal
spikes that resembled something out of a Mid evil torture chamber.
The collars served to help fight the wolves and protect the neck of the dogs
from the wolves. We heard multiple stories of the dogs protecting the
herds and herdsman from wolf attacks. The collars were intense looking and
the spikes and collars were made of weathered, thick metal, but most importantly
served a great purpose. They actually looked kind of cool. Another way of protecting the guard dogs from the wolves is the cutting of the ears. Often a young pup's ear flaps will be cut off so the wolf can't grab them. It took a little time to get used to dogs with no ears, but when we got home, our dogs looked different. Our dogs were happy to know we decided to leave their ear flaps on them. |
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| The dog breeders had
kennels by the barns that they kept some of their dogs in and used them to breed
and whelp the puppies. The best stud dogs were often kept in the kennels
to protect them from injury that they might receive in the field. When a
working female would come in heat, she would be brought to the kennel, bred
to a specific stud dog and kept there until after the pups were weaned.
The pups were also raised in the kennels. Since the herds are nomadic, this
is the best way to ensure the correct and known breeding of a female and that the
pups would be whelped and raised in a secure place. In the past, when two
dogs were bred, the focus was strictly on finding a dam and sire that were out
standing working dogs. In more recent years, a lot more attention is given to conformation and health characteristics along with the working ability. So pups being born in Turkey now are more likely to have good feet, legs and hips and good bites and overall good health as well as having working ability. The dogs kept in the kennels would be periodically taken out for exercise in the fields for a couple of hours. They would be let free to run, but would come back when called to go home. |
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| The dogs were fed an interesting soup
type mixture that was cooked in a big kettle over an open fire. In the
mixture was barley and scrap bones and meat from the local village butcher.
The bones were taken out before the dogs got their "soup". The
bones were used for fuel, like fire wood, for the fire to cook the dogs dinner.
Most of the doges were fed one time a day and the pups were fed
two times. It is not practical to keep the soup mixture out in
the fields so the field dogs were fed a mixture of barley and the scraps that were
formed into a ball so it could be easily carried as the herds moved and then
carried out to the dogs in the field. We were in the fields one night at
feeding time and watched as the dogs ate with no apparent food aggression.
We were warned to keep our distance, however, because the dogs would
not take as kindly to us being near their dinner at dinner
time. This barley mixture was fed partly because that is the custom of the county and partly because dog food is even more expensive there than here. On the one day that we were in the city. I priced a bag of Purina dog chow and it was 50% higher in Turkey than in Arkansas. The dogs appeared to do well on the barley mixture. We were told that sometimes they would supplement a whelping female diet with a little dry dog food. We were blessed with the opportunity to bring home an 8 month old Kangal male and two younger pups. Our biggest challenge when we got them home was teaching them to eat dry dog food. The 8 month old, Turk ( short for Turkey), was the most challenging. we started with softening dog kibble with goat milk and mixing it with canned dog food. We kept the hard dog food out for him at all times. As time went on, we were able to soften the food less. It took about two weeks before he would start eating a bite or two of kibble. It took about two more weeks to get him off the canned food and about two more weeks to have him eating out of the feeders with the other dogs. |
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| The two and three month old pups we brought
home took to the puppy chow much quicker. It only took a couple of weeks
of mixing their food with goat milk to have them on straight kibble dog
food. We continued feeding them with the goat milk for a few more weeks
just for the extra nutrition. In Turkey, they have a yearly Kangal festival in the town of Sivas. From what we could determine, it would be very similar to our Westminster show here in the states. The major exceptions were all of the dogs in the festival are working dogs, not "show" dogs. the handlers were the owners of the dogs and wore jeans and khaki pants as opposed to suits and dresses and the festival was held outside in the heat instead of in the comfort of an air-conditioned coliseum. The judges are international judges brought in from another country. Our next Turkey trip goal is to attend the Kangal festival. Kangal dogs from all over the county come to compete in this event. There are many categories and dogs of all ages, from 8 week old pups to full grown dogs brought to compete. Dogs that win at this festival become well know all over Turkey. Breeding to the winners or obtaining pups out of the top dogs, like in the states, is very expensive. We were very thrilled that all three of the pups we picked, and were able to bring home, were out of festival winners. The Turk's were very gracious hosts. One day near the end of our trip we were at a farm and near the barn in the middle of the day. Our host, the only one who spoke English, had to be gone for a couple of hours, so we were looking at the pups we were taking home and trying to teach the older one to walk on a lead rope. At 8 months old he weighted 100 lbs. and we didn't figure we'd be carrying him like the younger pups with their kennels. I walked out of the kennel area toward the barn and the herdsman that was in charge of the dogs came out of his apartment at the kennel and was hollering at me. Fortunately I understood two words: Chi Tea. I realized it was tea time and we were being invited to tea. The tea and biscuits were great and it was nice to just sit and relax a bit. However the conversation consisted of smiling at each other over and over and over. It's the universal language of acceptance and gratitude. We were honored to be included. |
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| We were able to interact with working dogs
and watch them at work. One night we were invited to dinner in the field
with the herdsman. We sat on the ground by the fire, surrounding the
pot of home-made lamb stew that the herdsman had cooked. In this case
home was a spot in the pasture next to the herdsman's tent. There was one
pot of stew, but we all had our own spoons. That put a whole new
meaning to the term family style serving - but it was
great!! It was certainly not a trip for everyone. A lot of the villages of Turkey are not overly modernized and lack what we consider the comforts of home. We stayed in the villages at the home of the herd owners and breeders. We loved the food; lots of lamb that was purchased fresh daily from the local butcher, fresh vegetables, nuts, olives, fresh butter and cheese and fresh bread purchased daily from the local grocer and incredible pastries for desert. We had fresh farm eggs for breakfast and hazelnut spread to go on our toast. We were honored to get to stay in personal homes in the villages with the herd owners and their families. It was an incredible trip that we will always remember. We felt like we made friends and learned to love even more the incredible Turkish guard dogs that we have the privilege of having in this county. |