# Recommended Anatolian Breeder in Southeast



## WorthItFarms (Jan 24, 2012)

We have a small poultry/waterfowl farm in GA and desperately need a LGD. Right now, we are using our foster pit bull pup to guard the birds at night. She does her job, but begrudgingly. She'd much rather be a house dog again. Plus, she can't stay with them all the time, too much prey drive. We would prefer an Anatolian Shepherd, because of the miserable heat, but a good one at a feasible price is nearly impossible to find. Plenty of decent or less than decent Pyrenees, but they are SOOOO furry. Does anyone know of a good breeder? Don't need any registration papers, OFA cert. not necessary, just hardy, long-lived working parents is all the pedigree I need.


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## WorthItFarms (Jan 24, 2012)

In case it makes a difference, we only have an acre pasture for the birds. The dog might be able to roam the full five acres one day, but not at night, and then only if it stays behind an electric fence. The dog would be neutered though to help that not be an issue.


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

An LGD won't bond with birds the way it will bond with other livestock, and is probably overkill for your situation.

Any dog that will defend it's territory or take cues from you will do what you want. I've got a cur and a border collie cross who are death on ***** and will bark at any hawks or such flying low. Smiley kept me up half the night because he had "treed" an owl, and it was hooting back at him. It had swooped low over the ducks, who sleep out.
He has no vast love of ducks, but, the interloper was in HIS territory, and this also displeases ME, so he barks and harasses it until it leaves.

Also, any dog, LGD or any breed, is as good as the time you put into it (read all the "my LGD killed my ___" threads, you still have to teach them)
Deacon, my BCx, has FINALLY after MUCH training learned the one exception to the "We never bark at goats rule" and that is to keep everyone who is not being milked away from the milk stand.
Now I can milk in peace and no doubt everyone who sees him peace-keeping, hawk-barking and ****-chasing will want a dog just like him, but it is the time you put into the dog - there is no magic breed.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

I ened up getting my pups out of Missouri because I could not find any decent breeders in SC. They are not used much around here. My dogs handle the heat here pretty darn good. My female dug a huge hole and the males sleep in the barn during the heat of the day. I have a fan in there for them.

But honestly...not sure if you really need a LDG. They don't do as well with poultry because they don't bond with them like they do livestock. Some are good with birds, other are not. This is true of all LGD breeds. You may be better off looking for an adult who has one that's good with birds already rather than taking a chance on a pup who might or might not work.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

If you get a pup expect to spend the first year to eighteen months frustrated and angry that the dog is just as hard on poultry as the predators are. Ater about a year to eighteen months if you were steady in your disapproval and disapline when the dog killed poultry the dog will stop killing poultry and start gaurding it. The dog is never likely to enjoy the poultry. None of mine do. I'm glad if they just learn to protect thier territory and ignore the poultry. They poultry gets protected by virtue of being in the Anatolians area, not by the anatolian going out to protect the poultry (and adult anatolians that WILL teach a pup to leave goats alone will completely ignore a pup killing a chicken....if you don't want that to happen you have to teach that on your own the adult dogs don't care!)


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

Since you have your birds on one acre I would fence it well, with electric mesh or something to keep predators out. It may cost the same as a dog does in the long run. 

I have Anatolian Pyr mixes and at around 4 months old they each killed a few adolescent birds. Not adults and not chicks but the up and coming pullets. 
They no longer do that but they could give a darn if a bird gets taken. Now if a goat kid yells they are on it but a if the birds wander too close to the West where I know coyotes are and get taken, the dogs think "Oh well". 

Now if the guinea screams that is different, they invesitgate, they know that scream or a goat snort is a warning of danger and they run to check it out. But they have no love of the birds, not bonded to them at all. 

One acre may cause you issues as some LGD like to wander and protect a larger area, now if you are fencing to keep a dog in, they you may as just fence to keep predators out and not bother getting a dog. 

They do need training, I do not care if the breeder says the puppies have been around such and such, born and raised in a livestock barn etc etc. They are leaving their trained parents who will correct bad behavoir and they are still young and learning and need to continue being trained.


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## WorthItFarms (Jan 24, 2012)

I would much prefer to get an adult that's safe with poultry, but they are even more impossible to find. I figured I'd try a puppy since they are more readily available. The dog doesn't need to bond with the birds really, just leave them alone and attack ***** when they come through at night. The mere presence of a dog is plenty of a deterrent. We are looking not rescued lgds in hopes that one may work.

Our acre field is fenced with four foot woven wire and most predators can't get through. It's only the raccoons we have issues with. I can't honestly think of a fence to keep a **** out of an acre pasture, especially since the trees link up with trees outside the fence. 

It's not just ducks we have. There are twenty geese, two swans, twelve chickens, seven turkeys, and a few goats in the bordering pastures. Not to mention the rabbits in tractors. The ***** only eat the ducks. 

Since the dog will live for over a decade, I would think at some point it would be moved to guard goats and sheep mostly. But that would be several years in the future. 

I'm familiar, though no expert, on training LGDs. They would start by being penned nearby the birds during the day and out to patrol and protect at night. That would leave me time during the day to socialize and start basic obedience. Anytime I'm in the field , it would come along. Therefore allowing for as many "mistakes" as possible while I'm there to correct. 

I must ask, I read that the dog should NEVER see you catch the livestock. How does that work? I have to work with the birds, meaning catching them. They make a fuss when I do and all the other birds come to "help" them escape. Will this confuse the dog, or will it figure out that I'm allowed but it's not? Is that where the "inevitable, oops kills" come in?


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

the oops kills come in because poultry is fun to chase, it makes fun sounds while it runs and dodges and even better sounds when you catch it. Then it flings itself around and is hard to keep a hold of....so even if you didn't mean to really kill it by the time your done playing with it....well it's dead now. OOPS

Your dog should not be allowed to assist when your chasing a bird. Your dog should be soundly scolded if he even shows an active interest in the poultry when they are chasing each other. You'll see the look. Intent interest rather than passing interest. My dogs see me chase down, catch and kill chickens for freezer camp when they are older but they are not allowed to participate at all. I don't let the younger dogs even see it and if they do then I run over and scold the dog like it was his fault I had to chase down that chicken. (do not beat the dog, harsh scolding works)


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

It's sounds like you have your heart set on one, but it from what you're describing you really don't need one. And you probably won't have much luck transitioning the dog to sheep or goats in a few years. It would be nice if it worked that way, but it doesn't.

You'll do what you want, but the reason I post on these threads is because it is actually kind of cruel to take a dog that was bred to bond with warm, responsive sheep and roam over acres and acres of land with them and protecting them, and put it on a teeny patch of ground and expect it to keep company with birds.

It's like getting an Alaskan Husky bred for the Iditarod and thinking it will be perfectly happy in your backyard because you jog twice a week.

Any cur, hound and a great many mutts will take care of your **** problem. ***** are the least of my worries. I put some **** scent on a tug toy when they're pups and when I'm with my dogs I encourage them to bark at and tree any ***** we see - my beagle took out the window screen in my bedroom leaping out it after a **** one night (with my BCx right behind him)

As Cheryl said, you simply_ will_ loose some birds to the dog. They are bred to kill things, and not look to you for direction, so it's harder then with other breeds. And adolescent poultry simply scream _"Kill me"_ to everything in the world. But it's like training any other dog to not kill poultry, just harder, like it's harder with huskies and terriers.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

You might want to think about adopting a young adult from the Anatolian Shepherd Rescue. They have several in the south available and will assist with transport. Adoptable Dogs


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## MonsterMalak (Apr 15, 2011)

I do not intend to go against the grain in this thread, but my opinion is that a LGD can be very useful in a poultry operation. I originally ran LGDs for 16 years to protect my poultry, before getting into cows, goats and sheep.

The Turkish breeds of LGDs in my opinion seem to be much more inclined to bond to the owner and family, and protect whatever is in their owners domain. My Boz would protect anything on my place once introduced.

You still have to train them not to chase and play if it becomes a problem. But this is usually not a problem. I have dogs placed with people that raise and sell very expensive exotic fowl. Some of their fowl cost 10-20 thousand a pair. So they could not afford a dog even upsetting them, much less killing them. 
They tell me that the dogs are able to detect the distress call of over 30-40 types of birds and fowl. 

I feel most types of LGDs would be able to work for you. Cost wise, the Pyrenees or Pyrenees/Anatolian crosses will be the cheapest. 

My farm is in East Texas, and I raise Boz and Kangals. 

Good Luck


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

My adult dogs do fine with poultry. But I got the impression the OP was looking for an inexpensive pup that would do the job and be happy to do it. My pups will not do the job without additional training. My adult dogs were a lot of work to train and I wouldn't expect to find a dog with the training to be inexpensive. Working well with poultry is a lot to expect from a dog and not really something that will be found at a "feasible price". I hate to hear about all the people who (Like me 5 years ago) get a LGD breed puppy and expect that it will be good with poultry because it's parents were. That's unlikely to happen. I wish I'd known that 5 years ago. I wouldn't have been so upset with the dogs I now know are FANTASTIC LGDs. But it takes a good year or better to turn them into good LGDs with poultry.

I didn't mean to say Anatolians won't work with poultry and if I did say that well then I misspoke. I rarely lose a bird anymore and I have a LOT of free range poultry. I don't lock the birds up at night anymore either, my dogs keep my poultry safe. I meant the OP should not expect a pup to WANT to do it, or to do it WELL the first year or better. It's gonna take training and in my experience (yes limited experience) my dogs don't ENJOY being with the poultry the way they clearly enjoy being with the goats. But I still have dogs working my poultry and they are still happy dogs. They just seem to more be guarding their field than they are actually guarding their poultry!


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## HorseFeatherz (Feb 16, 2008)

Let me share my story with you.

In April 2011 after being tested by coyotes and mountain lions, I posted an add on craigslist, looking for a LGD. I explained that I preferred a puppy, and even named breeds &#8211; but would take an adult if the people knew or thought the adult would get along with fowl (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys). I was not looking for the dog to &#8220;bond&#8221; with the birds, just keep the birds from harm. Got lots of questionable responses but also got a good one.

A family had raised alpacas but had to downsize, selling the alpacas and moving into the suburbs. They had an Anatolian female who had guarded the alpacas but was now just a backyard pet. She was not happy and was digger her way out nightly and roaming the neighborhood. She had NEVER, never &#8211; except in the first 8 weeks of her life &#8211; been around anything other than the alpacas and the family&#8217;s labs. She was 6 years, almost 7 years old.

I took a chance on her and I have never, ever regretted it. She is great with all the fowl &#8211; yet will hunt wild birds with my border collie. She will not touch a new hatched chick &#8211; even if it wanders away from mom; but brings me new hatched starlings. She is not bonded with the fowl but is good with them.

We have two other &#8220;house&#8221; dogs &#8211; a Cane Corso and the above mentioned Border Collie. All three dogs will hunt rabbits, mice, pack rats, coyotes, and mountain lions together; all three spend almost all day with the birds &#8211; unattended by me. All three dogs watch and participate in the butchering of all the fowl. Our Corso waits excitedly for chicken heads to be tossed to him right from the chopping block. All three dogs &#8220;clean-up&#8221; bad eggs and any chicks who have passed for various reasons. The dogs gladly eat whole chicken for dinner (generally minus feathers cause it can freak me out for a second to see a pile of feathers laying in the yard). Sometimes I even use the dogs as a blockade if I need to catch a chicken/duck/goose/turkey who is being difficult. One thing about the Anatolian &#8211; she will not eat fresh killed birds&#8230;&#8230;..she likes them to age a day or so before she will dine. At times, I think she really wants to be sure they are dead.

I would recommend taking a chance on a rescue &#8211; explain your situation and what you are looking for. Let them help match you with a potential partner &#8211; foster the dog for a bit, and if it does not work, you can always return and try again. This rescue sometimes has working dogs who are good with poultry, they are in need of fosters, and help transport the dog: 

their blog: National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network 

their website: Welcome to the National Anatolian Shepherd Network


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## HorseFeatherz (Feb 16, 2008)

Here is a picture of the three dogs. There is a black orpington hen in the background - you cannot see her head because she is investigating the hay for a place to lay. She knows where it is safe.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

Them are good dogs!
I do feel bad for implying Anatolians don't make good poultry dogs. They really do. Mine run under hawks barking, won't let them light or strike to take a bird from the ground. I used to see racoons here and lose a lot of birds to coyote and possum and nieghbor dogs. I hardly ever lose a bird to predators anymore. BUT~ they take a LOT of work and time to get up to that point. I lost a turkey poult to a 5 month old anatolian pup just this week. My friend discovered it and she did just what I would have done, made a big production of what a bad dog he is and made him beleive this was gonna be the end of his world. But see~ I know now from raising the others that this is not such a big deal. It doesn't really mean he is a bad dog. It means he is a puppy and a turkey poult got in his pen and now he is learning that killing poultry really annoys the humans. When my other dogs were pups I thought it meant they were bad dogs if they killed poultry. I was very frustrated. And I hear other people who want a dog to gaurd poultry....I even see someone on my local craigslist getting rid of a 5 month old great pyr for the sin of killing poultry.....and well it's hard to get across just how difficult it is to raise a good dog to work with poultry. My 5 month old pup isn't a bad dog.....but he is a puppy who messed up and I did lose a turkey poult to his training this week.

I really didn't mean to say they do not make good poultry dogs. Just not to expect a cheap dog or a young puppy to know not to kill the poultry. It takes training and maturity. Or at least....thats the way it has worked here.
Good luck all!
Anatolians are GREAT dogs.


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## OldNight (Jul 10, 2011)

WorthItFarms - I agree with you about the Great Pyrenees and summer in the south. Every time I see one they always look miserable and I can't imagine how they handle that fur. Heck I suffer enough in a t-shirt and shorts.

That said it seems to me like you would be better off with some electric poultry netting. Kencove and Premier 1 both have it for sale. Leave it setup somewhere inside the perimeter wire and then just herd all the animals in at night and power up the energizer. In the morning just turn the power off and open one side up.

Now it won't do anything to protect your ducks against overhead attack by owls, but you could let the dog out in the area outside the net.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Our chickens were never taken once the henhouse was behind electric fencing. The **** or fox puts his paw on the wire and gets zapped. Put your poultry behind electric fencing. It can be netting or wire, but it will work. For the winged variety of predator, put a duck house up and bribe them in there every night. You can also put up a shade roof for the ducks to stay under at night. Put their nest boxes under the roof and some piles of straw for them to get cozy in. If you insist on having a dog out there at night, you can put up a second fence outside the first to form an alley. The dog stays in the alley- can't get to the birds, scares off the raccoons.


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## Mouflon (Jul 13, 2012)

Linda Curran - Turkay Anatolians in High Springs, Fla has some excellent Anatolians but I'm not sure if she has raised them with fowl. She sometimes has older dogs available, I would give her a call and see what she has. We got an Anatolian puppy from her many years ago and just had him put down at age 13. He was worth his weight in gold.


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## Thad and Mary (Sep 17, 2008)

We are in SE GA and have a 2 1/2 year old male Anatolian for sale that is pretty good with his birds and goats. 

Khan is AKC reg., up to date on shots and had his hip xrays for breeding. Our guineas all roost near him at night and we have not lost any birds in over a year to varmints. Bobcats stay away at night now as do the ***** and coyotes. He is not fixed and is an Alpha male.

He is a real sweetie and true to breed. Fawn with black mask. That could be his picture that Horse Featherz posted.

If after reading up on the breed anyone is intrested you can PM us for more info. We are selling due to our health problems.


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