# Could an Anatolian be right for me?



## Lenape Sadie (Jan 18, 2012)

Hello everyone!
I am considering purchasing a LGD in the future. We have almost nine acres adjacent to a thousand acre timber tract in a rural community. Animals needing guarding are poultry, horses, a couple of pigs and maybe a cow or two with calves. Predators in my area include racoons, weasels, the neighborhood dogs, stray dogs, hunting dogs, wandering dogs, abandoned dogs, teenage boys and coyotes. Dogs are a huge problem. My current dogs, a corgi and a pit/lab/bird dog mutt, sleep inside. They do a decent job during the day, but the mutt isn't trustworthy with the stock unsupervised and the corgi gets beat up without her mutt for backup. Poor corgi is a dilligent guard, but very bonded to me and too small to be effective. 

I have been around several pairs of GP and not impressed. I want something a little more intense. I want something that will defend my animals, my property and if need be myself. Willing to chase deer out of my garden would be a plus.
I've done a bit of reading and the Anatolian sounds like a possibility. 

My main concern is aggression towards visitors. If well socialized to guests, is it possible for one of these dogs to accept my invited guests and not accept pranksters in the dark trying to cutt of my cow's tail? A neighbor has seven such mutilated cows. 

I'd love to hear your experiences with Anatolian dogs! Or a suggestion for a different breed.

Thanks!
Sadie


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

I think an Anatolina or two would be perfect for you. I am somewhat prejudiced though....it's the breed I selected for my own farm. I have two males that are 9 months old now. One of them is very social away from the farm...I take him to the local farmer;s market and to Tractor supply with me because he loves to ride. But when he's back home, he is a fantastic watch dog. He alerts me to anything creeping around at night. I swear, these dogs are nocternal. They do not miss a thing at night!! If a car door slams next door after dark, they alert to it. I picked this breed because it is known for being a better guardian against human predators. I like the shorter coat too. A pyr would not be too happy here in South Carolina with all that hair.


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## citxmech (Dec 26, 2011)

I'll second the opinion that a Turkish LGD variety sounds like it could be a good fit for you (not to get dragged into the "Kangal" v. "Anatolian Shepherd" debate). They are certainly "intense" when on the guard. The nice thing about them though is that they generally measure their response, escalating only to meet a real challenge. In other words, they won't bite if a bark will do the job.

A few things you'll want to work out is whether you would get one or two, whether you want to start with one or more pups, or perhaps one adult first, and what you want to do about your current dogs. There seems to be some debate on whether one should socialize a working LGD to an existing house-dog. A survey of the threads here have a lot of info on this point.

You may want to look for a local breeder in your area and arrange a visit before making any decisions, however. Many breeders run more than one breed so you may be able to do some "comparison shopping" while getting to know the animals first-hand. Also, working dogs in your area would, to an extent, be pre-selected for suitability to your environment, assuming the operation is similar.

Good luck on your choice!


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I always think Anatolians are the right dog, but I really love Anatolians. I see your in Alabama, PM me if your in the North, your welcome to come out and meet my girls. Best LGDs this side of Alabama...only one comparable is my Great Pyr.....But I might just be a little predjudiced too! LOL!


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

Like the others that have responded, I am also a bit prejudiced to the Anatolians. We've had ours for about 6 years now. I have 100 acres and 3 dogs. My dogs are socialized to visitors with the exception of my male. Trooper is not aggressive to people, just stand-off-ish. He prefers his goats (and I have to agree with him most of the time that goats are better to hang around with then people. lol) If you do decide to get one, please note, that a pup is a pup is a pup when it comes to poultry. They need to be trained to not play with them. 
My anatolians accepted the border collie pup that I brought home and put up with her. They do not let my neighbors border collies out of his truck if he comes to visit. How they know which dog is OK and which is not is beyond me. 
My dogs never leave the farm. Never, ever. My vet comes to me for annual shots. I feel save when I am here alone and have not lost a baby goat or calf since I've had them here.


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## Lenape Sadie (Jan 18, 2012)

BarbadosSheep-I know the feeling of everyone needs a dog of my preferred breed! I constantly rec corgis to everybody!

Citxmech- while I was researching the different types of dogs found in Turkey I got just down right confused. The pics of anatolians that I really admired where the dogs that looked strikingly similar to the ones specifically known as Kangals. I think it would be best for me to start with one puppy and then add another one after the first is a bit more grown. I would plan on socializing to my pets as well, they are always with me outside so that would be a neccessity in my situation.
Cheryl- i sent u a pm
hiddensprings-I would definitely expect to train a LGD for the behaviors I need. Standoffish from guests is fine. 

Also, a nearby cattle farmer lost a calf to hogs. Very icky.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

The relationship between kangal dogs, akbash, Karabash and Anatolian shepherds is very controversial and confusing. In Turkey, there is no such named breed as "Anatolian shepherd dog". The breed was developed from Turkish guardian breeds, probably Kangal and Karabash. There was some recent discussion in Australia about combining both breeds (Kangal and Anatolian) into one registry, since you can't easily tell them apart from each other. I don't know if they actually did that yet or not though.

When I got my boys, I had decided that I was only going to get one. But I ended up with two and I am really happy that I did. They keep each other entertained and they actually get into less trouble than I thought they would. They play hard with each other and leave the sheep alone (for the most part). When they are resting in the pasture, they are always side by side, facing different directions. And they are never far from the sheep. I am really happy I got two of them. I am going to add two female pups in another week. I had planned to only get one female (and neuter one of my males) but there is an elderly man close to me that has a small litter he can't handle due to his health. I am helping him out by taking both of the females. The plan is to spay one of them. Then I can work them in male-female teams, with one spayed/neutered animal in each team to prevent unwanted pregnancies.


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## Lenape Sadie (Jan 18, 2012)

BarbadosSheep- I see your point about two! I'm so strapped for time that I think only having one youngster to deal with at a time is probably best for me. I would definitely get a second pup eventually. Probably once the first one can live full time with the stock. How do you handle the fencing? Dogs locked in pasture with sheep or run of farm with some kind of portal into individual pastures? I'm planning on setting up rotational grazing with portable electric fencing inside the sturdy perimeter fence. Since I'm running larger stock I think I could set up walk thrus that the dogs could use and the stock couldn't except for maybe the smallest of calves.

I think two would be enough for my area unless the coyote and hog predation expands significantly. I would spay/neuter both. No pups for me in the near future. Maybe in ten years. There is someone in my general area that breeds Anatolian x GP, 3/4 Anatolian 1/4 GP? Thoughts?


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

All of the LGD breeds are known for challanging fences. I have electric wire inside my woven wire fence and also a strand on top. I cross fence with with just 3 strands of hot wire and the boys have never even considered going through it. They learned early on to respect the electric wire so I have not had any problems. Anatolian/pyr crosses seem to be really popular and I like the fact that the litter is more anatolian than it is GP. It should have a bit more of the temperment and shorter coat of an Anatolian.


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2012)

Lenape Sadie - My LGD's are contained in a 4 rail vinyl horse fence with 2 strands of electric between the bottom two rails. On the gates I just have a single hot strand at the top with a rubber handle for entering. Just one zap and they have never tested it a second time. They are very smart. I have not found they are hard to fence, but then neither are my goats that most comment they have a hard time with.

Good luck with your search. I'm sure you will find the right dog(s) that fit your needs.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

yep....mine are not hard to fence either, but I know a woman who's male Anatolian will go right through a woven wire fence AND electric in persuit of a coyote. But I don't know if he got zapped as a pup. Maybe if they learn a healthy respect for it when they are pups they won't challange it.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

My electric fence will "Ring your bell" and it's rung each of the dogs bells at least once. I've not seen them even consider going through a fence...any fence. Apparently a good initial lesson is what it takes.


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## Goat Servant (Oct 26, 2007)

I too favor Anatolians. Its the only kind we have. One is more reserved & will only "come" when he wants to.
The other will get between me & another goat if I am petting her, wanting some loving too. 
Dep is much more aggressive. If a stranger ever got in with the goats Im not too sure about safety. He does not trust one of our helpers, has been known to nip him lightly in the butt while trying to pet one of his little girls. It was cool to watch him eye this fella, get up slowly & sneak over toward him with a low soft growl, making eye contact with me saying "Are you sure this guy is OK *I* dont want him touching *my* stock!"
On the other hand he has accepted our then 8yr old grandson helping bottle feed. He does a warning bark when his mother & he pull in. When GrSon calls "Hi Dep!" He knows it's ok. Our daughter cant do that she has never been in. 
Their sheer size is enough to make someone think twice. I lost a customer because they are afraid of them.


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## Lenape Sadie (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm a big fan of very hot fences myself so that should work out nicely.

My question is do you give them run of the place or lock them in the individual paddocks with the stock? If they have the run of the place do you make them special entrances into the paddocks so they can go in and out as they wish.

I'm talking three small herds rotating through say ten small paddocks all inside a perimeter fence!


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I put them in the pens with the stock. I run two adult dogs ~Anatolian Cricket, Grt Pyr Tater in seperate pens now and a younger dog ~ Anatolian Mayhem runs with her mother Cricket right now but will be moving to work with Tater later this week. The goats are about to freshen and Cricket is my best dog with new babies. I'm not ready to try Mayhem and see how she does with new babies so she will run with tater till after the goats freshen. I have two "House dogs" that run the property the house is on. Not LGDs, they are a Rott and a Mongrel.


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