Story and photos by Yossi Guy
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e try to use the Internet to reach the public and when our Kangal and Akbash and the Anatolian Sultan are recognized by the FCI. Tazze are “fast”sighthounds. There are two types, in the south, Adana, they are bigger and shorter haired than the other type more to the north and they have a croup higher than their withers. There is a law against exporting local breeds. From now we are registering the breed and will try to repeal the law. The English like them but most of their dogs are not Kangals, more cross bred. They are flock guardians against wolves. They have a very strange temperament, if the owner is with you, they will not touch you. If you are alone, you cannot approach them safely. Kangal is as old as the history of the Turks who came down from Asia, probably related to the Middle Asian Shepherd. There are archeological findings to prove. There is also a Turkish mastiff and we can see this dog in Mesopotamia used to guard royals and rich people. They work on instinct, very territorial, one master. A breeder of the Kangal, Feride Cansever has had them as a girl. “Parts of my life I had Kangals, I bred them but the family was not happy about that. And now again from about 15 years. I like the character, they are calm, independent, clever, protective. They are never aggressive without reason. They are very kind with children. They usually eat barley with hot water in the villages with the flock. In summertime they are terribly hot but not humid, because the height is 1,700m and they are not watered. The area is very flat, the dog moves with the sheep and usually around them. They work in groups, between 3 and even 10 if the flock is large. They have different positions within the flock. When the flock stops to graze, the dogs look for a vantage point from which to observe. The males go a bit further away and the females are close to the flock. 50 Dog News
They give birth within the sheep fold so the puppies actually grow up with the sheep. The farmers don’t feed the puppies and when they are weaned they must learn to survive, so they are very hardy dogs. They are mainly solid colors, from beige to gray with a black mask and a tail curved above their back. They have a raised croup. I once saw a dog running, two dogs from the flock were also running and we saw the dust raised behind them. Then we saw the wolf with the dogs on its tail until the wolf disappeared and the dogs. We went about 5 times around the area of the high plateaus, measured dogs and used the data to write the standard. I try to keep the original type of dog. For the last years people started to make festivals around the dogs and mostly dog fighters came there and mixed the dogs to give them more substance and height. That’s the danger so we try to keep the original type.
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e have a farm in a forest on a mountain. We go for walks or go to the field to pick vegetables and they always go with us and sit under a tree. If one of the villagers approaches, they will sit closer to us. Kangal and Akbash don’t bite. They are absolutely obedient towards the shepherd, but without their owner one won’t dare approach the dog. Actually, they are a regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – ferociously guarding their flock from strangers but quite willing to accept the same strangers when given the OK. They come up, tail wagging, and definitely don’t seem intimidating as they ask for some attention. Umit, a college professor, took some time off from his work to show me around the villages in the central CONTINUED ON PAGE 82