| Kangal Shepherd Dog | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Origin | Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheKangal Shepherd Dog orTurkish Kangal (Turkish:Kangal Çoban Köpeği) is a traditional Turkishbreed of largelivestock guardian dog.[2] The breed name derives from that of the town and district ofKangal inSivas Province, the easternmost province of theCentral Anatolia Region in central Turkey. The coat colour varies from pale fawn to wolf grey, always with ablack mask.
It is a traditional flock guardian dog, kept with flocks ofsheep to fend offwolves and otherpredators. Some have been exported to African countries such asNamibia,Kenya andTanzania, where they successfully protect local flocks fromcheetahs, thus contributing to theconservation of endangered cheetah populations.
The Kangal is a traditional working breed ofCentral Anatolia. The name derives from that of the town and district ofKangal inSivas Province, the easternmost province of the Central Anatolia Region.[citation needed] The Kangal has been used by shepherds for protection against wolves and other predators for centuries.
The Kangal was definitively accepted by theFédération Cynologique Internationale in 1989; the most recent breed standard was published in 2018.[3]
The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom recognised the Turkish Kangal Dog with effect from April 2013, and a provisionalbreed standard was published early in that year; owners of dogs registered as Anatolian Shepherd Dogs could apply for them to be re-registered under the new name.[4][5][6]
Since 1994 around 300 Kangal dogs have been given to farmers inNamibia by theCheetah Conservation Fund to help protect livestock fromcheetah attacks, and that programme has been extended to Kenya.[7] Since then, the number of cheetahs killed by farmers is calculated to have fallen from 19 annually, per farmer, to 2.4 . At more than 80% of the farms where the dogs have been adopted livestock losses have been cut significantly. The great majority of cheetahs that are still killed by farmers are killed after specific attacks on livestock, whereas previously, any cat that approached a farm was tracked and killed.
Anatolian Shepherd Dog is the name used in the United States to describe dogs descended from regional Turkish livestock guardian dogs, particularly the Kangal but also theAkbash, from the late 1960s.[8] In 1967 aUS Navy Lieutenant who was stationed in Turkey, Robert Ballard, acquired two working livestock guardians Zorba and Peki, from breeders in theAnkara region; Zorba was a long-coated pinto-colored dog and Peki a short-coated buff-colored bitch.[8][9] In the late 1960s Ballard returned to the United States and took his dogs with him and in 1970 the pair bred their first litter, becoming the foundation stock of the breed in the United States. A breed club was quickly formed and further examples were imported from Turkey.[8] In developing the breed, the American enthusiasts acted without understanding of regional Turkish varieties of shepherd's dogs, with the result that the American dogs could be bred with various coat lengths, colors and color patterns whilst in Turkey the different breeds breed more true to a set coat type.[8] This was further exacerbated by most of these dogs being sourced in the intermediate zone between the main breeding centers of the Akbash and the Kangal, where examples of both types can be found.[8] In subsequent years animosity developed between American breeders, who insisted their dogs were the true Turkish shepherd's dog, and Turkish breeders who believed, and stated, they were an amalgam of various Turkish breeds.[8] Insults and counter-insults were exchanged with American breeders accusing the Turks of marketing dogs of dubious ancestry as independent breeds and the Turks stating the Americans were breedingcrossbred dogs.[8] The name Anatolian Shepherd Dog is unknown in Turkey and the breed is sometimes described as having the Turkish name of Çoban Köpeği which means 'shepherd's dog', orlivestock guardian dog.[8][10] Since the 1980s Americans have almost exclusively imported Kangals and the Anatolian has increasingly conformed to that breed type. Despite this, pups of mixed appearance are still whelped and Turkish authorities still refuse to recognise Anatolians as a purebred Turkish breed.[8]
Dogs usually stand between 72 and 78 cm (28 and 31 in) at thewithers, bitches between 65 and 73 cm (26 and 29 in), with a 2-centimetre (1 in) tolerance either way for both sexes.[11][12]
The Kangal Shepherd Dog is not as heavy as some other mastiff breeds, allowing it greater speed and agility than larger dogs. The dogs can reach speeds of up to 56 km/h (35 mph).[citation needed]The under-layer provides insulation against both severe Anatolian winters and the fierce summer sun, while the outer-layer repels water and snow. This combination of coat allows it to regulate its core temperature more efficiently, while the coat is dense enough to repel rupture from wolf bites.[citation needed]
The Kangal is a traditionalflock guardian dog, kept with flocks of sheep to fend offwolves and otherpredators.[13] Some have been exported to African countries such asNamibia, Kenya and Tanzania, where they successfully protect local flocks fromcheetahs, thus contributing to theconservation of endangered cheetah populations.[14][15]
