|
|
More Anatolian Shepherd Pictures
|
|
| Affection: |
  |
| Energy: |
|
| Playfulness: |
|
| Sociability - dogs: |
|
| Sociability - other pets: |
|
| Sociability - strangers: |
|
| Trainability: |
|
| Exercise needs: |
|
| Grooming needs: |
|
| Suitability to cold: |
|
| Suitability to heat: |
|
| Watch dog capability: |
|
| Guard dog capability: |
|
Anatolian Shepherd History
-
The Anatolian Shepherd is a giant breed designed to provide protection for a flock, particularly against larger, dangerous predators. The Anatolian’s impressive size is intended to intimidate or at least discourage potential predators from making an attack. The breed’s roots lie in Turkey, where nomadic tribes had to cope with unforgivingly harsh geography and climate. These nomads depended on their flocks for food and clothing, and needed to protect their hoofstock from potential predators, and large guard dogs were commonly used to fill this charge. The dogs had to be fast enough to confront a predator that could potentially approach the flock from any direction. Furthermore, the guard dogs needed to have the size, strength and courage to fight off large predators.
Over centuries, the necessities and hardships faced by nomadic tribes and their trusted guard dogs, coupled with careful breeding, resulted in an accelerated evolution, quite literally a survival of the fittest for the dogs. Because food was scarce and costly, the dogs that survived tended to be those that could catch small prey on their own. The outcome was a relatively uniform breed, now known as the Anatolian Shepherd.
Because the males were genetically better suited to shepherding, the bitches were kept almost exclusively for breeding purposes and remained in small towns and villages. The tremendous value of these dogs in the field meant they were almost never kept as house pets and breeding was focused on work performance above all else.
The Anatolian Shepherd was introduced to the United States during the 1950s and recognized by the American Kennel Club as part of the Miscellaneous Class and then the Working Group in 1996.
