The Akbash Dog

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The Ancient Origins of the Akbash Dog

This ancient Greek art shows a greek shepherd with his flock and his shepherd's dog.The Akbash Dog is one of the "shepherd" dog breeds of Turkey. Unlike the "shepherd" breeds of the West, the Turkish shepherd dog breeds are not herding breeds. Instead they are livestock guarding breeds much like those described by ancient Roman writers. In ancient times, the Roman writer Varro described two types of guard dogs. The first was a white shepherd's dog like that in this rendering of a frieze of a Greek shepherd and his dog found in The German Shepherd Dog written by Capt. Max v. Stephanitz, who is considered to be the creator of the German Shepherd breed. The shepherd's dog lived with the sheep and protected them from wolves and bears. This mature male Akbash Dog may well typify the type of shepherd's guard dog described by ancient sources.

The second kind of dog was a dark colored guard dog that protected his master and his master's property from intruders, two-legged or four-legged. The color of the dogs was an important part of their function. The white dog was accepted by the sheep and could easily be distinguished by the shepherd from a darker colored predator. The dark dog, on the other hand, was useful at night when he was hard to see and could surprise human intruders. These dark colored dogs were also the dogs used by the military, for they were less visible.

Hundreds of years later, it seems as if Varro had been describing the Turkish guard dogs as they existed then and as they still exist in their native country, for the " sut beyaz" or milk-white Akbash Dog and the dun colored, black-masked Kangal Dog differ not only in regional origin but also in conformation. With its long-legged and "tucked-up" appearance, the Akbash Dog shows signs of greyhound or gazehound influence. The heavier, blunt muzzled Kangal Dog, while not nearly as exaggerated in proportion as many modern day mastiff breeds, is reminiscent of the early mastiffs with their pendant ears, moderately shortened muzzles, powerful chests, and broad skulls. Both breeds are often seen in their native land wearing an iron, spiked collar, often with a piece of cloth underneath it to protect their necks and sporting  "cropped" ears as are seen here on this mature male Akbash Dog in the Sivrihisar region.

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Kangal Dogs

This page is copyrighted and maintained by Tamara Taylor.  If you wish to use any material from these pages, please request permission by email:  ttaylor7@gte.net.  This page was last updated July 14, 1998.