Kangal Shepherd Dog

2025-10-22T01:05:24Z

2A02:FF0:3316:D67:856:AD28:7C54:9DBD: Turkish Kangal is by far the most widely used name deserves to be mentioned

{{Short description|Turkish breed of dog}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox dog breed
| name = Kangal Shepherd Dog
| image = File:Kangal front on.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| image2 =
| image_caption2 =
| altname = {{ubl|Kangal Shepherd Dog|Kangal Çoban Köpeği|Karabash|Turkish Kangal Dog|Anatolian Shepherd Dog (disputed){{r|kc2}}}}
| stock =
| country = Turkey
| weight =
| maleweight = {{right|{{cvt|48|-|60|kg|lb|round=5}}}}
| femaleweight = {{right|{{cvt|40|-|50|kg|lb|round=5}}}}
| height =
| maleheight = {{right|{{cvt|70|-|80|cm|in}}}}
| femaleheight = {{right|{{cvt|63|-|75|cm|in}}}}
| coat = thick, dense, usually short double coat, {{cvt|3|-|7|cm|in|0}} long
| colour = fawn to wolf sable, with [[melanistic mask|black mask]]
| litter_size =
| life_span =
| kc_name = KIF (Cynology Federation Of Turkey)
| kc_std = https://www.kif.org.tr/yerli-irklar/kangal.html
| fcistd = http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/331g02-en.pdf
| note =
}}

The '''Kangal Shepherd Dog''' or '''Turkish Kangal''' ({{langx|tr|Kangal Çoban Köpeği}}) is a traditional Turkish [[list of dog breeds|breed]] of large [[livestock guardian dog]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Orhan.|first=Yilmaz|title=The Turkish kangal (karabash) shepherd dog : the national dog of Turkey|date=2007|publisher=Impress Printing Co|isbn=978-975-92133-7-4|oclc=874356597}}</ref> The breed name derives from that of the town and district of [[Kangal]] in [[Sivas Province]], the easternmost province of the [[Central Anatolia Region]] in central Turkey. The coat colour varies from pale fawn to wolf grey, always with a [[melanistic mask|black mask]].

It is a traditional flock guardian dog, kept with flocks of [[sheep]] to fend off [[wolves]] and other [[predator]]s. Some have been exported to African countries such as [[Namibia]], [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]], where they successfully protect local flocks from [[cheetah]]s, thus contributing to the [[Conservation biology|conservation]] of endangered cheetah populations.

== History ==
[[File:Kangal dog with spikey collar, Turkey.jpg|thumb|Wearing a spiked [[wolf collar]]]]

The Kangal is a traditional working breed of [[Central Anatolia]]. The name derives from that of the town and district of [[Kangal]] in [[Sivas Province]], the easternmost province of the Central Anatolia Region.{{cn|date=February 2023}} The Kangal has been used by shepherds for protection against wolves and other predators for centuries.

The Kangal was definitively accepted by the [[Fédération Cynologique Internationale]] in 1989; the most recent breed standard was published in 2018.{{r|fci}}

[[The Kennel Club]] of the United Kingdom recognised the Turkish Kangal Dog with effect from April 2013, and a provisional [[breed 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.<ref name="Dog World"/><ref name="Kennel Club"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Proposed interim standard |department=Turkish Kangal Dog |website=The UK Kennel Club (thekennelclub.org.uk) |url=http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/4728/pg_dtl_art_news/pg_hdr_art/pg_ftr_art |url-status=dead |access-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130423200831/http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/4728/pg_dtl_art_news/pg_hdr_art/pg_ftr_art |archive-date=23 April 2013 }}</ref>

Since 1994 around 300 Kangal dogs have been given to farmers in [[Namibia]] by the [[Cheetah Conservation Fund]] to help protect livestock from [[cheetah]] attacks, and that programme has been extended to Kenya.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lewis |last=Smith |date=26 December 2008 |title=How mans best friend is saving endangered big cat |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London, UK |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/how-mans-best-friend-is-saving-endangered-big-cat-t9f86vh6mgn |access-date=16 June 2021 }}</ref> 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 ===
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 the [[Akbash]], from the late 1960s.{{r|Morris}} In 1967 a [[United States Navy|US Navy]] Lieutenant who was stationed in Turkey, Robert Ballard, acquired two working livestock guardians Zorba and Peki, from breeders in the [[Ankara]] region; Zorba was a long-coated pinto-colored dog and Peki a short-coated buff-colored bitch.{{r|Morris|Wilcox}} 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.{{r|Morris}} 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.{{r|Morris}} 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.{{r|Morris}} 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.{{r|Morris}} 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 breeding [[Dog crossbreed|crossbred dogs]].{{r|Morris}} 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', or [[livestock guardian dog]].{{r|Morris|Yilmaz}} 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.{{r|Morris}}

== Characteristics ==
Dogs usually stand between {{convert|72|and|78|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} at the [[withers]], bitches between {{convert|65|and|73|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, with a {{convert|2|cm|in|0|adj=on}} tolerance either way for both sexes.{{r|fci2|kif}}

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 {{convert|56|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.{{cn|date=February 2023}}
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.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

== Use ==

The Kangal is a traditional [[flock guardian dog]], kept with flocks of sheep to fend off [[wolves]] and other [[predator]]s.{{r|pri}} Some have been exported to African countries such as [[Namibia]], Kenya and Tanzania, where they successfully protect local flocks from [[cheetah]]s, thus contributing to the [[Conservation biology|conservation]] of endangered cheetah populations.{{r|bbc|aa}}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed heights=150px style="text-align:left; font-size:smaller">
File:TurkishKangal.jpg|With cropped ears
File:Kangal dog puppy eating yoghurt.jpg|Kangal puppy eating yogurt
File:Kangal and Lamb.jpg|Flock guardian
</gallery>

== References ==
{{commonscat|Kangal Çoban Köpeği}}
{{reflist|45em|refs=





<ref name=aa>'Waldo' (15 November 2013). [https://web.archive.org/web/20160605085330/http://allafrica.com/stories/201311160168.html Namibia: Cheetah Fund Sends Kangal Dogs to Tanzania]. ''Namibia Economist''. Archived 5 June 2016.</ref>

<ref name=bbc>[s.n.] (31 December 2008). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090102175511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7805813.stm Guard dogs save Namibian cheetahs]. ''[[BBC News]]''. Archived 2 January 2009.</ref>

<ref name=fci>[https://www.fci.be/en/nomenclature/KANGAL-SHEPHERD-DOG-331.html FCI breeds nomenclature: Kangal Çoban Köpegi (331)]. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed January 2023.</ref>

<ref name=fci2>[http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/331g02-en.pdf FCI-Standard N° 331: Kangal Çoban Köpeği (Kangal Shepherd Dog)]. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed September 2022.</ref>



<ref name=kif>[https://www.kif.org.tr/en/yerli-irklar/kangal.html Kangal Çoban Köpeği] (in Turkish). Köpek Irkları ve Kinoloji Federasyonu = Turkish Kennel Club. Accessed September 2022.</ref>

<ref name=Morris>{{cite book |last=Morris |first=Desmond |author-link=Desmond Morris |date=2001 |title=Dogs: the ultimate dictionary of over 1,000 dog breeds |location=North Pomfret, VT|publisher=Trafalgar Square Publishing |pages=393–396 |isbn=1-57076-219-8}}</ref>

<ref name=pri>Ben Goldfarb (7 May 2015). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150508144525/http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-05-07/us-researchers-hope-more-assertive-foreign-dog-breeds-can-protect-livestock US researchers hope more assertive, foreign dog breeds can protect livestock from wolves and bears]. Public Radio International. Archived 8 May 2015.</ref>

<ref name=Wilcox>{{cite book |last1=Wilcox |first1=Bonnie |last2=Walkowicz |first2=Chris |date=1995 |title=Atlas of dog breeds of the world |location=Neptune City, N.J. |publisher=TFH Publications |pages=123–124 }}</ref>

<ref name=Yilmaz>{{cite book |last=Yilmaz |first=Orhan |date=2007 |title=Turkish kangal (Karabash) shepherd dog |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263468806 |location=Ankara |publisher=Impress Printing Comp |pages=11–12 }}</ref>

<ref name="Kennel Club">{{cite web|title=Recognition of the Turkish Kangal dog |url=http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/4581/23/5/3 |publisher=Kennel Club |access-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011003633/http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/4581/23/5/3 |archive-date=11 October 2012 }}</ref>

<ref name=kc2>[https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/breeds-a-to-z/breeds/pastoral/turkish-kangal-dog/ Turkish Kangal Dog]. London: The Kennel Club. Accessed August 2022.</ref>

<ref name="Dog World">{{cite web|title=KC to recognise the Turkish Kangal Dog|url=http://www.dogworld.co.uk/product.php/80650|publisher=Dog World|access-date=4 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001909/http://www.dogworld.co.uk/product.php/80650|archive-date=31 December 2013}}</ref>

}}

{{Turkish dogs}}
{{Livestock guardians}}

[[Category:Dog breeds originating in Turkey]]
[[Category:FCI breeds]]
[[Category:Livestock guardian dogs]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Kangal Shepherd Dog