Anatolian Shepherd Dog
The Anatolian Shepherd Dog may have been named after a place in central Turkey called Anatolia. An Anatolian Shepherd Dog is a breed of dog meant for guarding sheep against wolves, bears, jackals, and other wild, ferocious animals, including cheetahs in Namibia.
The Anatolian Shepherd Dog is typically muscular. Its strong body is protectively covered by a coat. It has a wide neck, and its head is quite broad, too. It grows to around 27-32 inches (or 69 to 81 cm) at the withers, and its weight is between 80 to 150 pounds (or 36 to 68 kg), with the female Anatolian shepherd dog expectedly smaller than the male Anatolian shepherd dog.
Anatolian Shepherd Dogs have lips that are tight to the muzzle, and they have also ears that are triangular in shape.
Anatolian Shepherd Dogs can go on their own as independence is one of their characteristic traits. However, they can be quite fierce as they were meant to become. As such, they must be trained well to enable them to become essentially good companions to their masters. This is a challenge to any trainer or owner of this kind of breed.
While Anatolian Shepherd Dogs can easily be trained, they can also have a mind of their own at times. They take to heart their responsibility of guarding the flocks of their masters, and have a tendency of being overly protective of their wards.
A survey done by the United Kennel Club in 2004 on 23 dogs revealed the average lifespan of Anatolian Shepherd Dogs to be around 10.75 years, typical of purebred dogs. If they do not die of old age, it is possible that they may perish because of cancer, cardiac problems, or a combination of both.
Common diseases of Anatolian Shepherd Dogs are entropion and canine hip dysplasia. It is advisable, therefore, that prior to breeding, testing of the eyes and hips should be done.
It is highly likely that the history of Anatolian Shepherd Dogs began sometime in the tenth century. This is the time when the ancestors of Anatolian Shepherd Dogs came to Turkey. There were quite a lot of variations of the breed that evolved over the years, but these dogs were generally called shepherd dogs or coban kopegi. Anatolian Shepherd Dogs were among the breeds developed by western breeders in 1970.
Some of the most famous Anatolian Shepherd Dogs may be found in several films. Butch plays the part of an Anatolian Shepherd Dog in Cats and Dogs. An Anatolian Shepherd Dog is named Bart in the film Kate and Leopold, while in the film Simon and Simon, Marlow is the Anatolian Shepherd Dog.
