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WOW BIG what breed is this n what of dog is it?

DMikeM

Well-Known Member
I think he's a she's a beauty. Would love to have a dog like that but would have to give away all my black shirts and jackets.
 
These are Turkish Boz. The man in most of the pictures is 5'6". Many of us in the LGD world have been admiring these guys for a looong time. There is a very small group of breeders in the US who are committed to making the breed available to us ranchers here. There has been some serious misunderstanding and people have been misled to believe that they are a dangerous and new fighting breed, when in fact they are a very old livestock dog.

They lack the genetic failures of the more common LGD breeds like the Pyrs and Anatolians, largely because in their native land they are expected to feed themselves and care for themselves. They are therefore unusually subject to the survival of the fittest effect with females entering their first heat at between 18 and 24 months.

We have long been considering switching from our Pyrs and Anatolians to the Boz, but waiting lists can be loooooooong, and we are not able to import for ourselves.

There are so many positive aspects to this breed as an Livestock Guardian Dog that it is a wonder that there are not more of them here. I suspect their massive size is off putting to some. They are a much 'harder' dog than the Pyr, like the other Turkish LGD breeds, but they are still exceedingly gentle with family, and are said to be naturally submissive to children, like the Pyrs.

They are generally around 29-36 inches at the withers, and weigh in at 120-190lbs.

I am in love with this breed and have been drooling over it for waaaay too long. There is nothing about them that doesn't impress me.

Turkish Boz Breeders Association
Boz Shepherd Dog Breeders Association TBBA Turkish Boz Shepherd Working Family Protection Dogs
 
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DMikeM

Well-Known Member
Happy to have someone with a familiarity to these dogs comment. But not all the dogs I posted are BOZ. Some are Kangal and some are CAO/CAS and some are other similar breeds. I am also in love with the type but not as much with the Boz as some of the others, some of that does come from the bad rep the breed has gotten.
 
Yes, I responded to the original poster before reading all the comments. The Kangals, Anatolians, Boz, and Yoruk are difficult to tell apart because the Turks do not, on the whole, consider them to be different. They are variations of what they consider the landrace working livestock guardian dogs . I believe the Boz is actually a subtype of the Yoruk, but differentiating them is fairly controversial. In addition to their relative freedom from genetic and other disease, they have an incredible lifespan for a giant, living up to 15 years! As I've said, I'm just in love with these dogs :) I could go on and on! My husband isn't so interested in listening to me go on and on though... :eek:

The livestock guardian group is just incredible overall, and I owe everything that I have to them. They are definitely not for everyone though. A large portion of the breeds maintain their tendencies for long distance travel despite the efforts of US trainers and breeders to alleviate this. Most of these breeds were created for either nomadic cultures or cultures who range their livestock over hundreds of miles. So even our 300 acres here feels limiting to our LGDs. Ranchers with smaller acreage have run into problems with the ability to keep their LGDs safely within their property lines. It is not uncommon for an LGD to have no more respect for an electrified fence than they have for fences that can be dug under or pulled apart.

Their instinct to protect what they consider theirs indiscriminately, leaving a big danger for people who might have nearby neighbors with small animals or other dogs. I have seen a pair of Anatolians tear apart a black bear, and a pair of Pyrs take down an entire wolf pack, so the neighbor's dog doesn't really stand a chance if it gets too close to the fence.

They are an ancient breed as a whole (whether or not you delineate them) and the Turks do participate in dog fighting, considering it to be part of their 'survival of the fittest' method of breeding. This is the reason for the assumption that they are a dog fighting breed, and I suppose as with any breed, they are subject to the type of people who want to take a breed and destroy it in this way. I'll leave out comment of what many AKC show breeders have done over time to formerly great working dogs...:scared2:

While I would never participate or condone dog fighting or letting the weakest of my litter die, I can't help but respect that the Turks have created some of the very best LGDs in the world. I love my Pyrs immensely, and they are the breed that I recommend for those who are new to LGDs, but my Pyrs can't hold a candle to my Anatolians in most respects.

Most LGDs also work in teams, where you will find that they take shifts, altering who is sleeping and who is on duty... who is with the flock and who is doing rounds. They are smart enough as well to know that when there is an attack, someone has to stay back with the flock while others take on the attackers. This is especially important in areas like mine where coyotes will outwit some dogs by taunting and drawing the dog away from the flock so that the remainder of the coyote pack can close in on the flock from behind. Teams are also important for us because of the type of predators that we have; mountain lions, bears, and bobcats. Having a team nearly ensures that I will not lose my dogs to a predator. Having only one equates to the understanding that at some point that dog is likely to be overcome by a stronger animal.

Thanks for posting this here!
 

YouKnowMeNot

Active Member
I'm from the Balkans (Bulgaria). We have tons of Kangal and Alabai breeders here (some of the best I might say). I often travel to Turkey and I lived next to the border for years. I know a lot about these dogs, although I'm not really a huge fan of Kangals.

I don't think the picture is photoshopped, but the guy does look kinda small. It's always hard to estimate how big the dog is by looking at pictures. Someone above said that he saw kangals walk free in Turkey but he must have confused the homeless street dogs for kangals since they look a lot like them except smaller (they have kangal blood but are considered mutts).

I can talk about these dogs a lot but I imagine there is already enough info on the internet. Everything EnchantedMountainRanch said is correct. As far as ancient breeds go, you can't find a better representitive. The Kangal is what the ancient mastiffs were like. The old neos, the old EMs, the old Irish Wolfhounds, the old english bulldogs that are now extinct and so on.
 

DMikeM

Well-Known Member
I have always said these were the best and most primitive ot the ancient breeds. About the only one that compares is the Tibetan Mastiff. Also ancient but less primitive.