Does anyone own one of this breeds . I am researching the breed for a friend and would be grateful of any information. One or two of you have already helped me a lot ,lurchergirl :)

I've met a pair when out walking, and the owners tell me that they're far from easy; they need a lot of space and ideally no neighbours, because they can be very territorial.

I knew some at our training classes - they were very relaxed, to say they least :) They would get a cheer if their pace got beyond that of a snail ....... :) :) :) They seemed friendly enough and, I think, don't have the same sort of health issues of similar size dogs (but this is going back a few years so I may have got this wrong !)

space is fine neighbours mmm .having two probably made it more difficult :) but thank you am passing on all comments

My only experience of them was a pair kept at Hopetoun castle where my friend rented a cottage, if for any reason you had to go up to the castle, the dogs would jump up onto the bonnet of the car and snarl through the windscreen.
Not surprisingly they were eventually pts.
I think they are stunning looking, but as I'm sure you know, temprement is paramount in this breed.

They got a lot of bad press a couple of years ago when 3 dogs belonging to an exhibitor escaped and killed a GSD cross and seriously injured the other dog's owner -it was in the dog papers as well as national papers. No doubt just one bad story and the good ones of course are not news, as with most breeds, but I do get the impression it isn't a breed for the average person.

the one he is looking at is 8months old and in rescue apparently coming from a busy family with kids , what that actually means we may never know. The pictures with the people at the rescue he looks gorgeous playful and friendly however he is only 8months old .
Think he is going to meet the dog and find out more but is doing his homework about the breed. he is used to gsds and is used to dogs with their issues however need to know before he jumps
I have met a couple one of who is walked by my dog walker and is regularly walked with my dogs and comes to my front door. She is no problem The other one immet was a male who could be a bit funny with strange dogs but was fine otherwise. Big yes :)
Just don't think my experiences is really sufficient

Don't know about them now but 15 yrs ago I knew a couple who had them and they could be a nightmare around other dogs. The man eventually gave up on them and moved to the Isle of White where he worked as a dog handler for the prison service and later said he had not realised just how hard they were compared to the GSD he lived and worked with lol.

I've done a lot of research on these years ago, and they are still on my wish-list.  They are I believe still considered semi-domesticated because of their background.

Territoriality is a big consideration - these guys are bred to grow up with, live with 24/7 and protect their charges from large predators (typically wolves but they are used a fair bit now in Africa to protect goat herds from cheetahs).  So they are highly territorial and I did read once or twice that sometimes, they can extend their perceived territory to regular walks.

Fiercely independant breed - they have to be as it's down to them to make the decisions about potential threats.  But that said, raised properly, they should only use the minimal force necessary to see the threat off.  By nature they are reserved and cautious of strangers but, they have been bred here for decades now and I think that side has eased off a bit.  Certainly the ones I met when I was researching were lovely - not crazy friendly but lovely.  Those were show dogs.

Whether they can be let off lead seems to be individual - I got a very thorough email from a breeder and she said that of the four adults she'd had at the time, two were always on and two were always off.  Same upbringing for each IIRC.  I suspect that with the independence, off-leading could be a challenge as they are apt to just make their own decisions.

Backyard breeders are becoming a problem - they are generally a very healthy breed and long lived for a giant (15yrs is average), but hip dysplasia has started to crop up in recent years.

My concern with a rescue would be socialisation and training thus far - especially if he's gone into rescue at 8 months old.  Typical time for many dogs as it's the start of the teenage months, selective deafness and so on but in a giant dog with strong guarding instincts and a very powerful dog (and when they get moving, very fast too) a lack of training/socialisation previously could be an issue.  Not to say it couldn't be overcome - I'm working with a 1yr old St Bernard atm with zero training and he's coming along beautifully :-)  They can be outstanding, of course - you only need to google Haatchi and Owen (winners of Crufts 'Friends for Life' last year) to see how amazing a dog they can be :-)

Good in heat and cold - thick weatherproof coats designed to cope with extremes of temperature.  I suspect big moulters, but if he's used to GSDs that shouldn't be an issue!  They do need decent exercise - a couple of hours a day with mental stimulation too.

Security is important too - again not the same for every individual dog but generally speaking, they need good, strong fences and are deceptively agile.  This is why I don't already have one - my fences are simply not strong or secure enough for such a dog, and I have young kids living either side of me.  So I'll have to wait!

Thank you people that has all been most useful. I think my friend will be going to see this one and I will be passing all this on to him so he can see what he could be taking on.
I have just learned that the Anatolian is in fact an umbrella term for large powerful Turkish dog the Anatolian as a distinct breed does not exist. The other two which are very similar but fawn with black muzzle are the karabash or kangal having said that they are all used for similar jobs and very similar to own
This one is white and lemon 

There are quite a few of these middle eastern sheep guarding dogs (original purpose).

There does not seem to be an abundance of them in UK which might mean the ones here are not geneticaly to far away (watered down) from their working ancestors.

Best place to a realistic assessment of that is (& other similar dogs) youtube, thing is they are bred to kill another animal species & I noticed a couple of replies here which seem to indicate that trait is still strong in some of them here.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+anatolian+shepherd
.

unfortunately you tube shows them as either lion killers or, cute I wont say small, bundles of fluff growing up to be loving family pets.
Difficult from that to get a balanced view. It seems that most arnt safe off lead in the park because being  an independent breed if they get an idea in their head they are off at 30mph and nothing will stop them. If that thoughts to chase they will chase and the end result may not be good 

unfortunately you tube shows them as either lion killers or, cute I wont say small, bundles of fluff growing up to be loving family pets.
Difficult from that to get a balanced view. It seems that most arnt safe off lead in the park because being  an independent breed if they get an idea in their head they are off at 30mph and nothing will stop them. If that thoughts to chase they will chase and the end result may not be good

Well. some bright spark seems to have persuaded the powers that be that its a fantastic idea to re-introduce wolves to scotland, so these dogs might be very profitable to breed and sell to what will have to become 'New Age Scot Sheep Farmers' if that re-introduction happens.
.

well that could go badly wrong if these dogs got into the wrong hands !

h

well that could go badly wrong if these dogs got into the wrong hands

Yea, can you imagine the posts on here, lol, - "I bought a lovely little Kangal pup when I was on holiday in turkey, he was so playfull and loved everyone he met, now he's going through his naughty teenage stage & this morning he lept through the window  & savaged the postman - what do I do now"-
.

Raymond Coppinger tells the story that he was responsible for the type of Anatolian that we see in the show world.
There was the odd situation where there was an American Anatolian Club, but no actual dogs in the country, he was hired by the club to go to Turkey and bring back some good breeding specimens.
He said there were many different varieties, the ones we see today, just happened to be the ones he liked.
He asked of one shepherd " is that an Anatolian dog ?" the shepherd gestured to the mountains and replied " are those the Anatolian Mountains ?" .

A friend of mine has Anatolians originally they came from the Late Natalka Czartoryska & subsequently from the dogs that are from the same bloodlines, they are used to guard his rare breeds sheep & goats & have the most superb temperaments & are bonded with their flocks & herds, and yet are gentle & well behaved around humans.

The are different types of Turkish flock guards, that were bred as Anatolians in the past, but I believe the KC has split them into 2 breeds now.

I've heard they can be challenging temperament wise, but the only one I ever met was perfectly friendly, he used to play with my Cavalier in the park back when we lived in London.

Bit odd really that throughout the writings of antiquity theres loads of refs to shepherds & goatherds to the point those 2 animals seem to have been the main meat of that middle east area since the mynoans first created the earliest writing forms, but I never heard of 1 single reference to the dogs of antiquity which probably existed then for the same role they have now in those regions.
.

the postman analogy is quite funny hethspaw !
It seems that these dogs like many breeds  can be good family pets but also can be totally unsuited to many homes. \my friend is taking note of all your help and may well meet the pup in question and then see what he thinks about dog and his particular circumstances.
Liked the comment about the mountains. That was more or less what I was told in not so many words by the gentleman who has a lot of knowledge of the breed. the only two being truly recognised are the kangal and the karabash who are both fawn with black muzzle
many thanks for all your help. I so like the way people add there own knowledge so good

A distant farm 3 miles away has one roaming loose. Sometimes it comes all the way down here and barks. I try and hide if I hear it in the woods. Although it has lots of small dogs living with it I think it looks very dangerous as it seems to treat this enormous distance as still its territory. No good speaking to the owners-- I won't go into that, sufficient to say they have a lot of horses as well.
Louise

Very pleased to say that the Anatolian has now been rehomed which is lovely  but not to my friend. Friend  has now rehomed a lovely gsd?xlab and everyone is very happy .so thank you for all

I have 2 :)

They are what I would class as a "specialized" breed. They are territorial by nature and will guard anything they see as part of their family so to speak. But of course like anything training and socialisation will help manage this.

They are fantastic with children, but their size can mean they can be clumsy when young. My girl is much more wary of new people but once properly introduced welcomes people into the house. My boy is as soft as the proverbial and would help burglars pack up the tv.....but if I was threatened it would be a different matter. He is more laid back and a little more slow to react vocally but will position himself in a way that no harm could come to me other than through the 65kg lump standing on my tootsies!

There biggest "issue" imo is that generally they will not tolerate strange dogs. My 2 are fine at shows etc but do not like dogs approaching them so I watch them like hawks and will walk the long way round if there is not enough space for them to pass without grumbling. Both will warn off other dogs/birds/deer etc they see in the distance when out walking.

Due to the breed split last year there are very few Anatolians (most are related too) left as most of the dogs on the register prior to the split have now been moved to the Kangal register.  This is the main reason why I am importing semen for my planned litter early next year and am also bringing in a pup too.

Nikita
They are I believe still considered semi-domesticated because of their background.

Kellystuart
They are what I would class as a "specialized" breed. They are territorial by nature and will guard anything they see as part of their family so to speak. But of course like anything training and socialisation will help manage this.

HP
Maybe one of the problems specific to UK is that here we perceive 'sheepdogs' as dogs (collie type) which round up sheep to be moved to another place. Then when some people hear about these Kangal 'type' dogs as sheep or flock dogs, they might well assume they do the same, here in UK we have no perception at all of bears & wolves wandering wild around the landscape & these type of herd gurad dogs are bred to go out & kill these predators, not herd sheep or goat herds.

As Nikita pointed out, they seem to be only 'still considered semi-domesticated'.

Always missing from posts like this is 'what kind of lifestyle?' does (did) the person considering one plan on giving the dog? Letting it loose on the N Yorks moors to guard their flock or wandering around Leeds centre shopping 4 of 5 days pw, Harrods Knightsbridge no longer has the kennels for shoppers it once did. Owning any dog is two way thing.
.

Good point HP.

There biggest "issue" imo is that generally they will not tolerate strange dogs. My 2 are fine at shows etc but do not like dogs approaching them so I watch them like hawks and will walk the long way round if there is not enough space for them to pass without grumbling. Both will warn off other dogs/birds/deer etc they see in the distance when out walking.

Glad you confirmed that, I remember earlier this year someone wanted more info on a Caucasian Chaka, so checked youtube for primary stuff shot around those mountains, that lead to the Kangal 'type' dogs & I simply got quite a bit of info from youtube & the working herd guard dog vids on there.

Im glad you confirmed what you just have 'cause I have come across a Kangal, very very recently (weeks), I recognised it, put mine on a lead & spoke briefly to the owner, at a distance, they said it was a rescue & the rescue concerned asked if the owner if they wanted 2, seems they had a lot.

To be honest I was a bit concerned that the owner was afflicted with chronic anthropomorphism and, even in only the few mins I spoke to the person, they were focusing on all dogs are problem free and 'its always the owners to blame'......this started completely out of nowhere.....I moved on and on the one other occasion Ive noticed the person at a distance, I just kept the distance.

After the first bit of youtube research I very much had the impression they pack very well with habituation but had little tolerance of strange packs (in the dogs perception) approaching them to close, you just confirmed that, anthropomorphism is the dogs worst enemy.
.