Anatolian Shepard

[JB]

Can an Anatolian be taught to respect boundries fenced well enough to keep in stock but not necessarily a dog determined to get out? I have twenty acres of pasture and mixed timber. Putting up a six foot fence around all of it is out of the question. I also don't want to battle with a dog who has a strong instinct to wander. I absolutely don't want a dog leaving my property and possibly causing damage at neighbor's place. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong breed to replace my german shepard. Your thoughts.

 

[carolinagirl]

Can an Anatolian be taught to respect boundries fenced well enough to keep in stock but not necessarily a dog determined to get out? I have twenty acres of pasture and mixed timber. Putting up a six foot fence around all of it is out of the question. I also don't want to battle with a dog who has a strong instinct to wander. I absolutely don't want a dog leaving my property and possibly causing damage at neighbor's place. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong breed to replace my german shepard. Your thoughts.

I have my Anatolians in 4' stock fence with a strand of electric wire inside, about 18" up. They respect it VERY well. But they are still pups too, at 8 months of age. I do know of plenty of people who have no trouble at all keeping them in with electric. My pasture is cross-fenced with 3 strands of electric and they do not challenge that either. Teaching them young about the electric is a good idea. A female or a neutered male is less likely to wander. Anatolians do not have the prey drive that a shepherd has. For the most part, they are very laid back dogs. they are not highly obedient because they are intelligent free-thinkers. They see what needs to be done and they do it. When they feel something is a threat, their first reaction is to just show their size. Then they bark. Then they bark more aggressively. And if necessary, they may bite....but that's a last resort to them. They don't like to get buddy-buddy with strangers. They will accept strangers that you accept, but they probably won't ever show the stranger much affection. I am so in love with this breed. My puppies each weigh over 90 pounds. And even though they are pups, they look and act like adult dogs. When I go sit in the pasture, they both come to me very calmly and sit quietly with me. No bouncing, hoping or any of that wild puppy stuff. They just have this calm confidence about them that I have never seen in a puppy before. I know of Anatolians who are therapy dogs, service dogs, show dogs, home guardians, and of course livestock guardians. I even know of Anatolians who has gotten obedience certifications. Work strongly on obedience training when he is little. He will retain much of it once he is grown. I have my dogs sit and lie down each time I go out to the pasture. They both walk on a leash and ride in the car, although Isaac LOVES to travel much more than Eli does. This is a majestic breed and I am really happy I chose them.

 

[Roll farms]

I've had 2 Anatolians and 2 Pyrenees, and one A/P cross.

Never had one leave our fence. From what I've read, that's pretty awesome luck, because our fence is NOT 'dog proof' - chain link w/ hot wire at the bottom around 3 sides.
I have seen my male dogs chew on the chain link they were so angry / upset over other dogs on our property, so I'm pretty sure they wanted out. They just didn't get out. Our pasture's only slightly over 1 acre so it's not as if they have tons of room to roam, either.
How 'bonded' they are to their pen/livestock (IMHO) matters a lot, too. My dogs get really nervous when taken out of the barn / pasture...they KNOW where they belong.

In our experience, the Pyr are more likely to 'accept' strangers, and a tad less stubborn than the Anatolian. They are supposed to be able to 'do their job' w/out a human there to tell them what to do, and sometimes they just think they 'know better' than you do. Not a breed for the easily intimidated or pushovers. You have to be the 'pack leader'.

One suggestion would be (if you go w/ the Anatolian) to get it fixed. It will NOT ruin it's ability to guard, it will enhance it, and perhaps curb the desire to roam a bit, esp. if there's an intact member of the opposite sex nearby.

I wish you were closer, I have a 5 mo. old pup you could take for a test run / return if it didn't work out.

 

[JB]

Thanks alot for all of your input. So far I am impressed with what I've learned about the breed from the web or books. The only thing that bothered me is keeping the dog at home when I'm gone and the fact that they are voracious diggers. I am used to training strong dogs as I am a former law enforcement dog handler. My current German Shepard is a retired service dog. He is push button when it comes to dicipline and never leaves the property. My current and previous shepards all came from Europe. I would get another German Shepard; however it seems difficult to get a good american breed dog without spending serious money. At any rate, I though I would try an Anatolian. I live in a very rural area and want a dog that will watch my place when I'm away for the day. The only stock I have are horses and chickens. Although there is a threat from predators here, I haven't had too much trouble with them. Coyotes, mountain lion, bobcat and wolves all pass through mostly at night. My main reason for wanting an intimidating dog is to keep the two legged critters away. Therefore, I want the dog to watch the area immediatly surrounding my home and confront people it doesn't know. Keeping the dog in a fenced area not allowing it to do it's work would be useless to me. Again, I don't want a dog that will roam around as I to don't like it when other people don't keep their dogs at home. Also, I planned on getting a male Anatolian and having it fixed. The breeder suggested I wait until the pup was at least 1 1/2 before doing so. I have visited the breeder and viewed the dogs. She has a female that is 7/8 Anatolian and 1/8 Great Pyreenes that is breed by a papered male Anatolian. I can get a pup from her fairly reasonable since it won't be papered. They are a beautiful breed.

 

[carolinagirl]

They are indeed a beautiful breed. Since you are used to handling strong dogs, you would probably be the perfect Anatolian Shepherd owner. Just be aware that they will probably never be push-button trained as your GSDs are. They just aren't wired that way. My pups are 8 months old and so far, have not dug at all. From what I have seen, digging is more of a Great Pyrenees trait than Anatolian. Part of it may be that the GPs have heavy coat and they are trying to get cool. My Anatolians just find a shady spot and are fine without digging. It seems that a few DO dig, but so far mine do not. And if you are looking for more of a protection-type animal, Anatolians are much better suited to that than GPs are. GPs accept strangers quite easily. GPs also have a different type of guarding style that did not appeal to me. They tend to be barkers. Their guarding style is barking (especially at night) just to let any predators that might be in the area know that they are on duty and don't come around. Anatolians are more watchful and quieter, barking if there is something to bark at. Isaac is an awesome watchdog! He is awake most of the night, keeping an eye on things. He's learning what should be barked at and what shouldn't. He does not bark for hours at nothing. He barks if he hears something strange, then quickly quiets down on his own as soon as he figured out it is not a threat. Eli never, ever barks. He's there with Isaac if they investigate something, but he is quiet.

This is Eli.....I LOVE his eyes!!

 

[JB]

They're beautiful.

 

[Roll farms]

That new Anatolian pup of ours never.shuts.up. I'm hoping he'll quiet down once he gets used to things. He's picking up the routine amazingly fast.

There are variations in every breed. Our Anatolians haven't been diggers, but one of the pyrs loved to.

 

[Ms. Research]

They are indeed a beautiful breed. Since you are used to handling strong dogs, you would probably be the perfect Anatolian Shepherd owner. Just be aware that they will probably never be push-button trained as your GSDs are. They just aren't wired that way. My pups are 8 months old and so far, have not dug at all. From what I have seen, digging is more of a Great Pyrenees trait than Anatolian. Part of it may be that the GPs have heavy coat and they are trying to get cool. My Anatolians just find a shady spot and are fine without digging. It seems that a few DO dig, but so far mine do not. And if you are looking for more of a protection-type animal, Anatolians are much better suited to that than GPs are. GPs accept strangers quite easily. GPs also have a different type of guarding style that did not appeal to me. They tend to be barkers. Their guarding style is barking (especially at night) just to let any predators that might be in the area know that they are on duty and don't come around. Anatolians are more watchful and quieter, barking if there is something to bark at. Isaac is an awesome watchdog! He is awake most of the night, keeping an eye on things. He's learning what should be barked at and what shouldn't. He does not bark for hours at nothing. He barks if he hears something strange, then quickly quiets down on his own as soon as he figured out it is not a threat. Eli never, ever barks. He's there with Isaac if they investigate something, but he is quiet.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h331/bearcreek58/Anatolian Shepherds/IMG_1972Medium.jpg

This is Eli.....I LOVE his eyes!!

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h331/bearcreek58/Anatolian Shepherds/IMG_1970Medium.jpg

Boy they are getting big and BEAUTIFUL! So glad to hear they are both doing well.

K

 

[carolinagirl]

Roll, Isaac went though a period where he was barking a lot at night, at every little noise he heard. He is learning though and usually now only barks at things he doesn't understand. And he quiets down really quickly on his own. I don't think I have ever heard Eli make a peep. He's very quiet but is watching....he is just quiet about it. I have noticed that when they are laying in the field, they are usually always facing opposite directions. They lay right next to each other, but each facing a different way. And i think I figured out why they won't use a dog house. They can't see! I saw them use the houses once in a very hard rain. They'd only stay in the house for a few minutes....then they'd step back out in the rain, look around and go back in. I really think they don't like the houses because it blocks their view. I am going to build them a raised platform that is high enough that they can sleep under it to get out of the rain, or sleep on top to get a better view.