Anatolian Vs. Pyr

[crystal.dirty]

I expect to be looking for a new LGD by the end of this year. My current "LGD", is an Anatolian/Pyr mix, and she a chicken chaser. I love her, and she has found a place on our farm by being a "Garden Guardian", she keeps the deer and other garden pests at bay. Anyhow, I am interested in hearing what everyone's opinions about the positives and negatives of each breed. I will be adding Icelandic sheep, if all goes well at the end of the year and I know that I will need a "real" LGD to protect my investment.

Thanks!

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

Here are some of the pros and cons of the Anatolian Shepard and Great Pyrenees. A Pyr will be much better with other people and other animals. As long as you are with the people/person then the dog will let them in and be OK with them. An Anatolian more than likely won't, unless you and the dog have a strong bond and it really trusts you. You MUST raise an Anatolian with other dogs so it doesn't kill them. If you just throw a dog with an Anatolian then it will more than likely kill it. A Pyr will kill most anything that comes in or around it's animals. Females are much more fierce than the males. The males are big babies. They want to love on you all the time. They will still guard but not as well as a female will. With the Anatolian the males are more fierce. That can be an issue though. It is hard to get them to listen and they do their own thing. With the females, they are just as fierce but easier to work with and not as hard-headed. The good thing about an Anatolian is they will kill ANYTHING that comes in there. They are the fiercest guard dogs out there. They were bred to kill wolves. Both the Pyr and the Anatolian get about the same size. They can both be raised with goats, sheep and other livestock. You have to train them with chickens because they will kill them until you do. If you want to raise them with cattle then the Anatolian is better. People who have huge farms with hundreds of acres of pasture use the Anatolian Shepard. One of the real upsides for the Anatolian is they can take the extreme heat and the extreme cold. They were bred in Turkey were it is either really hot or really cold. The Pyrs can take the cold, but not the heat. Places like North Carolina is about as far south as they can go. Any further is to hot for them. The biggest downside to the Anatolian is the price tag. it is very hard finding one for under $1000. Prys can go for as low as $200. If you want a good one it will be between $400-$800. I hope this helps and GL on your search.

 

[crystal.dirty]

Thank you for the information!

I understand that LGDs work best in pairs, would a pair of 1 Anatolian and 1 Pyr work well together? Or is it best to keep them in pairs of like breeds?

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I think it would work. If you have both males then they WILL fight. Anatolian males are the boss and likely want to kill the Pyr. I would get a male and female or both females. Both female will probably duke it out for the Alpha position though. If you get a male Pyr and a female Anatolian, I think that would be best. Males Pyrs are much "nicer" towards humans such as a female Anatolian is "nicer" than a male will be. Right now I have a female Anatolian in with a female and a female Pyr. They seem to be doing good so far. I do have to say that Anatolians are my favorite. They are very fierce and can even take down wolves. My Anatolian was barking at strange things at just 9 weeks!! The one male Pyr started at about 7 months. My Anatolain will see and hear anything and lets you and whatever is out there know.

Please keep in mind that both dogs are great at what they do. It completely depends on what you are looking for in the dog, and what you want it to do.

 

[MonsterMalak]

Straw Hat,,,,,, You know your dogs.

Have to say that you have summed it up well.

The Turkish breeds are a more capable breed in dealing with the larger predators in my opinion. But they are not meant for every situation.
Knowledge of dogs and the dynamics is beneficial.

Thanks

 

[EllieMay]

Great advice, Straw!
I also have both Pyrs and Turkish Kangals.
They were all put together as pups, so they get along great.
HOWEVER, if I feed all the dogs in the same vicinity, I have to stand there and wait till they're all done since my male Kangal is very food aggressive.
Because of the size of these dogs, I made sure they are all basic obedience trained (sit and stay) so that I can just tell my Kangal to 'sit' and he'll sit there while the rest of the dogs finish eating.
But, yeah, the Turkish breeds are fierce and a good knowledge of the breeds is extremely important before bringing one home.

 

[goodolboy]

Straw, you sure don't leave much to comment on. Good job. I will add that we live in central KY with GP and the older male we have, we shear every summer. But the females we have had shed real good and we never had to worry with them. We have 4 of the males pups now but they haven't been thru a summer yet, but their coats don't seem as thick as their dads, more like their mom, so I hope they will shed good.

The extra hair just makes the male want to look for shade instead of patrol, so we shear him to make him more active. Know the preditors in your area before you do this because the dogs hair is a defence and you don't want to make the dog vulnerable. In that case you'd want the shorter haired dogs.

 

[EllieMay]

Last summer I spent a lot of days brushing my pyrs.
They GREATLY enjoyed it. It was good to get that thick winter undercoat out.
My Kangals, of course, wanted to be brushed, too. (Took all of 5 seconds. lol)
The dogs really enjoy their brushing sessions.
The time is also spent checking their skin and body for any abnormalities or parasites.
But don't tell them that.

 

[goodolboy]

Ours will need a good brushing if your volunteering.

 

[GriffinRidgeFarm]

One of the real upsides for the Anatolian is they can take the extreme heat and the extreme cold. They were bred in Turkey were it is either really hot or really cold. The Pyrs can take the cold, but not the heat. Places like North Carolina is about as far south as they can go. Any further is to hot for them.

I just wanted to say that this is not entirely true, I live in Alabama and I have 3 Great Pyrs. When they are hot they get into the duck pools to cool off also, I know 4 or 5 other people with GP's that also live in Alabama