Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Anatolian Shepherd Dog - what an amazing big cuz!





Today I thought I'd introduce you to one of my biggest cousins. I haven't personally met one in real life but my human has. She was fortunate enough to be introduced to Anatolian Shepherd dogs on a farm just outside of Cape Town where they live side by side with cheetahs. Can you think of anything more amazing than that?

 Initially, Anatolian Shepherds were bread in central Turkey to protect livestock against predators. They are huge and extremely powerful and in Africa they have become known as excellent breed to have if you would like to protect your livestock, particularly sheep, against predators such as cheetahs.

Cheetah numbers in South Africa and Namibia declined drastically in years gone by as farmers introduced livestock on to land inhabited by these beautiful animals. Naturally cheetahs started attacking the livestock and the farmers, in turn, killed the cheetahs. A no-win situation for all!

It was discovered that introducing Anatolian Shepherds on the farms is the ideal alternative to killing cheetahs, as the dogs bond with livestock when young and will furiously protect them when they come under attack. Cheetahs, on the other hand, are non-confrontational and if faced with such a huge and powerful dog, will rather retreat. The dogs are now bred here specifically for this purpose and pups are donated to farmers who have cheetahs and livestock on their farms. A win-win situation for all!

The dogs are highly intelligent and independent and their short hair makes them well-suited for keeping cool on hot African days.

The following two sites offer interesting reading if you would like to know more about these amazing dogs!

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/south-africa/100219/cheetah-conservation-dogs and
http://www.cheetah.co.za/an_description.html

All I can say - if my human ever decides to take me to the farm so that I can meet one in real life, she'd better make sure there's a STURDY fence between us! Oh, and by the way - she told me to tell you not to worry about the Anatolian and the cheetah on the picture above, they grew up together in captivity and are big buddies. They are both ambassadors for this initiative and if you ever come to our neck of the woods, perhaps you can go and pay them a visit!

That's all for now, here's wishing you a great week ahead!

11 comments:

  1. It looks like they're having fun!

    Our Holiday Happenings giveaways have started so stop by to enter all of the great giveaways!

    Nubbin wiggles,
    Oskar

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  2. How interesting!! We didn't know any of that but we love that first picture very much and the rest of them are great too!! Thanks..we will check out the links!!! Lots of love, Holly and mom

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  3. That's a cool story! A win-win situation, like you said.

    I've only known two Anatolian Shepherds. They lived very nearby. Their job was to protect a herd of alpacas from mountain lions. Unfortunately, the human didn't spend much time with them. One day, she went into the pasture to tend to the alpacas and was badly mauled by her own dogs. Terrible story...

    I'm sure that story is the exception, as long as the human owners spend time socializing their dogs.

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  4. What lukhky khanines with GREAT khytties!

    Thanks fur sharing this!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  5. Glad you enjoyed hearing about these interesting dogs!

    KB - one thing I learnt about Anatolians is that they have to be put with their charges as puppies. I wonder if the two you know about were put with the Alpacas as pups? As you say, they have to be socialised by their humans. Sad when people don't do their homework properly when putting dogs in certain positions.

    You're doing a great job with your K - just love seeing your photos every day!

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  6. Hi Abbey!
    Thanks for dropping by my blog!

    Hope we can be furiends!

    Woofs,
    Pepsi

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  7. Hi Pepsi! Welcome! You remind me of my brother George - have a look at the photos further down...

    Our first friend from Singapore!!

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  8. Wow! What an educational post Miss Abbey!
    Wow again! That is a HUGE guy...
    I had no idea such thing existed. Thanks for the great info!

    Smooches,
    Neeko ♥

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  9. I just read a post about a woman mauled by three such dogs in England - after that they killed her German shepherd too. What ferocious beats !!

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    Replies
    1. I am from Turkey. Shepherd dogs barking would not attack, but warns him of his right to run or walk a very dangerous area. But I'll never stand still attack. Anatolia, but in some countries these dogs are carefully preserved and appropriate items very valuable export ban.

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