Anatolian Shepherd Dogs: Texas Breeder

The Breed Splitting Dispute
by Dawn Campbell (2000)

There is an issue of great debate all over the world. Which is the "real" Turkish breed? Is it, as some would have us believe, the kangal dog? Or is it the older breed that can still be seen today protecting the flocks of shepherds all over the Anatolia Plateau, the Anatolian Shepherd Dog? Is the kangal merely a subsection of the Anatolian, bred by elitist that prefer breeding for purely cosmetic reasons over health and working ability? Or is it that the kangal came first?

Hopefully some of these questions will be clarified. But the past of these dogs is obscured in the mists of time. All that can be provided is what our science, breed history, research and common sense tell us. Conclusions must be drawn from all of the evidence, not the shady "facts" and opinion offered up by most kangal supporters.

Topics
The Name

Turkish Concept of Breed

Multi-colored Dogs in Turkey

Breed Standards

Breeding for Working Ability and Health

Genetics and the kangal

Importance of Variety in Gene Pools

The Final Solution

The Name

What is in a name? More then you would think. No matter who you ask, any "kangal" expert, you will get conflicting and confusing answers to where the name kangal came from. There is a great deal of political unrest in the area and I would imagine this made it difficult to discover a suitable name for these dogs when the first Westerners "discovered" them in Turkey. Some wanted to call the dogs "karabas" which means, black head. However not all shepherd dogs in the region had black faces or masks and not all pups produced by the first "karabas" dogs that were taken out of Turkey were fawn with black masked dogs. That name was thus deemed inappropriate. Then, finally, Anatolian Shepherd Dog was decided upon as the dogs come from the region of Anatolia in what is, today, known as Turkey. The dogs are found all over the Anatolia Plateau and not just the Sivas-Kangal region of the country. The Anatolian Shepherd name was a compromise as it is both apolitical and regionally correct.

The name kangal may be a recognized named by the Turkish people but it seems to encompass a variety of colors and coat lengths and seems to have only become "recognized" within the last 20 years. Many Anatolian owners who have Turkish friends or have met Turks abroad have had their white, cream, pinto, brindle or rough coated dogs remarked on as "kangals". The relative age of the term seems to be rather recent as the old Turkish stamp said "ÇOBAN KÖPEGI" or "Shepherd Dog" and not "KANGAL KÖPEGI" or "kangal dog". Ironically a new stamp has been made that does say "Kangal Kopegi" but the drawing looks nothing like an Anatolian or the so called "kangals"

Here is a stamp from Turkey of the ÇOBAN KÖPEGI.

NOTE: The stamp says "shepherd dog" not "kangal dog"

If the name kangal is correct and is has been used for centuries then why did this stamp, clearly showing what is the kangal type of Anatolian, say "shepherd dog" and not "kangal dog"? Apparently that name isn't as old as the breed splitters would have us believe.

In fact the Kurdish people in the area have claimed ownership of these dogs and call them "gammal" or "kenjal". The Kurdish were there a long time before the region was called "Turkey". I will leave that debate to those of better authority. Turkey is in a state of political turmoil which only makes it more important that we keep an apolitical name for the shepherd dogs.

The shepherds of the region, be they Turkish, Kurdish or otherwise are the ones we should thank for these dogs. They cared little what the dogs were called, what color they were, or how "shaggy" the coat as long as they could keep the sheep safe and could survive on their own. Their breeding for working ability and the dogs "wolf killing" reputation are what have contributed to make us an outstanding Livestock Guardian that far surpasses other dogs in its ability and beauty.

The Turkish Concept of Breed

Some Turks have been encouraged, by certain groups of people, to proclaim the fawn w/black masked dogs as superior, which in the minds of the Turkish may be true. However it does not constitute a different breed. In the US the golden (palomino) American Saddlebred Horse is preferred by some but they haven't gone so far as to try and create a new breed. "Breed" means a completely different thing to the people of Turkey then it does to most Westerners. Our concepts do not encourage superior working animals and it is as much a blessing as a curse that the Turkish people have not followed those breeding practices but the kangal "mob" is attempting to change that.

It seems, instead, to be the "collective Turkish Shepherd opinion" that the best "wolf killer" is the revered dog and this has, of course, absolutely nothing to do with color. The most prized studs have earned the "spiked collar" for killing a wolf or have proven themselves in some other valiant way. It is not clear why some would have us believe that the shepherds would care about color above and beyond their own survival.

The shepherds kept no records or pedigrees and neither did they create a kennel club. "Purebreds" as we term them did not exist in Turkey. No dogs were registered and kept track of. There were no dog shows. Champion dogs were the ones that survived and proved the best guardian animals. A shepherd was proud of how well his dog guarded his flock and not whether or not the dog won blue ribbons or fit into a specific breed standard.

Here is an example of another Turkish breed, the Turkish Angora Cat. Angora is the old word for Ankara which is the Zoo which "saved the breed" many years ago. In the Turkish mind the white cats with blue eyes are the only "true" Turkish cats but the other colors are not excluded from the breeding schemes. To breed white to white constantly will produce deadly results in the gene pool that only starts with deaf cats.

Colored dogs in Turkey

Pictures of Anatolians from Natalka Czartoryska's Files
To Illustrate Colors

Turkish Shepherds
and their dogs
A Tricolor Sire,
White Dam and Fawn Son Brindle Working ASD
in Turkey
NOTE: A Spiked Collar Bitch in Turkey with
Fawn and White pups

Apparently, even with the popularity of these dogs, color is still unimportant in Turkey. Some of the dogs are white, tricolor, red and even grey. But color never hinders their ability to protect the flocks. It would seem ludicrous to cull out an excellent guardian dog because he had the misfortune, according to some, to be brindle.

As you can see these dogs are magnificent shepherds have every right to be proud of them. I am still awed by the majesty, power, intelligence and courage of the Anatolian Shepherd Dog. This same animal, terrifying to predators, can be gentle and loving of both his people and his flock.

These dogs are enhanced, not diminished, by the variety of colors they come in. There is nothing like looking out onto the fields and seeing noble dogs guarding their charges. What is purer then that?

Breed Standards

There is no difference in the breed type or standards between the "kangal" and the Anatolian Shepherd Dog except for a restriction on color and coat type and the very simple question of name. The amount of culling and inbreeding necessary to create a dog that breeds true to color and one coat would be suicide for the shepherd dog as we know it. Working ability and health will disappear in the almighty quest for cosmetic excellence. Breeding for aesthetic reasons will never create a suitable working animal and it is unlikely that the shepherds would choose a dog for its color over its ability to protect and to kill when the need arose. As with any breed that is a superb working animal these dogs were bred first for working ability and for health. Unhealthy dogs did not survive the harsh reality of life. Only the strong, large, courageous, protective, intelligent and fierce dogs were bred. To think that the shepherd, struggling for his own survival, would care about the color of his "wolf killer" is absurd. Every day survival is the only important consideration. In Turkey they did not even have breed registries and standards. They kept track of their "champions" by the dog's deeds, not by his looks. If they do now it is because of Western influence and Western vanity.

Is there a difference in temperament, working ability or health between the Anatolian Shepherd Dog and the so called "kangal"? No kangal supporter has ever answered this question. It could then be surmised that they do not have an answer that they find suitable. Before they started working on these Anatolians turned kangal there was no difference. This would explain the confusion some kangal supporters have determining if a fawn with black mask dog, with smooth coat, is a kangal or an Anatolian or, as they call them, a mongrel. Eventually there will be a difference, however, as the kangal type dogs are inbred and culled to the point of genetic disease and extinction.

So the only difference then is color and coat length. That difference does not constitute a breed. Black Labradors are not a different breed from Chocolate. At most you could call it a difference in variety, like the rough coated and smooth coated Collies.

Breeding for Working Ability and Health

We can learn a lot if we follow the ways of the Turkish shepherds and breed for dogs of excellent working ability and health. They provide an example that we would be foolish not to follow. In our arrogance we think we can better a breed that is prefect for the job it was created for. I say we can do no better then the Turkish shepherds of old and will, in fact, do worse if we do not breed as they did and preserve the breed's working abilities.

Our dogs do not go through the strict culling that nature provides when both humans and dogs are struggling to survive on a daily basis. In Europe, North America and Australia we are able to help the unhealthy dogs to survive. This can have an adverse affect if these dogs are then allowed to breed back into the gene pool. Where nature, in Turkey, created a natural selection aided by the needs of the shepherds, we in "the west" have to rely on our own tests, standards and judgement.

ASDI's Code of Ethics.

Breeding Ethics

Many of our dogs do not work. So dogs of unsuitable temperament and with little or no working ability get bred back into the gene pool. Slowly the breed degenerates and loses both its health and its working ability. Why do we breed such dogs? The answer is simple. We were trying to fix color, or a certain "look" instead of keeping our focus on working ability and health first and foremost. Many of our "working" breeds in the United States can no longer perform their old duties. Many cannot survive without the help of modern veterinary science and drugs. British Bulldogs, for example, cannot be born naturally and must be removed by caesarian section lest they and their mother die. Breeders loved the look of a "certain" head and now the heads are so large they do not fit in the birth canal. This is just one example of breeding for cosmetics instead of health and working ability.

Indeed the kangal breeders do not seem to preoccupied with health. In the United States only 9, male and female, "kangal" dogs were OFA hip certified between the years 1995-2000. By contrast there were 10 male Anatolians OFA certified between January and March of 1995 alone. Surely there were more then 9 registered kangals in the US since 1995. These numbers are appalling.

This is not fair to the dogs, the breed or ourselves. Anatolian Shepherd fanciers are lucky in that the breed has remained untouched by our concept of "breeding" for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. We get a healthy and viable gene pool to start out with and plenty of examples of other breeds that have been led down the wrong path. We have the benefit of modern genetics and medicine to breed healthier dogs and to preserve the Anatolian's natural working instincts and abilities. To do this, however, we must maintain perspective and try to mimic how the shepherds bred their dogs. Only the best guardians and the healthiest stock get put back into the gene pool.

Turkish shepherds of old should be revered and respected for what they have created. They did not let vanity for a "certain look" or color diminish their true goal; to breed an outstanding dog that would guard their livestock better then any other dog ever could. They have given us a gift in our dogs and a means to protect our livestock in other countries.

The Importance of Variety in Gene Pools

Besides the obvious insanity of culling perfectly good dogs for color is the issue of maintaining a viable and healthy gene pool. The more dogs that are culled, bred out, or inbred the more unhealthy and undesirable mutations can occur.

Dr. Malcolm Willis has stressed this point in his book Practical Genetics for Dog Breeders. On page 111 he writes,
"In many breeds dislike of specific colours is often illogical. When Anatolian Shepherd Dogs were first brought to Britain they were fawn with black mask. Later other colours appeared in their litters or were brought in and it was alleged that these non-fawn colours were not pure-breds. Since no registration policy existed in Turkey there was no way of ensuring the "purity" of any import and since breeders in Turkey were free to breed as they chose the argument for only a fawn ASD is without logic. Many fawn Anatolians will, and do, produce other colours including white markings and the breed is not pure-breeding for fawn with a black mask despite what some breeders may claim. Breeders would be wiser paying attention to conformation, character and hip status than expending the energy they have in fighting for fawn colours."

A dog of a less suitable Livestock Guardian temperament will be chosen over his superior brother merely because he is fawn with a black mask and his brother is pinto. The pinto may have superior confirmation, but without the proper "color" the elitists desire, he cannot contribute his outstanding genetic make up to make the breed better.

Slowly the breed degenerates until you have dogs that can no longer function as Livestock Guardian Dogs. The Dog breeders of the US and UK have done this with hundreds of breeds and made them a mockery of their former beauty and function.

For example:

The Irish Setter in the US, for many years, was considered to be unable to do the job its Irish ancestors were bred for. Many still have neither the endurance nor the strength to go on the hunt. The white and red Irish setter, just as beautiful, was nearly made extinct as the desire for only red Irish setters drove the breeders. A few people have struggled to bring the red and white dogs back and seem to be having some success.

We should not do this to the Anatolian Shepherd Dog. It is selfish, vain and cruel. Just because we find one color aesthetically more pleasing does not mean we should breed and cull only for that color. We should strive to maintain a healthy working dog and if color is any consideration let it be the last.

Genetics and the kangal

Some kangal fanciers have managed to create a kennel type that appears to breed true to the color and coat standards. We cannot know for sure because many things happen behind closed doors that the general public is not made aware of. Even if these kennel type dogs breed true among their own lines, when cross bred to another kennel line they produce the off colors. These dogs are merely expressing the recessive traits of the Anatolian Shepherd Dog and their very existence proves that the kangal is merely a variation of the Anatolian breed.

Dr. M. B. Willis - Senior Lecturer in Animal Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Newcastle University, England - wrote in Our Dogs Newspaper:
"The Anatolian Shepherd Dog breed is a tall one, so that one would expect fairly high litter size. KC registrations do not support this view and there appear to be higher registrations from ASDC breeders than AKDC (Karabash/Kangal) breeders. Exactly why this is so, is uncertain. Differential registration in a breed may be due to some breeders having poor prolificacy in their bitches, or the indulging in greater selectively about what is fit to register. Equally, breeders anxious to preserve certain features might deliberately cull pups not showing these features. One could find any non fawn/black mask pups being culled from fawn/black mask matings. If this did occur it would give the impression to anyone looking at KC registrations that fawn/black mask bred true to type, but if selective culling had occurred the observation would be inaccurate. All genetic evidence suggests quite conclusively that fawn/black mask is not true breeding and that white markings are common in the ASD's seen in this country. Arguments to the contrary from Turkey are constantly put forward but since they are based upon non-pedigree stock and none have come from trained geneticists, they are not worth the paper they are written on. Enthusiasts from both sides of the Anatolian camp can argue that this colour or that colour exists around the sheep flocks and I have seen innumerable photographs 'proving' every argument. The simple facts are that different selections of stock have been brought from Turkey with different results. It is wrong to assume that the first ones must, by definition, be the only correct ones. The first GSD's brought to Britain were grey sables (the popular colour of the day) but that does not mean that black/tan, black, bicolour etc. are any less representative of the breed."

Anyone can study dog coat color genetics and get a clear picture of how inheritance works. Genetically speaking the "kangal" type will not breed true, especially with red, tricolor, white, and pinto dogs in the pedigrees. In Tasmania two breeders discovered the "con" behind the kangal movement when their supposedly "pure kangals" produced rough coated dogs. They are confused and hurt by what I can only call, the kangal con.

It makes no sense that the kangal purists are using dogs they have repeatedly labeled as "mutts and mongrels" to produce their "pure kangal". Why not tap this source they are so proud of in Turkey? Do they refuse because there is no source?

The Final Solution

A good friend of mine in the Anatolian world has brought up the perfect solution to this entire dilemma. First however we must look at the kangal side's arguments:
Pro-kangal Argument

A true kangal will breed true.

Well they aren't with the Anatolians that have been taken from our gene pools and bred from. Dogs with red, pinto, rough coated parents, siblings, aunts and uncles cannot be these "pure" kangals they are so proud of. The question remains, why do they split our breed to create their own?

True kangals exist in an isolated gene pool in Turkey.

Very well then! Go to Turkey and find these "pure and isolated kangal dogs". Breed from THEM. Start up a registry and standard from the ground up as the Anatolian Shepherd Dog founders did. Prove to the world that these dogs do breed true to type and color by coming out from behind those closed doors. If these dogs *are* a separate breed from the Anatolian then there is NO need to use our dogs to breed from and to endlessly work to destroy our breed. That is a lot of wasted energy.

However, I think this "population of pure kangals" does not exist and they would have a lot easier time finding the "Last Unicorn".

Everyone has to have their dream I suppose.

The kangal breeders breed for health and working ability.

Once these dogs have been brought out from the holy "isolated population" will they do the health checks that other responsible breeders do? Breed for working ability and health above and beyond color? They surely haven't in the US. And if they do let's see if they still manage to come out with only Fawn w/ Black Mask dogs.

These solutions end all debate. How can there be one? How can they split a breed that they see as completely different from their own and why would they need to when there is that "isolated population of pure kangals" waiting for them to snatch up?

Why constantly strive to re-register Anatolians as kangals when they are only seen as mutts in their eyes? Why go through all this trouble when they have the "real thing" in Turkey? Is it because there is no "real thing"? Perhaps they are trying to pull the wool over our eyes and swallow us into their KANGAL CON.

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The Breed Splitting Dispute