akbash?

[KristinK]

Is anyone using straight Akbash as their LGD? In reading through old posts here, it seems that every time Akbash is mentioned, it is part of a cross. Can anyone give me a rundown on the working pros/cons of the breed?

I just visited a breeder who uses her Akbash on sheep and alpacas and am thinking of getting a pup or pair of pups in the fall. They seemed like great dogs and hers are extremely trustworthy with people, including children.

Thanks!

[Janet McNally]

If you know someone who has (any breed) that has the qualities that you are seeking, then do not hesitate to go with a litter from that farm, regardless of the breed. There are a lot of good working Akbash out there.

Janet

[OogieM]

We have 1 pure akbash and he is a good dog. The source and working abilities are more important than the breed. Locally seems allt eh range flocks use akbash as their guardians.

[Lawman]

I second what Janet said. I think there are more differences in dogs than breeds

[PStetson]

Akbash tend to have a large range--so if you have neighbors close by that don't want to see your dog you might want to rethink breed. In my personal 40 experience w LGDs I find its best to avoid a mix and go for the purebred whether its Pyrenees or Akbash or etc--we had an Akbash mix several years back who killed atleast one of our other LGDs--we thought it was a mountain lion until we saw him attack another dog..could just be an isolated incident but we take no chances w mixes..

[Janet McNally]

In my personal 40 experience w LGDs I find its best to avoid a mix and go for the purebred whether its Pyrenees or Akbash or etc--we had an Akbash mix several years back who killed atleast one of our other LGDs--we thought it was a mountain lion until we saw him attack another dog..could just be an isolated incident but we take no chances w mixes..

Whether the 40 be years, or 40 dogs, I respect the experience, however, the research by both Green and Coppinger found hybrids between LGD breeds were overall more successful than the purebreds. Fighting between LGDs is not uncommon, be it for dominance, or sex, regardless of purebred or hybrid. My more serious fights have been among purebred dogs, but I think that is because my intact males and females are usually purebred, and the neutered males and females are usually hybrid. i.e. sexual status is the problem, not purebred vs crossbred.

Janet

[PStetson]

know and appreciate Coppingers' work and have had a dog from them--it probably makes a difference the size of the operation, range and if the dogs are fixed or not--we were running bands of sheep(1000 ea) out on a big range at the time of Akbash fiasco and our dogs are always fixed...

[Janet McNally]

Was this when two bands were near each other, or recently combined? I know when I bring groups of sheep back together the dogs first treat each other like strangers, and some fighting might occur. May I suggest this was more a circumstantial/individual incident. On my farm, the dog that presents the greatest challenge in picking fights at this time, is a purebred Maremma. All the rest are crosses and much mellower. But I don't think that is a purebred vs crossbred thing, I think it just reflects the temperament of the lines behind each dog.

Janet