Adopting an Anatolian Shepard

[Ninjasquirrel]

Ive had my eye on this anatolian since she was first introduced to our local shelter. We had to go thru an extensive adoption process just to meet her and today we finally did. My hubby was at the point of saying no up until now. Ive asked him to think on it but I'm worried he'll say no because this dog has bad hips. She's underweight and he thinks b6 her gait shes been hit by a car. I really want this dog bit ultimately our current dog has the say as to whether or not she comes into our home. My husband though has his doubts. Tell me about this breed.if you can

 

[rosemarythyme]

How bad are the hips? She might be better off staying underweight - I dropped my dog to about 92 lbs (her prev owner's records indicate she was high as 110 before) to help ease her burden on the joints, but big dogs with hip issues are pretty tough since you may need to help her stand up and go out if things worsen.

Has she ever been tested with poultry or any other livestock animals? Often LGDs end up in shelters because of that, so it's good info to have, even if your chickens normally stay penned up.

 

[black_cat]

Regardless of issues with the rescue- Anatolians are a livestock guardian breed. They are intelligent, independant, and have guarding instincts. This is a breed that has not changed much since it has been developed. Because they are working dogs by nature, they do best with a job. You will have to work hard at training with her and ultimately, if you can't give her any job to do (a job can be come outside and sit while I let the chickens out- it doesn't have to be fancy, just give the dog a sense of purpose), I don't think that this is the breed for you.
It sounds like with this specific dog, she's had some behavioral issues develop (probably due to poor ownership originally- if you get a guardian breed and don't train it well, no wonder guarding issues have developed!). Unless you are willing to work through those issues, and possibly have a very hard time because of the breed's independence coupled with intelligence, she may not be the dog for you. It'll also be a bit of a shock if you've only ever dealt with breeds like retrievers or other very biddable dogs- I am fully immersed in the world of dog training and I wouldn't want one unless I wanted a guardian dog. If you have experience with other guardian breeds, or something like huskies, malamutes, or german, dutch, or belgian shepherds, I probably wouldn't go for it unless you're very confident in your training ability.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

That can be a job too! My dog's (golden retriever) jobs are 'helping' with the chickens, and alerting us to people outside at night. He'll eventually get the newspaper every morning, but he does not have enough self control for that yet.

We currently have a border collie that came to us with several behavior issues: urinating in the house, aggression with urinating, food aggression, dog aggression, people aggression, aggressive towards sticks and water. You name it she had it. She also had giardia and heartworm disease. Shes cured of both AND all her aggression. Shes now a registered service animal

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

And believe me when I say this is a family decision. We are considering everything. If the hubby says no, we dont move forward. If he says yes, meet and greet with our current dog. If she says no, we have our answer. Dogs are members of our family and everyone needs to be onboard

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

That’s what I’m talking about Love and dedication and caring = amazing dog!!! Thank you for not giving up on her!!

Honestly we started with a foster to adopt program. In that time she had bit me. Just pressure and she did not break the skin. My husband was ready to say no but I said yes because had we brought her back with that knowledge they might have put her down. I dont give up easily. Dogs cam be trained but people are more stubborn

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

The first owner(s) didn't leave any records with the shelter then? Would be nice to know if there was a car accident, or if it's genetic or just wearing down with age (in which case joint supplements could help). We have ours on Dasaquin right now, Cosequin didn't make much difference, but hers is just a standard joint problem. Previous owner left vet records with the shelter so we have 36 pages of records for her.

Mine is attached to hubby for sure and took quite a while for her to warm up to me, but she didn't guard him. Mine's a giant coward so she wants him to protect her. But sounds like this dog might be a 1 person dog, or maybe doesn't like men as much?

Actually it was the woman that supposedly was threatened by the dog. Which I thought was strange because that dog was all about me. I almost wonder if there was something going on in their household that caused it and not the dog itself, like if they were having a physical arguement. To my knowledge they didnt leave records with the shelter or they just didnt tell us. I wonder if maybe I could ask them for them. I dont want to seem rude about it though.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I feel badly for the dog but yes if there's any doubts, better to pass on her.

If you're set on getting a LGD breed, I do see them come up in shelters fairly often. Some are failed livestock dogs, others are too much for their previous owners (i.e. ours was raised from puppyhood by previous owner, but she barked a lot and when the owner moved to a new house, the barking became too much of an issue for neighbors - as we live on a private driveway she really doesn't have much reason to bark at our house.)

 

[LaFleche]

Don’t blame the dog for the shelters lack of info etc. not the pups fault sadly a lot of shelters have that type of mentality, lazyness etc

I don't blame the dog for anything, but this is what the OP stated so far, and one red flag for me: she has already been adopted before and the second adopter returned to the shelter for aggressive behaviour towards a member of her new family.
With a dog of this size and breed this should not be taken lightly:

because this dog has bad hips.

She's underweight and he thinks b6 her gait shes been hit by a car.

the first owner wanted to euthanize her but instead brought her there

The second adopter said she was "guarding" her husband from her.

Shes shedding like crazy

her belly is fully shaved. My hubby is worried she was hit by a car

the woman that supposedly was threatened by the dog.

they didnt leave records with the shelter or they just didnt tell us.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Perhaps this could be of interest to you @Ninjasquirrel :

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...l-puppies-are-sold-after-8-weeks-old.1496945/

Thanks but we only adopt animals from shelters. We do this to give those animals that have been turned away a better life