Akbash ? for Chillin W/My Peeps or any other Akbash owners

[babalubird]

Chillin', I saw your post about having owned an Akbash. We're researching LGD's now to decide what may work best w/chickens. I liked what I read about the Akbash but not readily available in my area whereas Anatolians and Anatolian/Pyranese crosses are and are cheaper.

My other concern is that I read the gene pool on Akbashes is so limited. Did you have any health issues with your Akbash?

Did your Akbash get alone well with your chickens and were there ever any unpleasant results from this? The Akbashes I've seen pictured were much more slender and smaller than some of the other LGD's. Can two of them handle our coyote problem which is significant. We also have wild boars, lots of buzzards and hawks.

Knowing what you know, would you get akbashes again to guard free-range chickens? Especially if there were lots of coyotes?

Did you get a mature dog and train him to your chickens or did you get a puppy and have to go through the 2-3 yr. training period?

Thanks.


Connie

 

[xke4]

Not Chillin' but owned an Akbash for 6 years. When I saw the name in the post I just had to read it cuz there aren't many who know about them. This was my experience. A wonderful dog, not a big eater (like a Lab), not a big shedder (like my pug), tended to bark at perceived threats in a booming voice so if you do keep him in the house, be prepared to be awoken. Very low energy in the house but could cover 100 acres like he was shot from a gun. Will guard to the death what he learns from puppyhood to be his charges. (in my case, the family) When used to guard livestock effectively, he must live with whatever you want him to guard exclusively. So, if you want him to guard sheep for instance, he should be housed in the barn with the lambs etc. and have his contact with humans limited.

 

[babalubird]

Thanks. I appreciate. Six years? Did he have health problems or what happened? I'm a little concerned about the so-called limited gene pool.

Any one else experienced with Akbashes? Or taking in older LGD's to train to chickens?

I have a call from a rescue group about one, a 2 1/2 year old, that is supposed to be good with chickens. She sure looks like an Akbash. They advertised her as Anatolian/Akbash because they arent sure and also they are of the camp that the Akbash is just an Anatolian w/a white face, but to me the build/ size/shape of the face looks different between the two.

They have her litter mate sister too and I was excited thinking I'd get two guard dogs ready to go. But they said the one is good with chickens but the other for whatever reason is a chicken killer. The lady is open to separating them, but I don't know if that is good for the dogs after being together for 2 1/2 years.

Connie

 

[xke4]

Sadly, we had to euthanize him for an isolated incident of aggression. We had been in Europe for 10 days and had boarded him at his usual kennel . ( I should add that the kennel had to have a special run for him with a roof because he would climb, like a person, a 6 foot chain-link fence and get out. It was quite funny the first time when the fellow came to let the dogs out in the morning and Teddy was in the next dog's run). Gord noticed that towards the end of the 10 days, Teddy would sleep a lot and was not himself. I put it down to excitement and exhaustion from too much playing. I brought him home and he seemed fine but the next day, turned on a friend of my daughter's. Fortunately, the boy had really baggy jeans on and Teddy didn't break the skin. But I put him down the next morning because they have the capacity to do serious harm to a human. They are very powerful and determined. They "protect to the death". We think that there was an underlying illness.

 

[babalubird]

Thank you for your honesty.