Akbash Dog

A wonderfully written and informative article by Mr. David Sims. (Posted with permission). A Brief History of the Akbash Dog

by

David Sims

Most breed clubs have a pamphlet or book describing a rich, colorful history for their breed. The problem is, when you ask for references or historical documents to verify the facts, they often cannot be found. While the history of newer breeds is reasonably well established, we have to do some healthy estimating for most 'old world' breeds. I point this out because, in my attempts to research the histories of each of the livestock protection dog breeds, I came across many 'instant experts'. These are people who have been elected or acclaimed into a position on a board of directors, or who have a breeding pair, and hence, feel qualified to be an authoritative breed historian. from then on, theirs is the oldest or bravest or biggest, or whatever, when, in truth, there is no evidence to support the claim. Now for the history of the Akbash Dog ....

The part of the world currently occupied by Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran is believed to be where humans first lived in sufficient numbers to form civilizations. The fossil record shows that large dogs (large for their time, anyway) appeared almost concurrently with domesticated flocks of animals, suggesting that livestock protection dogs were among the first types of dogs. A reasonable hypothesis would be that early shepherds crossed guarding or war dogs, which were probably similar to the mastiffs of today, with a sight hound-like ancestor, something like today's whippet or greyhound, to produce a fleet-footed, strong, protection dog. With centuries of selection for a strong maternal/paternal instinct, which we now call bondability, the shepherds created a breed (or breeds) of livestock protection dog that would bond to livestock, be territorial around the village, be calm for the most part, but aroused by strange or unusual activity.

Akbash is a Turkish word meaning white head. In contrast, you may have heard the name Karabash. It means black head. The Akbash Dog is found today in rural Turkey, and, as far as can be determined, the Akbash Dog has been serving as a livestock protection dog in Turkey for millennia. A visit to Turkey in the 2000's provides a North American with a glimpse of living history. Turkey is a rapidly modernizing country, but the pockets of left over' or undisturbed country are where sheep herders and livestock protection dogs can be found. The lifestyles of Turkish rural villagers has not been influenced to a great extent by modernization. The villagers still need to dig wells, herd their sheep, protect the flock from wolves and bears, remove wool with hand-held, non-electrical shears, bake bread in an open hearth, and prepare food without refrigeration or electric stoves. In many ways, the style and pace of life are similar to what must have taken place hundreds or even thousands of years ago. The dogs we see in this rural setting have many of the ideal characteristics of a North American Akbash Dog. They are usually calm dogs, with a keen protective instinct for flock and property. However, Akbash Dogs in Turkey are never allowed in the house as pets, and are usually smaller than we are used to. Lacking the nutritional and veterinary benefits we offer our North American dogs, Akbash Dogs in Turkey are more likely to be shorter, lighter, parasite-infested, and prone to degenerative diseases. Their lifespan is likely reduced.

Catherine de la Cruz, a Great Pyrenees owner and rescue coordinator, has an intriguing and plausible theory about the evolution of livestock protection dog coat color. She believes that shepherds probably tried to match the color of their dogs to the color of wool on their sheep. This would allow them to blend in, offering less of a scare or threat to the sheep, and making identification of dogs more difficult for predators. If, for example, all-brown dogs were protecting a flock of white sheep, a wolf would know if all the dogs were at the front of the flock, and would attack a lamb at the rear of the flock. In turn, the color of the wool on the sheep was determined by the abundance of water in any given place. If there was a lot of water, white wool would be preferred, because dyes could be dissolved in water, and used to create colorful garments. If water was scarce, it would be too valuable for use in dying wool, so naturally colored wool would be preferred.

Within Turkey, there are large expanses of countryside suitable for little other than nomadic or semi-nomadic tending of sheep or goats. There are regions with little water, and other parts with many rivers, springs and lakes. Eastern Turkey, where many Kangal or Karabash-type dogs can be found, is quite dry. The Anatolian Plateau has alternating areas of abundant water and arid, semi-desert conditions. No surprise, therefore, that in modern Turkey you can find villages with Karabash-type dogs, and other villages (sometimes strings of villages) with all white Akbash-type dogs. Some North Americans have chosen to import livestock protection dogs from Turkey, lump them together, and give them the geographically-based name of Anatolian Shepherd Dogs. The Anatolian Plateau or region, is the most accessible part of Turkey, and hence is where most North Americans have been (its within a days drive of Ankara, the capital city). Others have chosen to separate the white heads from the black heads, and call them Karabash (or Kangal) and Akbash Dogs.

Based on my own travels in Turkey (warning: entirely subjective material ahead!), more than color separates Akbash Dogs from karabash-type dogs. Akbash Dogs tend to be smaller, and more variable in size. The sight hound side of their ancestry shows more readily. Karabash-type dogs have more of the mastiff influence, and hence are usually larger. However, with the introduction of trucks and telephones and tourists to Turkey, there is more mixing of the population. Sharing of dogs between villages and regions is more likely. Today, you can find all sorts of hybrid sheep protection dogs, lending some justification to the Anatolian' approach to classification. My principle reason for preferring the Akbash Dog nomenclature is that it has historical ties to Turkish culture. Calling dogs from Turkey a name that Turkish citizens don't recognize has an ethnocentric quality that I don't care for. If Turkish visitors were to come to Oklahoma, purchase some dogs, then claim to have a new breed of Oklahoman Dog, how would we respond?

If a study were to be conducted today, to determine if white dogs prevail in those regions of Turkey with an abundance of water, it would likely fail. Recent government-assisted irrigation projects have brought an abundance of water to regions that were traditionally arid. Greater movement between villages has undoubtably mixed the canine populations. Will we ever be able to determine if white and black dogs in Turkey are more than just a curiosity? In the next few years, the science and art of genetic 'fingerprinting', i.e., DNA typing, will become more reliable and economically feasible.

An exciting opportunity will arise for some enterprising person or group to examine the DNA of modern protection dog breeds (Kuvasz, Maremma, Great Pyrenees, Komodorok, Akbash Dog, Kangal Dog and Anatolian Shepherd Dog), to determine an ancestral tree of breed derivation. Then, we won't have to speculate any longer. For now, however, we are left with the representation of Turkish livestock protection dogs by separate groups bearing different names. While this creates an irritating situation for many Turkish citizens I have corresponded with (something North Americans should not ignore), in Canada and the United States it's not much of a big deal.

The various groups generally get along well, coordinate rescue efforts and share newsletters. The real battles in the livestock protection dog world are often within the breed clubs. Some club members want to enter the show ring, obtain conformation championships, and sell puppies to anyone in our increasingly urbanized world. Others, including the majority of ADI members, prefer to maintain the working attributes of the breed, and have nothing to do with conformation showing. How is the Akbash Dog evolving in North America? I leave the present for a future historian to describe.

This has been a personalized history of Akbash Dogs, with opinions offered by the author, not Akbash Dogs International. Turkish citizens and/or immigrants: if you have family photos, diaries, or other sources that might enrich our understanding of the Akbash Dog, the author would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact him at this address . Similarly, if you have information, anecdotal or otherwise, about the history or past uses of any of the livestock protection dog breeds, please share it. Photos and brief descriptions can be placed on this web site. If you would like to do some independent reading, here are some references:

Balsan, F., The Sheep and the Chevrolet - A Journey through Kurdistan. Paul Elek Publ., Ltd. 38 Hatton Garden Road, London, EC1. Catalogue #162/9, 1947. {This book was reviewed in the Akbash Sentinel, 21:6-7, 1992; it is a travel diary about rural Turkey in the 1930's, and offers a fascinating glimpse at the people and their lifestyles. There are also references to Akbash and Karabash dogs.} Dawydiak, O. and D.E. Sims, Management of Livestock Protection Dogs in Turkey. Akbash Sentinel 14:4-12, 1990. Olsen, S.J. Origins of the Domestic Dog - The Fossil Record. University of Arizona Press, Tuscon, AZ, 1985. {Referenced in the Akbash Sentinel, 22:15-19, 1992.}

Sims, D.E. and O. Dawydiak, Livestock Protection Dogs of Turkey. Akbash Sentinel 11:10-15, 1989.

Heun, M. et al. Site of Einkorn wheat domestication identified by DNA fingerprinting. Science 278:1312-1314, 1997.

Nesbitt, M. and Samuel, D. Wheat domestication: Archaeobotanical evidence. Science 279:1433, 1998.

For reprints of articles published in the Akbash Sentinel, please contact the editors.

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