holistic dog food

The importance of feeding your dog a healthy diet cannot be stressed enough. It is true that a dog with a healthy holistic diet lives longer and has fewer medical bills which means more savings in the long run.

Around 95% of people feed their dogs unhealthy processed foods from their local pet store not knowing the "real" ingredients of the food.

most of the processed dog foods have poor quality meet filled with nasty chemicals and preservatives. This is why if you really care about your dog you should do some research on how to improve it's health. There is lots of information on the web about holistic dog foods from buying it to making it yourself.

Walking Dogs

Keeping your dog active is crucial to having a healthy pet. All dogs need some sort of activity some more than others and it can be anything from mind stimulation or physical activities. Imagine keeping tarzan locked up in a house all day with know trees to climb or social interaction (bad analogy, I know). It would be a disaster, your house would probably be destroyed and all he would be looking forward too is going outside. That would not be a fair way to treat tarzan nor is it for a dog.

Understand the importance of having an active dog as it is critical for its health.

hip dysplasia dog

Unfortunately large breed dogs usually end up with bone problems because of their rapid growth and large body parts. A common problem in large breed dogs is Hip Dysplasia that affects their back legs and breeds arthritis. My dog has not gotten Hip Dysplasia yet but he has torn a ligament in one of his back legs.

He had to have surgery done to reattach the ligament and to prevent further development of arthritis in his back legs. Here are some pictures of his surgery..... If you have a soft stomach then I suggest you skip this post.

My Akbash Puppy

First off, Let me start by sharing a video of my dog as a puppy in his litter.



Here are some more puppy pictures of him:




And this is a picture of him now, taken by my iPhone :)

kurdish kangal dog

The Kurdish Kangal is a close relative to the Akbash and possesses similarities. THEY ARE BOTH HUGE!

Check out this video of a Kangal... looks more like a Polar Bear to me :S


This dog is also very famous in Turkey for being the strongest and biggest dog. If you type in Kurdish Kangal into youtube you will understand what I am talking about.

The Kurdish Kangal:
Height: Males 30-32 inches
Weight: Male: 110-145 pounds

Livestock Guardian Dogs

By doing some research I have just learned that Akbash dogs were "developed at least 3,000 years ago". Wowsers, it must be a very important breed to exist that long and still have a place in society.

That being said, here are some cool facts about Akbash dogs:

1) They weigh from 75 to 140 pounds
2) Range from about 27 to 34 inches tall
3) The Akbash is leaner than other Turkish livestock guardian dog breeds
4) It is believed the ancient genetics of the Akbash dog were founded on a combination of molossus and sighthound breeds
5) is happiest when given a job compatible to its breeding

Other Giant Breeds

There are many other giant breed dogs out there that make my dog look small :)

Some dogs are tall and skinny like a Great Dane.


And some are a FAT!


Either way this proves the diversity of giant dogs.

Before U Buy

Before you think about purchasing this type of dog or any dog in general you need to make sure that it fits your lifestyle. Different types of dogs have different activity levels and personalities that may not suit your way of life.

If you are a very inactive person with no land then you should not buy a big active dog because the dog will require you to do what you are not comfortable with in order to stay healthy. That being said, make sure you do lots of research on the different types of dogs to understand the work involved and to choose the appropriate breed.

There are many different places to buy a purebred Akbash dog all over the world. Obviously the best thing to do is to Google the closest breeder to where you live if you are interested in making a purchase.

Turkish breeds

There are only a couple types of Turkish dog breeds they are livestock guard dogs and hunting dogs. My dog, the Akbash fits into the livestock guard dog category and shows obvious traits.

Most of the livestock guard dogs from turkey have white fur so that they are more accepted by the sheep. These dogs are suppose to be able to act as the Sheppard and manage the sheep without biting or barking at them. They grow up and are raised with the herd and formulate a relationship something like being a family member.

These dogs are known to fight off predators such as coyotes, wild dogs and even bears.

pretty cool how a group of dogs are capable of fighting off a bear that is at least three times their strength. But then again, are you really surprised with teeth like that?

Introduction

Akbash dogs are one of the best breed of dogs. I own an akbash and rotti mix and he is HUGE! I love to play fight with him because he gets excited and burns lots of energy ;).... it helps keep him calm after a long day of being locked in a house. The primary focus of this blog is to share my knowledge and experience with my half Akbash dog.

In general this type of dog is amazing and obedient. He watches over my two other dogs and acts as a protector to the home. He loves to run off the leash in parks and wrestle other dogs to the ground. A lot of the characteristics he displays are explained in any typical Akbash breed definition. I will try not to make this blog too much of a regurgitation of what is already out their regarding this breed.

For a visualization I have linked a video I found that resembles my dog. Basically, put both dogs in this video into one breed and you have my dog... Enjoy ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_L5w_FQI7A&feature=related