Dog Community

Here's a fun one - just because!

Posted : 12/6/2006 8:38:04 PM

I love these breed guessing games! Here's my friend's dog, Kali. She is BIG, I'm not sure exactly how much she weighs, but she's quite thick. She's such a great dog - very friendly, laid back, not very energetic at all. Totally friendly with everything that moves. She prefers being outside to indoors and is pretty much an outdoor dog of her own choosing (she's allowed inside whenever she wants). During the summer/warm months I think she even sleeps outside most of the time. She is extremely klutzy and thumps around very slowly all over the place. She's got VERY thick fur, the kind that clumps up and comes out in large chunks. And she's got really big, rolly eyes that make her look not quite so bright, but in a sweet kind of way. [

] I believe at the shelter she was labeled as a Husky/Shepherd X. Uhh...hah, yeah right : )

Honestly? I swear to god she's part Anatolian Shepherd. She's got the coloring, the personality, and the TAIL.

(for size ratio, that Wheaten Terrier is 18 inches at the shoulder I believe)

'

And here are some Googled Anatolian Shepherd pictures...every single time I look at pictures of these guys Kali just automatically pops into my head. It seems soooooo unlikely, but the similarities are just so close!

(my goodness, if this is a pure one, would I be considered crazy if I said Kali looks almost pure too??)

What are your guys' thoughts?

Xerxes

Posted : 12/6/2006 8:45:14 PM

My first guess was Anatolian anyways. I don't think she's got much of a mix in her.

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 12/6/2006 8:49:45 PM

The funny thing is that I live in an area where an Anatolian would be VERY rare indeed. In fact I've never even seen one, not even at any of the dog shows I've been to. I would think they'd be in more farmy areas and Southeastern Mass is not at all farmy. Though I suppose she could have been imported from somewhere else...I think they got her from the shelter around here that does that. I just went and read up a little on Anatolian temperaments and they sound a little more high strung than she is, more protective and possessive at least. She'll bark when you pull in the driveway, but it's not a very loud or piercing bark, and once she gets a good look at you her ears go down, her tail goes low and floofs about and and saunters up to you for pats. [

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houndlove

Posted : 12/6/2006 9:00:33 PM

Sure looks all anatolian to me. There was an anatolian at the dog park last week (I'd never seen one in person before) and that dog was just as friendly and personable as you please. Not aloof or standoffish as I'd expected. I've always been told that they're a pretty hard breed and not for the faint of heart. But this dog at the dog park was just a complete sweetheart.

brookcove

Posted : 12/7/2006 1:27:01 AM

She looks like the Maremma(or was it Akbash?)/Anatolian cross that a breeder up in teh mountains was doing for a while. She had a high profile web site and shipped those dogs all over. Anatolians wander and bitches are the worst, if they fail to spay them. She could also be a pyr cross, same idea. The anatolians are used here in the South to moderate the coat and slightly increase guardy instincts, while the pyr and Marremmas moderate the primitive nature of the Anatolian, making an easier to handle and more laid back dog.

ColleenC

Posted : 12/7/2006 1:31:12 AM

I definitely see the Anatolean!
Why did I have to open this?!?! It makes me want the girl at the shelter even more!

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 12/7/2006 4:55:35 PM

ORIGINAL: brookcove

She looks like the Maremma(or was it Akbash?)/Anatolian cross that a breeder up in teh mountains was doing for a while. She had a high profile web site and shipped those dogs all over. Anatolians wander and bitches are the worst, if they fail to spay them. She could also be a pyr cross, same idea. The anatolians are used here in the South to moderate the coat and slightly increase guardy instincts, while the pyr and Marremmas moderate the primitive nature of the Anatolian, making an easier to handle and more laid back dog.

Hmm, that's interesting...I'll have to relay that info to the owner. I know it's possible Kali could have come from the West Virginia area...I can't imagine Anatolian/Like mixes would be that common in that area either, but you never really know do you?

Laurelin_429

Posted : 12/7/2006 5:07:53 PM

She looks a lot like an Anatolian, I agree, however she looks a lot bulkier than the ones I've seen. They're tall, tend to be pretty leggy. The ears seem a bit off to me too. The Anatolians here tend to look more like:

I could see a mix maybe, but I don't think she's pure Anatolian.

Am I crazy or does anyone else see mastiff? Especially in the first and fifth pictures.

rwbeagles

Posted : 12/7/2006 5:26:43 PM

yeah....there are no Anatolian legs going on there. That breed is ALL legs, lol!

I can see Akita if I look just the right way...Anatolians and Akitas share a lot of the same characteristics...black masks and blazes, pinto patterns, shades of fawn and red and brown...curled or curly tails, heavy bone, double coats, etc

the fifth picture down would look VERY Akita if her ears were erect.

But I could buy Anatolian/Lab as well. Lab would stumpy her down some.

Laurelin_429

Posted : 12/7/2006 5:32:23 PM

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

yeah....there are no Anatolian legs going on there. That breed is ALL legs, lol!

I can see Akita if I look just the right way...Anatolians and Akitas share a lot of the same characteristics...black masks and blazes, pinto patterns, shades of fawn and red and brown...curled or curly tails, heavy bone, double coats, etc

the fifth picture down would look VERY Akita if her ears were erect.

But I could buy Anatolian/Lab as well. Lab would stumpy her down some.

You're right, that does look akita. I think my final guess will be akita/lab... That explains the ears better than Anatolian/lab to me.

ron2

Posted : 12/7/2006 6:17:20 PM

The funny thing is that I live in an area where an Anatolian would be VERY rare indeed

One would think. But not always. I knew a couple in town that had a Norweigan Elkhund/GSD cross. And a person once told me that you can't get Alaskan Huskies outside of buying directly from a breeder who is in the mushing biz. Yeah right. Considering that some of them are breeding more than once a year and out of 3 litters, 6 might make it to a team, they're going to keep the rest at their kennels for the rest of their lives? Sure. And I've got ocean front property in New Mexico, too. The ones not picked, even in a rare breed or a performance-specific breeding, will eventually get sold or re-homed. Unless the to "breeder" has the stones to cull, which is also unfair. The dog's only crime not being the fastest in a 10 week old litter.

Usually when someone says, "that can't happen here," it does, just to prove them wrong. Example, a London suburb got hit by a tornado this morning.

So, I agree with your assessment and the shelter had it wrong, as "improbable" as it sounds.

GypsyNBeau

Posted : 12/7/2006 11:10:49 PM

I think I would have to go with an Akita mix. I think she looks more like that than an Anatolian, although there is certainly a resemblance.

Audrey Low

Posted : 12/12/2006 3:26:31 PM

Anatolian was my first thought. But you can absolutely never tell. I thought I had a purebred Golden puppy, but he "barooooooos" like a Chessie and howls like an Arctic wolf! I know several full siblings from the same abusive breeder - most look pure Golden, one looks somewhat like a Toller, and two look like Irish Setters. Try comparing your average pet Golden to a Hovawart, for instance. Can you tell the difference? Breed ID is a fun game but nothing more.

Put in another vote for Anatolian from my pack, please! [

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