Well we went to visit a farm where they raise Akbash dogs. Akbash are a 3000+ year old breed developed in Turkey to guard goats. Similar to a GP they tend to be less vocal.
We picked out an 8 week old female and will be bringing her home as soon as she is paid for. She's expensive so we're paying in installments. Leaning towards Mandy as her name. Had the camera but totally forgot to snap her picture. Blame it on the heat and flies.
This pup is from a littler of 7. Her parents are right on the spot working as guardians for a flock of alpacas. The pups were born there and have grown up with the alpacas. They follow the adult dogs as they do their job so this pup will have some 'training' from it's parents and another adult Akbash female there.
If all goes well in two years time we will breed our two dogs together to obtain any other guardians we may need.
MollyD
second guardian to arrive in a few weeks
cool dogs! sorry, couldn't resist.... we just got a GP and her pup [one of seven], i am so excited for you....
interesting, you may need OTHER guardians dogs? hmmm, i see more goats and chickens in your future! where is that Fairy when you need her?
tf
Yea, Akbash! I love mine--he is the best guard dog I have ever had and so sweet. I'm sure they warned you to watch for dominance--but they are very respectful when they understand who is the BIG BOSS. And they are slow to respond to commands--but they do respond--just on LPG time. I think they are a lot like GPs. So excited for you!
Thanks! Yeah we may need more since we will need to separate the goats into different herds (bucks, adult does, bucklings, doelings, commerical/for sale) Each group will need it's own protector. In addition these dogs need replacements as time goes by and since it takes 2 to 3 years to train a pup you don't want to wait till the older dog has died to replace it. Plus given the nature of their work adults are sometimes killed or seriously wounded defending their herd.
Congrats TF on getting yours!! When will you add some more LOL? Is it working already?
MollyD
Akbash are beautiful. Watch the dominance as they have a drive for it like my boy, the Cattle Dog.
She's going to have a rough time trying to boss the GP around! LOL
MollyD
I found a picture of the litter our pup is from on the farm's web page. She is one of these fat little balls ^_^ We decided to name her Aysel (pronounced Aye/sel) which is a Turkish girls name meaning flood of moonlight. The Akbash is a Turkish breed which is why we went with a Turkish name.
MollyD
Here is Ayesel's father 'Frosty' when he was 3 months old. Pretty much what she looks like now.
MollyD
They look so much like my Asgard. He was Aslan (turkish for "lion") when I got him--but I had just lost a wolfhound cross puppy with the same name to distemper--so I changed Azi to "Asgard" which is Norse for "heaven".
You are so lucky to have found good working lines--it can be a tough breed to locate.
Yes indeed Catscan! Aysel's mom was born in Texas to a female from there. Frosty (her dad) came from a Canadian breeder.
MollyD