Akbash
| Akbash | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other names | Akbaş Çoban Köpeği | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Origin | Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Akbash ( Karabaş, or 'black head'.[4]: 33 [5] It was recognised by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2006; it is under the tutelage of the Köpek Irkları ve Kinoloji Federasyonu, the Turkish dog breed society, but is not recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.[3][6]
HistoryThe Akbash is a traditional breed of livestock guardian dog, used to protect flocks from predators in the rugged terrain of western Anatolia.[2]: 90 It is distributed mainly in the provinces of Afyon, Ankara, Eskişehir and Manisa; some are present in the provinces of Ağrı, Konya, Sivas and Tunceli.[1]: 7 [7]: 5 A CharacteristicsThe Akbash is a herding ability.[1]: 7 It is a large and powerful dog:[11]: 406 mean body weight is approximately 45 kg, and mean height at the withers just over 75 cm.[1] : 6
The coat may be either long or of medium length; it is always double, and is usually white, though there may be some shading towards a biscuit colour.[12]: 70 [11]: 406 As with other white-coated flock guardian dogs, the white coat makes it easy for the shepherd to distinguish between the dog and a predator, even in the dark.[11]: 406 There is considerable feathering behind the legs, and the tail is heavily feathered.[12]: 70 References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turkish Akbash.
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