21 Aug Interesting Facts about the Turkish Kangal Dogs

Turkish Kangal dog, also called shepherd or Kangal dog, is a large and strong breed with large bones, which Turkish herders bred for centuries as a guard. The Turkish government has declared this breed a national dog and one of the country’s national treasures. With the help of universities, it implements detailed programs to breed it. Since the end of the 20th century, these dogs have become popular in America because of their outstanding ability to protect herds of sheep, goats, and cattle. This article will explain everything you need to know about kangal dogs breed!

Personality and behavior of Kangal dogs

As a herding and guard dog, the Kangal dog is vigilant and fiercely defends his home, owner’s family, and pets. They prefer to scare the hunters first, but if necessary, they will attack. The instinct of Kangal dogs is such that they behave cautiously in front of dogs and strangers, but they usually don’t treat people violently without reason. Because Turkish shepherds trained their dogs to have nothing to do with familiar people and livestock, the Kangal dog, despite his large body and great strength, is calm and kind with children and other pets. He’s only violent and aggressive towards hunters. Since Kangal dogs are hard workers, they must always have something to do; Otherwise, they get bored and may show inappropriate behaviors. If you don’t have a herd for the animal to protect, he will try to take care of your pets or children. So, keeping a Kangal dog isn’t suitable for people with little experience or tiny houses.

Kangal dog training

Herding dogs, including the Kangal, are brilliant. Defending the herd is natural for Kangals; they don’t need to be trained for it. You only have to supervise his work because the training usually given to other breeds is almost impossible for this shepherd dog.

Kangal dog maintenance and living conditions

Kangal dog isn’t suitable for living in an apartment and needs at least a large yard. This breed is more social friendly than other guard dog breeds. If he’s trained well, he isn’t usually aggressive towards people and especially loves children; But he doesn’t recognize the border of the house. In other words, he doesn’t realize that, for example, that side of the sidewalk isn’t part of his owner’s house. Then he goes away from home, attacks stray dogs, and may like to fight with people who disturb him (especially at night). So he must have a proper fence around his home. These dogs have waterproof double-layer hair and can live outside the house in any weather. Kangal puppies mature late compared to guard dogs and can be very troublesome. These puppies are adorable and almost clumsy. They are very fond of chewing and digging and like digging under fences. In general, life in the city and at home is difficult for this breed. But in any case, if you decide to keep Kangal in a residential or urban environment, you must consider these two issues:

• He needs a safe and closed space for training and exercise, which should have long fences (about 2 meters) with deep bases so your dog can’t jump out of them or dig the ground.
• Kangals, like all herding dogs, bark a lot.

Grooming and hair care

The hair of this breed is short and double-layered and needs very little care compared to some other species. Kangal dog’s coat sheds twice a year (in spring and winter). At the beginning of each season, you should brush his hair entirely with a metal brush to separate the loose strands of the lower layer; otherwise, they may get stuck under the upper layer. Kangal’s hair constantly falls throughout the year, so he isn’t one of the dogs whose hair causes people to be allergic. Brushing and caring for his hair isn’t necessary for the rest of the year. It’s enough to spend only 30 minutes every month cleaning it, which includes the following tasks:

• Brush your dog’s hair for five minutes every week
• Trim his nails once a month

Unlike smaller breeds, the Kangal dog doesn’t need to brush his teeth, and you can take care of his teeth with a proper diet and an annual vet checkup.

Nutrition

In the villages of Turkey, they used to give disposable food to dogs (usually goat’s milk, yogurt, bread, and cooked barley). As a result, these dogs are used to low-protein dry food. But this diet is probably not nutritionally complete because it doesn’t have a lot of protein, so it’s better to give him quality food. You can add a piece of raw meat that you are sure of the animal’s health from time to time. Despite his large size, this breed generally eats less than you think.

A fully grown male dog needs about 7 cups ( equivalent to 2 liters) of dry dog ​​food daily to provide the calories he needs. Usually, a Kangal dog needs 66 calories of energy per day per kilogram of his body weight. Of course, the amount of activity of the dog and his age ultimately affect the power he needs. In addition, you must balance his food’s amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. We should note that giving too much food to puppies won’t make them more significant than what is in their genetics and nature but will only make them fat. In the case of large breeds like Kangal, it’s better to feed the puppies so much in each meal that they finish it in ten minutes. If your puppy couldn’t finish his food after ten minutes, count the amount left and feed him less next time. Young Kangal puppies need something to chew on, and leather straps or chewable toys are the best substitutes for bones.

The need for exercise and play

Kangal dogs are used to a lot of activity and must have a suitable space. Of course, Kangals aren’t overly active, unlike breeds like Huskies, but generally, they’re more suitable for living in the field or outdoors. The dogs outside the cities or in open spaces drain their energy by patrolling the farm and protecting the livestock. These dogs walk about 15 kilometers weekly, 45 minutes daily. The Kangal dog needs a private and quiet environment. The best situation for him is that his owner has land of at least 2 hectares so that he can roam as much as he wants. This breed usually doesn’t need your company to play with him; he works as much as he needs to.

Urban Kangals need a daily walk or run; if they don’t have anything to do, they will get upset. When walking, your dog should be beside or behind you. Be sure to use a collar. Kangal can be collarless only on private property with solid fences. On the other hand, Kangal dogs are brilliant and need mental stimulation, but you shouldn’t use obedience and agility exercises for them. Basic training, such as obedience, is impossible for any herding dog, including the Kangal.

Skill and ability to care for the herd

These dogs have a great instinct to sense the presence of a predator. Usually, two or three Kangals can easily care for a herd of 150 to 250 sheep. The best combination is two sterilized males and one female. Kangal dog is big and one of the most substantial dog breeds. He has a lot of speed and agility, so his rate reaches more than 50 kilometers per hour. Kangal dog’s jaw strength is higher than all other breeds, i.e., over 49 kg/cm2, which is three times that of pitbull dogs. Rottweiler’s jaw strength is 23, and the human jaw is 10 kg/cm2. Kangal is placed between the herd and the hunter. First, he tries to hit the opponent with his shoulder to knock him down and then attacks his back legs and throat. Kangal dog fights very well with wolves, bears, and hawks and can guard the herd against such animals. These dogs usually become mature and independent at the age of two years and start protecting.

Diseases

Kangal dogs are known for their excellent health and well-being. The only disease most common among them is dog dysplasia in the thigh, which is also due to their large size. This hereditary disease causes arthritis and severe pain and is seen in 50% of large breeds. The treatment for hip dysplasia is surgery, which costs a lot. In addition, Kangal dogs, like other large breeds, need much more medicine (for example, heartworm prevention drugs), and as a result, their health care costs are higher than small dogs. In general, Kangal is a very healthy breed; you don’t have to worry about getting sick.

To wrap up

The Turkish Kangal dog is one of the best herding dogs in the world; it’s a powerful, loyal, brave, resistant, low-expectation, and low-cost breed and doesn’t require much maintenance. These dogs only need a large field to let them walk and run as much as they want, and you don’t even need to play with them. To have a healthy and lively dog, you need to pay attention to nutrition, activity, health, grooming, etc. You can prevent the disease and have a healthy dog in this case. In all these steps, you can count on the specialized team of MishkaGrooming. Our experienced and precise groomers have carefully and accurately groomed your dogs, so they count the moments for the next session.