Semavi Anatolians
Gallery

Left-Right:
Sabah, Asker and Aslan ('91)

Having FUN!! This is a photo from around 1990.

All the pics on this page are at least ten years old now. And we're still having fun with this wonderful breed!

A favorite doghouse

This old house. . .
has often contained inhabitants as varied as visiting kids, mousing kitties, curious or broody chickens -- to say little of Anatolians -- many Anatolians!

It isn't the only doghouse on the property, but it is a favorite!
Aslan's favorite hangout spot is right on top!
Current occupants (this picture):
Top: Disi and Aslan
Inside: Bertha and Sabah

King of the Mountain games are played here! Aiyee!
Shoulder blows, body slams and leaping up and jumping down... Sometimes even the roof of the volkswagon in the background is used for staked out territory! (Yeah, it's a little bit smooshed down on top now. . .)

My Anatolians and their Registry

Registration with some all-breed registries is not possible for those dogs that do not have pedigrees from a 'recognized' source or cynological body. Often, these registries attempt to 'protect' the purity of their breeds by closing the stud-book to any new dogs. This can create stagnation in the genepool and possible problems due to undesireable traits being locked into the closed pool (getting painted into a corner). At present, import and related Anatolians have been 'locked out' of the "major" breed registries of various countries around the world. Even Anatolians from the country of origin - Turkey cannot be registered in some of these registries!

For these reasons, among others, I support Anatolian Shepherd Dogs International, Inc.'s affiliation with United Kennel Club and the progressive registration policies of these dogs through UKC. UKC honors the ASDI registration policies.

United Kennel Club (UKC) maintains an open stud book for the breed so many new imports and import related dogs are not lost to the bloodline.
UKC will not register just ANY Anatolian. The Anatolians that are registered must pass certain registration requirements, which include hip certification and inspection requirements for individual dogs; and for litters with UKC registered parents, only puppies from hip certified parents are registerable.
If there is some reason that the individual dog cannot qualify, its progeny that are up to snuff (hip-certifiable) can be added to the registry. This is the beauty of an open registry.
The AKC stud book has reopened the summer of 2004 and may be open for another five years. But the studbook will close again and other imports and their current progeny may be forever lost to the AKC bloodline. The UKC registration provides an alternative for registration.

I believe that this UKC alternative for the Anatolian maintains the best program for preservation of this BREED. The objective of ASDI, Inc. is not to "improve" the breed, but to preserve this primitive working dog breed - with its working qualities intact. This means that breeders can continue with their goals with imported bloodlines.

To learn more about what ASDI/UKC is doing for the breed, check out the registration information on the ASDI web pages.

What Color Are Anatolian Puppies?

They can be any color according to the FCI and United Kennel Club Anatolian standards.

This is a litter out of Sabah and sired by a classic fawn male.

The majority of Anatolian puppies are black masked fawns even when there is NO attempt to breed for the 'karabash' color. Because of the predominance of this coat pattern, some people feel that it is a breed unto itself rather than a variety of the whole. In modern Turkey, a classic colored Anatolian shepherd's dog could be considered a Kangal Dog. However, this classification system seems to have some political manifestations. . . i.e., there seem to be different standards for discernment! The labeling system which seems to have evolved since the 1980's is not uniformly employed and to this day continues to be an area of controversy for some people, even in those in the country of origin who believe they are breeding the "Real McCoy"!

United Kennel Club Anatolian breeders breeding to the standard of the Anatolian Shepherd Dog, preferring all white, or fawn, or rough coated dogs are not limited to the dogs of one closed registry if selecting hip-certifiable stock. The view that the Anatolian is a single breed with multiple variations works to the benefit of the DOGS and all those breeders who give priority to breeding to maintain healthy working dogs with a sound gene pool. Regardless of the colors or types that a breeder prefers, their breedling program is benefitted with access to all dogs in the genepool.

This is Asker of Akarça Koyu, the proud sire of this litter. He was exported from Turkey inutero and shipped from his birthplace in UK quarantine to the United States as a pup. When his dam was taken out of Turkey, it was said to be something of an adventure!

His crossed paws are a signature behavior of his. Some of his kids do this too. :)

Here are a trio of OFA Excellent Anatolians, one in each of the major colors. Well, okay, Pinto is not major, neither is white, but these are the most common colors. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of all Anatolians are fawn with the black mask.
From Left
Semavi Burali(pinto), Masallah Sabah Sarki(white), and Ahmet of Avanos(fawn).
All of them have one imported Turkish parent. (Bertha is 8 months old in this picture)

The White variety of the shepherd's dog of Anatolia

White Anatolians

This is a litter out of Sabah, sired by a white male Anatolian. Some people call some of the white Anatolians -- Akbash Dogs.

Some Akbash Dogs have been dual registered as Anatolians.

If you're interested in the history of the Akbash breed, you may find some interesting answers at www.anatolian.world

Right:
This is Destan's Tazim. He is a registered Akbash Dog. He is the proud sire of this all white litter out of Sabah.

Left:
Another picture of this fine male. His sire and dam are white or cream. A variety of Anatolian that is sometimes called Akbash Dog.

Right:
A picture of Sabah, for comparison.

I have a knack for catching her just as she changes directions, so her toes are pointed in every direction! She is distracted by a sound in the distance. She is in our horse corral.
Sabah has black masked/fawn colored parents and is registered with several clubs as an Anatolian. Her white puppies are registered only as Anatolians.

Some Akbash are rough coated, and to the untrained eye, a person can easily be convinced that the dog is a different breed, this is something that some people use to their advantage to validate "their" breed as different. While showcasing only the roughcoated dogs of their breed, the many short coated examples from the SAME kennels never seem to be used to illustrate their breed.

Right:
Here's a picture of one of the Great White Dogs (GWDs) of Turkish descent. The sire of this dog is a Turkish import.

A champion Akbash, as well as ASDI and UKC Champion Anatolian. Maranda's Baskin, OFA Good and is the sire of many champions and working dogs.

This fellow is quite tall, at 34 inches at the shoulder, and the length of some of his coat is about 6 inches. He is owned by Betty and Bob Hayward.

Left:
Another look at these gorgeous white/creme Turkish dogs.

These are littermates Shahbazin Ak Inci (female to the front) and Shahbazin Ayi Sim (larger male) with owner/breeder Jennifer Floyd. These impressive pups are a year old in this photo.

Both these pups are learning to do it all: conformation, obedience, livestock guardians, as well as being beloved family members.

Personalities? Sim's more socially oriented and enjoys attention from people. Inci is patient and likes people but isn't as socially oriented as her brother. As she prefers, she will be spending much of her time as a poultry guardian.

The Black Faced variety of the shepherd's dog from Anatolia

Right:
This is Semavi Hector. He is OFA Good and a UKC Champion. He is HUGE at over 160 pounds and just over 32 inches. He is a very large boned dog. His sire, Asker, was considerably smaller (at 3 years, about 90 pounds and 29 inches). His dam was my Sabah, who, in good weight, was about 115 pounds and 30 inches tall.

Hector is a classic fawn with the black mask coloring. Some of the dogs of this coloring are also called Kangal Dogs.

Left:
Aslan of Murted is a Turkish Import. His Turkish breeder called him a Kangal Dog. He is OFA Excellent and the sire of many good working dogs, including a litter out of my Bertha. He has a reddish coat, black mask and cropped ears. He is around 130 pounds and 32 inches tall. He is shown here with my husband.

He has an interesting story. Exporting Anatolians from Turkey has often been fraught with adventure!

Now how about Red, White, and Blue Anatolian Pups?

These pups are less than a year old to about a year and a half in age. in these pictures. Bred by me or related to mine.

Left:
This is Semavi Cleopatra. She is a Daughter of my Maranda's Aslan Semavi and out of Disi.

Cleo is a very elegant red fawn.

Sadly, she has passed on. It is believed that she died from acute anaphylactic shock.

Right:
This is Semavi Ottoman Empire (Amos). Sometimes known as HRM (His Royal Mouse) He is a littermate to Cleo.

He is a lovely white color. He is said to be quite a character. He lords it over several other dogs at his castle, and is very sweet but insistent with his family. (Amos is a neuter)

Left:
This is Shenandoah's Vahsi. She is out of an English imported dam, Manorguard Nazli (OFA Good) and sired by Semavi Pala Turk (OFA Excellent), who is a littermate to Bertha.

She is a blue dilute in color. Ghostly looking but very beautiful!

Bold, mellow and Confident - she's always a joy to be around. (Vahsi is a spay)

Of course, let's not forget the brindles!

Left:
This is UKC Champion Destan's Ruark. Ruark is a mischievous pup that keeps Pam Kernan on her toes. I have his littermate brother, whose name is Vakur. Both are brindle but quite different in patterning!

Sire is Sihhatti's Boz Boga(fawn), out of Maranda's Zebir("Zebra", she's brindle) of Yassipinar (Inutero import). Both parents are OFA Good.

Right:
This is Vekur, actually Destan's Vakur Hakan. He's a wonderful poultry guardian. He may become an Assistance Dog for me some day. He's just growing up now.

It goes without saying, Pintos can be very special!

Right:
This is Semavi Nascent Nicotinamide Gigantism Excochleation Growlsburg (yes, that's really her registered name!) as a pup. She is OFA Excellent and the producer of OFA stock and several champions. Everyone calls her Nipper. She's got one black ear and one ear with a couple pinto spots on it. She is the puppy featured in AKC's article available on their website, about the Anatolian.

Photo by Pearcy

Left:
This is Bertha as a pup, after mock killing a brother. Bertha is OFA Excellent, producer of good working dogs and OFA stock.

Both of these bitches are full sisters from different litters, and full sisters to Semavi Hector above. Their dam is Sabah, and sire is Asker. In the circle of nine pups (above) eating chow out of the flying saucer shaped feeder, Nipper is the first pinto pup on the left. (one spot visible)

The Maternal Anatolian

Right:
This is Semavi Guardian Angel. She's sharing her sleeping box, which she has obviously outgrown, with one of her best buddies.

The Litter with Two Moms

Left:
This is Bertha with her all fawn litter of nine (by import Aslan of Murted). Both Parents (and Grandam present) are OFA Excellent.

Sabah, who is Bertha's mom, couldn't pass up a chance to help raise babies, so within three days of the her daughter's whelping, she had begun to lactate. She helped take care of Bertha and the puppies -- at least until Sabah decided she'd rather be grandma than a doting full-time mother. At about 5 weeks, she weaned some of the pups, or at least got them to understand that this milk station was rapidly mobile, but Bertha continued to nurse them until they all went to their new homes.

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Semavi Anatolians Gallery