The Kangal dog which is the powerdog featured today happens to be yet another livestock guarding dog.

The Kangal dog is a large livestock protection dog that so happens to be the national dog of Turkey. The Kangal dog hails from the Kangal district of Sivas province which is in central Turkey.

The Kangal dog has developed over thousands of years as a flock protector keeping its wards save from wolves, feral dogs and other menacing elements that used to be common to the vast herds of livestock that once migrated across the Turkish landscape.

This powerdog displays a signature so-called black mask which refers to the characteristic black coloration found across a good portion of its head. In fact in England the Kangal dog was given the name Anatolian Karabash on account of its black facial mask (karabash means ‘black head’).

Although in Turkey where the kangal is strictly a working dog in other parts of the world the Kangal dog has gained traction as a companion and pet. The various breed clubs though are careful not to compromise the working status of this breed.

Typical of livestock protection dogs the Kangal is independent minded and inclined to make its own decisions with little guidance or input from any human. This would explain why efforts to utilize it as a military dog in the fashion of other dog breeds like the German Shepherd, met with little success. You see the thing was the Kangal dog just couldn’t be bothered to pursue activities that it deemed pointless to its existence.

The Kangal dog is fiercely loyal and protective of any creature it considers its family or ward, be that people or a flock of sheep.

The Kangal dog is the very definition of “restrained force” incrementally increasing the force required to deter a threat once it has judiciously assessed the situation. To this end these powerdogs have been introduced in Namibia to prevent cheetahs from attacking livestock and thereby aggravating the farmers into killing cheetahs whose numbers are already precariously low.

More often than not the Kangal’s impressive size and implied brute strength is enough to deter the average intruder, be it human or a four-legged predator, but if that doesn’t work then the Kangal dog will not hesitate to unleash unrestrained fury!

Unleashing Unrestrained Fury

Despite having Mastiff in its genetic makeup, the Kangal dog possesses a lighter build compared to the other dog breeds that developed by way of the Mastiff. This lighter build was favored by Turkish farmers since time immemorial since it accords the Kangal dog an agility, dexterity and speed advantage it either wise wouldn’t have.

What is more that speed and agility comes in a package perfectly equipped to efficiently dispatch a wolf. It has been said that a Kangal dog can do a 180 reverse spin whilst at full trot, no mean feat when you consider that this dog attains speeds of up to 30 mph (50 kmh).

To give you an insight into the sheer will, power and ferociousness of this dog breed (when the need arises) consider the following account:

1 flock of Sheep, 20 Coyotes and 3 Kangal Dogs Shared A Deadly Moment One Moonless Night In The Middle Of Nowhere!

One night in the deep heartland of the continental United States somewhere in the middle of nowhere, the peace and quiet of a moonless night was shattered by the sudden arrival of twenty hungry coyotes. The coyotes knew there were dogs abroad but they weren’t fazed since they had the strength of numbers on their side; they were 20 head strong!

By the time that bloody night was over 2 dogs were dead, 20 coyotes were massacred, no sheep were lost and a single remaining Kangal dog was found pacing a tight security perimeter over the sheep!

Now that in my book constitutes a powerdog!

Article on Kangal dog written by Kayye Nynne