Dogs in Turkey

Turkish Ministry of Culture Speaks on Kangal Dogs

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The Kangal Dog is found in the high rolling plains country of central Turkey. The approximate geographic center of the region is Sivas City. The Kangal Dog has historically been associated with the town of Kangal­a district town within Sivas Province. While much of the landscape is rolling plains, the region is cut by the [...]

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Guardian of Anatolia

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A few years ago, my English friends living in İzmit bought a Kangal puppy. Their children, who had been born and raised here and are pretty much more Turkish than English, gave the puppy the traditional name of Karabaş — Black Head. As a new puppy Karabaş was allowed inside the house. But of course [...]

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Stray Dogs in Turkey Find Homes in Europe

Stray dogs in Turkey are finding friends and supporters in Europe. European foundations are raising support to neuter and vaccinate the dogs and send them back to the streets they came from. Those that are too weak to stay on the streets, are finding homes in loving European homes; Not long ago, on a November [...]

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Kangals & Other Dogs in Turkey

by  CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON “Many grave conditions exist around the world, and people respond in different ways. The needs of poverty, inequality and crises should be high priority — and rightly so — but other needs, such as animal care and concern for the environment, should not be neglected. It is not unusual for Western visitors [...]

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Anatolian Shepherd & Kangal Dog

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“DOGS OF TURKEY: Anatolian Shepherd (Anadolu Coban Kopegi): The Anatolian Shepherd Dog is a remarkable shepherd’s guard dog of ancient lineage. It is a large, formidable working dog with a self-sufficient temperament. Such dogs are found throughout the Anatolian Plateau of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye). Historically since Babylonian times there was a breed of large, strong [...]

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Turkish animal welfare bill – is it working?

TURKISH STRAY DOGS INTERVIEW By Claudette Vaughan We would like to know all about Turkey and the specific problems animals face there. The attention of my foundation is mainly focused on stray dogs and dogs in shelters in Istanbul. Turkey has an incredible amount of stray cats and dogs. Some figures: There are approximately 150,000 [...]

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Dogs in Instanbul

People in Turkey have had a special reverance for their dogs since the days of the Ottoman Empire. Dogs in Istanbul even have “resident rights.” Correspondent Julia Rooke finds out what life is really like for the Turkish canine. This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD: [...]

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Kangal Festivals

To protect and conserve the genetic purity of the Kangal Dog,  the government of Turkey has established several state-sponsored breeding centers. Turkish government considers Kangal Dog a part of Turkey’s national heritage, hence it is  illegal to export Turkish Kangals to non-Turkish owners. The Turks began to monitor Kangal dogs ‘development, keep their health records, [...]

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