Akbash

Quality 0.50 · 0 views · Updated 2 months ago

Turkish breed of dog

title: "Akbash" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dog-breeds-originating-in-turkey", "livestock-guardians"] description: "Turkish breed of dog" topic_path: "geography/turkey" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbash" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Turkish breed of dog ::

::data[format=table title="infobox dog breed"]

FieldValue
nameAkbash
imageAkbaş cinsi köpek.jpg
image_alta large white dog sitting
altnameAkbaş Çoban Köpeği
countryTurkey
maleweight
femaleweight
maleheight
femaleheight
coatdouble coat
colourwhite
noterecognised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Turkey
::

| name = Akbash | image = Akbaş cinsi köpek.jpg | image_alt = a large white dog sitting | altname = Akbaş Çoban Köpeği | country = Turkey | weight = | height = | maleweight = | femaleweight = | maleheight = | femaleheight = | coat = double coat | colour = white | litter_size = | kc_name = | kc_std = | kc2_name = | kc2_std = | fcistd = | note = recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Turkey

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Akbash_dog_on_guard.jpg" caption="Guarding sheep in [[California" alt="a large white dog sitting among a flock of sheep"] ::

The Akbash () is a traditional Turkish breed or type of flock guardian dog from western Anatolia. The word akbaş means 'white head', and thus distinguishes this dog from the Karabaş, or 'black head'. It was recognised by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2006; it is under the tutelage of the , the Turkish dog breed society, but is not recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.

History

The Akbash is a traditional breed of livestock guardian dog, used to protect flocks from predators in the rugged terrain of western Anatolia. 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.

A standard was published by the Turkish Standards Institution in 2002, and in 2006 the Akbash was recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; it was added to the list of recognised native breeds and types, and the breed standard was published in the Resmi Gazete, the official government gazette.

Characteristics

The Akbash is a flock guardian dog, providing protection from predators to shepherds and to their sheep; it does not have any herding ability. It is a large and powerful dog: mean body weight is approximately 45 kg, and mean height at the withers just over 75 cm.

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. 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. There is considerable feathering behind the legs, and the tail is heavily feathered.

References

References

  1. Seyrani Koncagül, Canan Demiralp, Nermin Aksümer, A. Oya Akın, Mehmet Ertuğrul (2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120529055146/http://www.tagem.gov.tr/pdf/english_AnGR.pdf ''Domestic Animal Genetic Resources in Turkey'']. General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policy, Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock, Republic of Turkey. Published as: ''Animal Genetic Resources/Ressources Génétiques Animales/Recursos Genéticos Animales''. '''50''' (111–11). {{doi. 10.1017/S2078633612000240. Archived 29 May 2012.
  2. Orhan Yılmaz, Mehmet Ertuğrul (2012). [https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=77926597&site=eds-live&scope=site Determination of Akbash Shepherd Dog Raised in Turkey]. ''Bitlis Eren University Journal of Science & Technology''. '''2''' (1): 6–9.
  3. [Bruce Fogle] (2013). ''The Dog Encyclopedia''. London; New York: Dorling Kindersley. {{isbn. 9781465408440.
  4. Orhan Yılmaz, Mehmet Ertuğrul, R. Trevor Wilson (2012). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard-Wilson-19/publication/282005963_The_domestic_livestock_resources_of_Turkey_breed_descriptions_and_status_of_guard_and_hunting_dogs/links/5601253208aeba1d9f84ee54/The-domestic-livestock-resources-of-Turkey-breed-descriptions-and-status-of-guard-and-hunting-dogs.pdf The domestic livestock resources of Turkey: breed descriptions and status of guard and hunting dogs]. In: ''63rd Annual Meeting of the EAAP'', pages 27–31.
  5. [http://fci.be/en/Nomenclature/races.aspx?init=A FCI breeds nomenclature]. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Accessed February 2020.
  6. [s.n.] (2006). [https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2006/07/20060709-5.htm Yerli Hayvan Irk ve Hatlarının Tescili Hakkında 2004/39 No’lu Tebliğde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Tebliğ (Tebliğ No: 2006/32)] (in Turkish). ''Resmi Gazete'' 9 July 2006, number 26223.
  7. David Hancock (2014). [https://archive.org/details/dogsofshepherdsr0000hanc/page/33/mode/1up ''Dogs of the Shepherds: A Review of the Pastoral Breeds'']. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: The Crowood Press. {{isbn. 9781847978080.
  8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20131206030933/http://www.kif.org.tr/index_en.php?p=irklarimiz&detay=31 Akbaş Shepherd Dog] (in Turkish). Köpek Irkları ve Kinoloji Federasyonu. Archived 6 December 2013.
  9. Andrew De Prisco, James B. Johnson, Kerry V. Donnelly, Paquita Kriens (translator) (1992). [https://archive.org/details/miniatlasdelasra00pris/page/406/mode/1up ''Mini-atlas de las razas caninas: más de 400 razas ilustradas y detalladas''] (in Spanish). Barcelona: Hispano Europea. {{isbn. 8425509181.
  10. Tamsin Pickeral (2014). ''Dogs Unleashed''. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press. {{isbn. 9781626860681.
  11. [s.n.] (2002). ''Akbaş Turk Coban Kopegi Standardi, TS 12891''(=''Turkish Akbash Shepherd Dog Standard, number 12891''). Turk Standartlari Enstitusu/Turkish Standards Institution. Ankara: TSE Matbaasi.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

dog-breeds-originating-in-turkeylivestock-guardians