KangalFest

Kangal Dog Festival 2000
Kangal Town, Sivas province, Turkiye!

Some notes about this collection of photos...

These photos were all taken by Elizabeth vonBuchwaldt, who has taken video footage and hundreds of wonderful photos of working Kangal Dogs in their native environment. These photos were taken during the Kangal Dog Festival, which is now an annual summer event in the town of Kangal.

The Kangal Dog festival is an event of great pride for the town of Kangal, the villagers of Sivas province, and for all of Turkey. The streets are hung with banners and streamers, the Turkish media is there in full force, and there is a party atmosphere that lasts for days as villagers stream into town with their handsome if bewildered dogs and find a spot in the shade to take it all in.

People travel to the Kangal Dog Festival from all over the country, but especially from the surrounding countryside where Kangal Dogs are still found working with their sheep. You will notice that this Festival is quite a bit different from formal western-type dog shows. The dogs are not much groomed, and their shepherd/handlers don't know the first thing about "stacking" a dog. Many dogs areare still shedding their winter coats, but it seems no one thinks about pulling out the clumps dead hair to impress the judges. And most dogs, of course, have the traditional cropped ears. I am not sure of the judging process, or whether there is a single judge or a panel of judges to interpret the Turkish breed standard. But the winners were all exemplary Kangal Dogs--true to type, calm and magnificent.

Here are just a few photos from Elizabeth's collection, taken at the Festival and in the surrounding villages in the summer of 2000. Enjoy!

Click on the thumbnails to see a larger photo...

This is the town of Kangal, festooned with banners for the Festival.

Here is a proud owner showing off a pair of littermates in a puppy class.

A beautiful head study of a mature male Kangal Dog.

Some fine dogs being paraded around the ring at the Festival.

Here's a gorgeous dog with his proud owner.

Another handsome head... cool collar, too!

This dog is what some call a "gray" Kangal. They are born darker than other pups, and they don't lighten up quite as much as the typical fawn Kangal Dogs. This is because these dogs have more dark guard hairs scattered in their coat, giving them a gray cast. Other dogs have even more sabling and masking, making them appear darker.

Looking at movement in the show ring? Nice dog!

One of my favorite photos--a magnificent Kangal Dog and his flock that he refused to leave home without...

Here's that same dog, close up. One theory about the fawn, black-masked color pattern of Kangal Dogs is that shepherds felt the dogs could do their jobs better if they *looked* like their Kangal Karaman Sheep--a large, fat-tailed breed with a black muzzle. That theory looks very tenable in this photo, doesn't it?

A very handsome pup--he'll grow up to be a big-boned bruiser, I'll bet.

These proud villagers have a different idea about how to exhibit their puppies in the Puppy Class.

Here's a "gray" Kangal pup with lots of masking. Beautiful!

Now this is an interesting photo. This dog looks ready to be hitched to a cart. I didn't see dogs being used for hauling during my travels in Sivas-Kangal, but it does not surprise me. My own Kangal Dogs took to harness and sled as though they'd been doing it all their lives.

Shepherd woman with her dog in a yayla (plateau grazing ground) in the countryside.

Look at this--two males, maybe three, sniffing one another and NOT attacking one another. This is not something most of us would try at home... but then our dogs are not usually raised with many opportunities to be around other intact dogs and to learn how to work out a relationship with other dogs. Also, I think they learn early that the spiked collars make fighting NOT worthwhile. ;-)

All photos on this page are the copyrighted property of Elizabeth vonBuchwaldt and presented here with her permission. To see more of Elizabeth's fantastic photos, and to read about the Kangal Dog in German, visit her web site: Der Kangal

Now... for those who may be new to Turkish breeds, and confused about the breed called the "Anatolian Shepherd Dog," note that there IS NO Anatolian Shepherd Festival, because the ASD is not and never was recognized in Turkey. The ASD is a western-created breed, a wide-ranging collection of dogs that includes the regional Turkish breeds, mixes of those breeds, and other dogs of unspecific bloodlines. The Turkish people do not consider livestock guardians from all regions in and around their country to be "all the same breed." A visit to Sivas to compare Kangal Dogs with other regional breeds and mixed breeds makes the difference abundantly clear!

The main canine "authorities" of the US and Europe, the AKC and the FCI respectively, accepted the Anatolian Shepherd prematurely, solely on the initiative of a small group of non-Turkish breeders. They made this decision without any consideration of the views of the country of origin, and they continue to show no interest in Turkish views or evidence regarding the indigenous breed status of Turkish dogs. The United Kennel Club of the U.S., along with the Kennel Clubs of Australia and New Zealand, have reviewed the facts and elected to recognize the Kangal Dog and the Akbash Dog as separate regional breeds of Turkey. It is HIGH TIME for the rest of the western world to get with the program. How nice it would be if the other canine authorities would behave in an respectful and professional manner, by recognizing the Turkish breeds as they are bred and recognized in TURKEY--the COUNTRY OF ORIGIN !

For more information about the issue of Turkish breed recognition, hit the FAQs and Articles button below.

Updated Dec. 2000. All material on this web site is copyrighted.

Please do not copy or distribute any portion of this material without written permission from the author, and please give proper credit when you do so.

Contact Sue Kocher at: skocher@mindspring.com

	This is the town of Kangal, festooned with banners for the Festival.
	Here is a proud owner showing off a pair of littermates in a puppy class.
	A beautiful head study of a mature male Kangal Dog.
	Some fine dogs being paraded around the ring at the Festival.
	Here's a gorgeous dog with his proud owner.
	Another handsome head... cool collar, too!
	This dog is what some call a "gray" Kangal. They are born darker than other pups, and they don't lighten up quite as much as the typical fawn Kangal Dogs. This is because these dogs have more dark guard hairs scattered in their coat, giving them a gray cast. Other dogs have even more sabling and masking, making them appear darker.
	Looking at movement in the show ring? Nice dog!
	One of my favorite photos--a magnificent Kangal Dog and his flock that he refused to leave home without...
	Here's that same dog, close up. One theory about the fawn, black-masked color pattern of Kangal Dogs is that shepherds felt the dogs could do their jobs better if they looked like their Kangal Karaman Sheep--a large, fat-tailed breed with a black muzzle. That theory looks very tenable in this photo, doesn't it?
	A very handsome pup--he'll grow up to be a big-boned bruiser, I'll bet.
	These proud villagers have a different idea about how to exhibit their puppies in the Puppy Class.
	Here's a "gray" Kangal pup with lots of masking. Beautiful!
	Now this is an interesting photo. This dog looks ready to be hitched to a cart. I didn't see dogs being used for hauling during my travels in Sivas-Kangal, but it does not surprise me. My own Kangal Dogs took to harness and sled as though they'd been doing it all their lives.
	Shepherd woman with her dog in a yayla (plateau grazing ground) in the countryside.
	Look at this--two males, maybe three, sniffing one another and NOT attacking one another. This is not something most of us would try at home... but then our dogs are not usually raised with many opportunities to be around other intact dogs and to learn how to work out a relationship with other dogs. Also, I think they learn early that the spiked collars make fighting NOT worthwhile. ;-)