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Working Kangal Dogs
USA
Clyde -
Florida
Clyde
is a true native Floridian. His
relatives were among the founding pioneer settlers of the state.
Clyde
’s land has been in his family for many generations and has been passed down
over the years.
His ranch is located in North Central Florida.
They don’t have a name for their establishment and like everything low
key and keep to themselves.
Everything they sell goes to south
Florida
. They don’t have to search for
customers and get top dollar as they have excellent livestock.
When
Clyde
contacted me, he was looking for a guardian dog for his 200 nanny goats, 25
Katahdin Sheep, Kinkos, and cattle. These
goats, sheep, and cattle have the run of 480 acres of wooded land black jack
sand hills, open pasture, hardwood hammocks, and palmettos.
Clyde
had been using Pyrenees/Anatolian cross dogs as well as Anatolians & Akbash
on his ranch. He stated he has not
had good luck with the dogs in the past but that the Akbash has done the best
job over the years versus the Anatolian and
Pyrenees
cross dogs.
The main problems
Clyde
has had with his dogs in the past are that they would not stay with the goats
and would roam. Other issues were
that since
Florida
was so hot, the dogs would lay in the shade all the time and stay by the water
trough instead of being with his flock. His
goats were un-protected and this was unacceptable.
It was not uncommon for
Clyde
to loose up to 4 goats every night. Considering
the value of his livestock, these are heavy loses and not acceptable.
The dogs have been an improvement for him and losses are less.
Florida
has many predators. The
Coyote is the newest predator to grace the state and is the main source of
trouble for
Clyde
along with the wild dog packs.
Other carnivores that have been an issue for Clyde include the Florida Panther,
Bobcats,
Florida
black bear and wild dog packs. An
ongoing threat to livestock has always been and still is the Rattlesnake, water
moccasin and cottonmouth.
Clyde
has killed many Rattlers that are over 6 feet long.
Florida
has several programs that are addressing the concerns of the States ecosystem.
These programs are looking at alternative preservation methods for the states
natural carnivores. The programs are
designed to help farmers take a look at the possible use of Guardian dogs for
livestock protection. Some of
the usual methods for dealing with predators have included:
trapping, poisoning, and shooting the carnivores.
Clyde
became interested in the Kangal dog since his previous efforts with LDG’s had
failed. But, he was concerned if the
Kangals would stay with the livestock. He
felt this was the most important factor for his needs.
He had done his research about Kangals on the web and liked what he had read.
He became fascinated with this rare breed of dog.
Clyde
was interested in a breeding pair of Purebred Kangals as it is a given that
some dogs may be lost to rattlers, moccasins, and cottonmouths.
Clyde
’s first Kangal was a puppy named Misty Acres Kang.
This pup is from Doga Farms Lokum and Kahraman of Misty Acres.
He could not be more pleased with Kang and said that “Kang wants to be
with those goats more than he wants to be with me.”
This is what
Clyde
was looking for.
Kang has been with the kid goats since he was four months of age.
He likes the babies and stays with them.
Clyde
says if you can’t find Kang, just go to where the newest kid that has been
left alone by the doe and that is where Kang is.
Clyde
is waiting for the mate to Kang. She
has been born and will be from Yasemin of Misty Acres and Odaci’s Safak’s
litter.
Written by Char Luthy 4/22/08
