Anatolian Shepherd the transhumance, guarding flocks of sheep from wolves and cheetahs. It is probable that dogs of this type existed 6,000 years ago in what is now Turkey. Anatolian Shepherd Dogs are members of a very old breed, probably descended from powerful hunting dogs from Mesopotamia. This mountain dog breed was developed over time to meet a specific set of circumstances. The most formative were climate (very hot, dry summers and very cold winters), lifestyle (sedentary, semi-nomadic and nomadic) and duties (guarding flocks moving great distances on the Central Anatolian Plateau). In the 1970s, breeders in the West became interested in
Anatolian Shepherd name Anatolian Shepherd as a general name for breeds such as the Kangal dog, Akbash dog and the Aksaray Malaklisi dog. Recognition of the Kangal as a different breed than the Anatolian Shepherd was retracted in Australia. There appears to be only one health survey of Anatolian Shepherds, done in 2004 by the UK Kennel Club. The median life span for the 23 deceased dogs (a small sample size) in the survey was 10.75 years. This is 3–4 years longer than other breeds of their size, which have median longevities of 6–8 years. The leading causes of death of the