Fierce sheepdogs alarming tourists in SW Colorado

SILVERTON — Turkish sheepdogs prized for their fierceness are raising concerns they may be a little too tough for the southwest Colorado communities where ranchers are using them.

The Akbash dogs weigh up to 120 pounds and are especially aggressive toward animals near the sheep they guard. But that can include hikers and other backcountry tourists, prompting debate about whether the breed should be regulated.

The Durango Herald reports that Silverton town trustees met last week to discuss Akbash conflictsU.S. Forest Service officials, sheepherders and outdoors enthusiasts have also entered the debate over regulations surrounding the use of the breed.

I know you are referring to angora fur, but I ran across this theory of why the early dogs may have been selectively bred for their white fur.

**White wool was favoured in Roman times and consequently dogs were selected for white colour, leading to breeds such as the Kuvasz and Pyrenean Mountain Dog, typically of 35-65 kg (de la Cruz 1995). Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella in res Rustica (65 CE) and Macius Terentius Varro in Res rusticae (36 BCE) wrote that white dogs were preferred as they could be distinguished from wolves and other predators; modern authors have suggested that coloured dogs pre-dated the ability to wash white wool and dye it in various colours. There is evidence, though, that livestock themselves may have been at least partially involved in selecting the dogs that guarded them, as they were seen to be more comfortable with the dogs that most resembled them in appearance (reviewed in Taylor 2000).**

Click the image...no, this isn't a polar bear, a Kurdish Akbash Kangal dog. :)

This other video [click #8]seems to be from China, showing Kangal dogs herding lions and tigers...about 3/4 mins in, see what happens when they throw some raw meat into the enclosure.

There's another vid in that string of a Kurdish Kangal pulling a tractor. Impressive animals.

Interesting link, but our ancestors killed off top of the line predators for a reason, but those animal lovers always want the killers in area's they don't live in....put some in central park in Manhattan and see if they approve of the program. Its not just the killing, when you care for animals you sure don't want to find them slaughtered for no reason...even a pack of dogs will kill just for the hell of it and not eat what they kill...We shot one dog trying to get into the pasture/ Its legal in Michigan to shoot dogs if you have hoofed animals....

We then had a huge dog that looked like a overgrown german shepard start to cross out property daily...When hubby went out to the barn he took a shot gun with him, we didn't know who the dog belong to...

I happen to see him crossing our lawn one day and start to trot down the road...I got in the car and followed him...He lived about 1/2 mile away and just went up his driveway and laid down beside his dog house...When I pulled in he came to check out the car and that SOB could look in the window of the car without jumping up on it...I tooted my horn until a woman came to the door, I asked it that was her dog and she said yes.....I informed her he was prowling about my animals and its legal to shoot stray dogs in Michigan and if we say him again, he wouldn't be coming home. Put the car in reverse and left...

I had to drive by her home to get to the road in town and for the next 2 weeks the dog was chained up. He then disappeared...I can honestly say it wasn't us, but someone else got pissed off at that dog...City people move into the country and think its fine to let their dogs roam free...Lots of dogs get the S.S. and shut up treatment...

If I was out west, don't shoot the wolves at first, shoot the idiots that put them there, than shoot the wolves...Animal rights people need to get a life...

I watched a really interesting program one time on training guard dogs for sheep...as soon as the pup is weaned, its put in with a mother sheep and her lambs...he grows up thinking he's a sheep and will take on wolves if necessary...good program..those dogs are awesome...Great P. are gentle when around the house, but not in pasture with sheep or goats...Our friend that has the one that got shot had a jack russell terrier that thought human legs were something to chew on...Nasty little critter. He had a name the woman said but only answered to shithead...LOL

Mountain bikers are a pain in the butt. They make a damn racket in the woods and tear up the lnadscape creating gullys and turned up soil which leads to erosion.

And is somebody is leasing land to graze his livestock, he has a right to protect them.

Democrat response is typical. Regulate,control TAX.

Thank you daffy, having a land line it took quite a while to see most of the pictures, but they were worth the wait..My childhood...all little girls wore dresses and when men and women left the house they dressed up...men wore hats, my father would always have a hat on when he had a suit on. Causal dress was for inside the house..people had pride in what they did no matter how humble the work...it was a great walk down memory lane and have pictures of me as a small child that would fit right in with these pictures, only in black and white...color photography was very expensive and no EPA,ADA,BATF DEP. OF EDUCATION and the thousands of other government workers we pay taxes to to sit in an office and make up regulations. (laws)Thanks again...people were grateful for what they had even if it wasn’t much.......GG

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