The all-white livestock guardian dog from western Turkey is called the “Akbash,”  akbash meaning “white head” or “white headed” in Turkish. There is also a dog called the Karabash, or “black head” dog sometimes called “Akkush” by Turks. Some sources say these dogs are simply Anatolian Shepherd Dogs, a sleek footed dog some regard as the predecessors of modern LGDs (Livestock Guardian Dogs). There are those, however,  who say that far more than color distinguishes an Akbash Dog from a Karabash dogs. Size, for one thing. Akbash Dogs tend to be smaller, and their sighthound forefathers is more evident. Karabash dogs, on the other hand, exhibit more of mastiff influence, and not surprisingly, then, are typically larger. Some locals maintain that Turkish Greyhound courses through the veins of an Akbash, but regardless, in their native land they are working dogs who see to the security of their flock against predators.

We don’t often hear much about the Karabash Dog, and truth be told, we’ve come across a few sources that consider the Karabash to be a separate line of dogs, while others point out that since the name of Anatolian in Turkey is Karabash, it’s just be another name for the Anatolian shepherd dog. We’ve learned the hard way that this is a pretty contentious issue among some, and honestly, we have no proverbial dog in the fight other than to try to tease out facts from a lot of different sources, each of which is convinced of their accuracy.

For the moment, we’ll entertain the notion that the Karabash is a different breed, and to that end, here’s what we’ve learned. In wolf country, shepherds keep approximately four of these dogs to every thousand sheep, usually with one female to three males  Faced with, say, a wolf, a Karabash Dog will attack at high speed, and at the very last minute, perform a lightning-fast veer away from the wolf’s teeth while at the same moment, serve a shoulder blow to the wolf and throw it down.  Once in a vulnerable position, a Karabash will go straight for the jugular in the neck, or rip tendons in the hind legs to incapacitate the enemy. If the predators come in numbers, it is usually the female (lighter but faster) who stays in a crouched position while her male counterparts attempt to disable the attacking wolf, and like a thunderbolt in the night, she goes in for the kill. If the female is attacked by the wolves, the males will defend her to the death.

It is this instinct that made the Karabash come to mind for military use in 1975. Up until that time, most military dogs were German Shepherd Dogs, but the Karabas’ inherent guarding instincts were regarded as a natural fit,  and for twenty years, the breed was used in that role. When modern warfare changed, the Karabash was dropped, and now, newer breeds deemed faster and more agile, and with a keener sense of smell are used to detecting explosives.

We are frankly a bit gun shy at posting a picture of the Karabash lest one of our Turkish readers points out the error of our ways, so we’ve chosen to use a copyright free image of a dog we know to be an Akbash Dog guarding a flock of sheep in California.