Is the Kangal dog breed Turkish or Kurdish?

Bob G: is the Kangal dog breed Turkish or Kurdish?

Answers and Views:

Answer by dartass224
Kangal dog is Turkish. I believe Kurdish is a language... or something to do with dialect.

Answer by doglover
It is Kurdish, not Turkish. Turkish stole it like everything else.

Photo Credit: Panegyrics of Granovetter/Flickr CC

Answer by H.Nasreddin
Kangal dog is actually the breed officially known in the U.S. as an Anatolian shepherd dog.

Kangal is a breed of livestock guardian dog, originating from the Kangal district in Sivas Province, Turkey. The Anatolian Shepherd Dog is a breed of dog that originated in Anatolia and was further developed as a breed in America.

In the 1970s breeders in the West became interested in Turkish Kangal, Karabash, and Akbash dogs and began developing these ancient breeds into the modern breed. The dogs were imported from central Turkey into the United Kingdom. Although the first pair of dogs were Kangal dogs, later other types of dogs were brought in and crossbred under the name of an Anatolian Shepherd dog. Today Turkish breeders insist that the Anatolian Shepherd Dog is a cross of the Kangal dog and the Akbash dog.

Because Kangal name and breed have not been thoroughly defined and documented until recently, Anatolian Shepherd Dogs are sometimes labeled Kangals. But Kangal is a distinct breed from Karabash, Akbash, and the generic Anatolian Shepherd Dog.

Answer by Brenda N
even though Kurdistan isn't officially a country, it is technically seen as one. Kurdistan, however, is in Turkey and Iraq, so you could say the dog is from Turkey.

Answer by polovtsiandude
Kangals are descendants of mastiffs brought to Anatolia by migrating Oghuz Turks. They are closely related to the Central Asian Alabai dogs. They are “Turkish”. Brought to Anatolia by Turks and bred with local species.

So no… calling Kurdish is not only stupid but also ignorant. In fact, if you look at it Kangals are simply Alabais with black face “masks”.

Answer by ali
Kurds have been residents in this land for at least 2000 years, they are mentioned in Shahnameh the classic epical book of Ferdowsi from Iran 1000 years before this .turks have come to the land now called Turkey only about 500 years ago. dogs like Kangal are depicted on many antique objects from the region.  ata Turk named Kurds "mountain Turks" !!!! do u believe this ?? Turks do not accept the name of these people as Kurds. anyway, Kurds are original residents of where they have been for at least 2000 years. so u tell me the answer.

Answer by Rulars
If Kangal is Kurdish, Pitbull is Mexican.

Answer by Luke
Kurdish is an ethnicity – if you want to be political, as some of these posts are being, (under the guise of ignorance) the Kurds are the largest ethnic group without a country. They have five or more languages and greater Kurdistan stretches across Iran, Iraq, Syria, and mostly Turkey.

That aside, Kangal, or Sivas, are known as Kurdish as they were originally bred in the mountains of Turkish Kurdistan. From the mastiff family, as is clear from their looks, they work in packs of two or more protecting flocks of sheep or goats – from wolves in their native areas but are now effectively deployed in Africa, where a decrease in farmer killings of cheetahs is significant.

Tremendously loyal, they integrate well into a human pack, and if trained well make affectionate members of a family, protecting young and alpha alike. Personally, I'd love to have one, but you would need to be an extremely accomplished handler to take charge as they can reach 80kg plus. Hope this helps.

Answer by John Sash
Origin is Turkish, the true origin of the Turkic peoples - the language alone origins dates back around 8000 years, let alone 2000... Turkic people are known to have originated from nomadic tribes originally from what is now Asia and took their dogs and sheep with them as they migrated down into Anatolia. At a point in history, there were many civilizations living in Anatolia, Romans, Jews, Greeks, Turks, Armenians, etc - Gobekli tepe dates back 20000 years and has even been linked to migratory tribes moving up from the Americas (still in discussion).

However, the differentiation and comparison of who is who has led to racial profiling and numerous wars since.. That is why Turkey is a tapestry to the many cultures that have existed over time, hitties, christians, romans etc but all part of it. Ottomans were Turks influenced by the eastern cultures that militarised and took land as well as establishing and concreting what most people associate with being 'Turkish' today.

There is documentation of the Kangal in the first years of Ottoman palaces. Although the true origins of the Turkish language, culture, and people date back to pre-ancient times, its well-documented origins are from the nomadic tribes from Asia. The Kangal dogs are clearly Turkish dogs, bred and raised by Turkish shepherds who have and should be credited with making the breed what it is today.

Also by the way the name 'Kangal' was assigned by a British person in the 60's and is not really the true name for these dogs at all especially in Turkey so using that word already is incorrect. They're an ancient breed, bred for a purpose, diet, and breeding are distinct of the geography they have originated and been bred for thousands of years. Therefore, a Kangal from Romania or another place cannot be regarded as a true Kangal. It's a breed bespoke to Turkey and has been taken(sometimes) illegally elsewhere throughout time.

Answer by kangal
İ am from Sivas kangal !!!Kangal is fully Turkish

Answer by Kurdi
Sivas has a sizable amount of Kurdish workforce who also make them, they are also made in bil and thus are Kurdish.

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Answer by ali a
It is originally from Sivas which is a city in Turkey. So, it is Turkish. BTW, Kurdish is just a language as Dartass said.
You can get more information from asdca.org.

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