Khan is a two year old Anatolian that we bought in August of 1997 as a four month old "baby". He weighed 50 lbs. already and since I am under 5' I set out establishing that I was the Boss right away. It is very important for everyone in the family to establish this.
We bought Khan because we had bears taking our garbage cans and cougars roaming our fields and neighbors' yards. We also have plenty of coyotes. I was afraid to let my two kids play in our yard. We live in Rockford, Washington on 80 acres and have 11 cows with calves, one horse and numerous cats. Our cows had never allowed a dog in their field unless accompanied by me. Khan has won them over and can sometimes even check out their calves without the cow batting an eye. We don't see bears or cougars anymore and when he barks the coyotes even hush. (Wish the frogs would!)
Khan's story and our adventure with him has been incredible. He began patrolling our Ranch on his own after living with us for three weeks. He is a most amazing dog. Last summer he was patrolling our State leased land (some 400 acres where the cows and calves were) when some "great white hunter" blasted him full of bird shot. He made it home covered in blood. It took our vet quite some time and three sets of sheep shears to shave both ears, several spots on his body and his whole right hind leg. The x-rays showed he had over 20 pieces of shot in his rear area alone. We had just had to put our two German Shepherd Females to sleep before this happened. Khan went into a great state of depression and it was six months before he began eating better and gaining weight. I am very impressed with the Anatolian spirit and strength of mind and body. He runs and jumps and twists just as before. there is no evidence of pain or problems. We were very, very lucky. We have now invested in Safe-Fence to fence a huge area for Khan and he is not allowed to patrol on his own. I cannot caution people enough to protect these guys while they are protecting us.
You must pay attention to what you feed them and to be sure they are able to use their bodies to their full potential. Above all they need their exceptional minds fed also. This is the great challenge! (just try to stay a step ahead of an Anatolian).
The Anatolian is an incredible dog. We have always owned German Shepherds and I loved them dearly (and hope to own one again) but an Anatolian is so very different in their approach to everything. I hope our Anatolian Adventure with Khan continues for many,many years! Kris Barnes
