sfmini
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2002
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Jill, he is freaking adorable! Vickie, is it you that we got Toby from all those years ago? I am thinking it is you.
Vickie is dead on about the Anatolians and training, they have a higher calling. As a breed they are much closer to being feral than most domesticated breeds. In Turkey, they are actually on their own in the mountains with their flocks for long periods of time with no humans and they have to think and work independently so they do what they think they need to when they think they need to. Toby does know how to sit and shake hands but that is it. The biggest problem we have had with the Anatolians is that they think their territory is much larger than our farm and we weren't able to keep them on the property and no funding to cover the place with invisible fencing. Until recently, invisible fence wasn't a great option anyway as Anatolians have been known to go just to the spot where the collar beeps the warnings and waits until the battery goes dead and then goes on their merry way. Now the collars beep and then shock so the dogs can't run down the batteries.
Toby is quite old now for such a large breed and can't tolerate extreme temperatures any more so he has been in the house at times in the winter and is in now. What I find really odd is he has never had an accident even going for many hours without going outside, and he was never house trained. Also, his hearing is outstanding which is amazing for an oldie as hearing is usually the first thing to go in an old dog. We do feel really bad, we discovered that he is terrified of thunderstorms. All those years living outside and we had no idea! He was loud, all night announcing his presence to the world. The coyotes never go near our barn, but now the old boy has pretty much retired, only coming out to charge at the much hated UPS man, and he does bark when a car carrying a dog arrives in our driveway at Christmas time (we sell Christmas Trees). His lovely temperament has been perfect for us as any of our customers can visit and love on him, even tiny itty kiddies and we don't worry, but now that he isn't really interested in guarding we are trying to decide what to do next. The dog warden called us a few months ago with a stray anatolian mix but unless we can do the invisible fencing and be sure the dog would be stable with the horses and welcome people, we don't want to take a chance. The anatolian we had before him had to be locked up during Christmas tree sale time as she was not at all good with strangers.
That lab mix with Anatolian sounds interesting if the Lab can tone down the Anatolian nature.
Jill, can't wait to see more pictures as your baby grows. Just keep in mind these dogs do tend to have their own definitions of their territory.
Vickie is dead on about the Anatolians and training, they have a higher calling. As a breed they are much closer to being feral than most domesticated breeds. In Turkey, they are actually on their own in the mountains with their flocks for long periods of time with no humans and they have to think and work independently so they do what they think they need to when they think they need to. Toby does know how to sit and shake hands but that is it. The biggest problem we have had with the Anatolians is that they think their territory is much larger than our farm and we weren't able to keep them on the property and no funding to cover the place with invisible fencing. Until recently, invisible fence wasn't a great option anyway as Anatolians have been known to go just to the spot where the collar beeps the warnings and waits until the battery goes dead and then goes on their merry way. Now the collars beep and then shock so the dogs can't run down the batteries.
Toby is quite old now for such a large breed and can't tolerate extreme temperatures any more so he has been in the house at times in the winter and is in now. What I find really odd is he has never had an accident even going for many hours without going outside, and he was never house trained. Also, his hearing is outstanding which is amazing for an oldie as hearing is usually the first thing to go in an old dog. We do feel really bad, we discovered that he is terrified of thunderstorms. All those years living outside and we had no idea! He was loud, all night announcing his presence to the world. The coyotes never go near our barn, but now the old boy has pretty much retired, only coming out to charge at the much hated UPS man, and he does bark when a car carrying a dog arrives in our driveway at Christmas time (we sell Christmas Trees). His lovely temperament has been perfect for us as any of our customers can visit and love on him, even tiny itty kiddies and we don't worry, but now that he isn't really interested in guarding we are trying to decide what to do next. The dog warden called us a few months ago with a stray anatolian mix but unless we can do the invisible fencing and be sure the dog would be stable with the horses and welcome people, we don't want to take a chance. The anatolian we had before him had to be locked up during Christmas tree sale time as she was not at all good with strangers.
That lab mix with Anatolian sounds interesting if the Lab can tone down the Anatolian nature.
Jill, can't wait to see more pictures as your baby grows. Just keep in mind these dogs do tend to have their own definitions of their territory.
