Basic Principles of Kangal Dog Training
by Dogan Kartay, International Symposium of Kangal dogs
My thesis, which was approved by the science committee, my views and observations that I have been doing for the last 50 years may seem quite radical. Some of my colleagues claim that Kangals are hard to train and I counterclaim this stating that if pupil cannot learn, that may be most likely the trainer’s inadequacy. If the training plan does not consider the dog’s ability, talents, way of life, temperament, behavior and characteristic features, it is destined to fail. My views, by no means, meant to interfere or guide the professional dog trainers but instead are intended to serve as a reminder to those who are Kangal owners and/or trainers. The owner or the trainer should be aware of the fact that Kangals have different characteristics than most of the other breeds; by becoming aware of this fact, the limitations of the training sessions can be broadened and improved tremendously. (Both basic and advance training details are not included in this article.)
Kangal’s close relative the gray wolf’s evolution and its adaptation to plains have a considerable affect on this breed. This fact has always been kept in mind in the Kangal area and people of this region preserved this breed accordingly to date. Before mentioning of the Kangal and the Turkish Shepard dog training tips, the difference of these breeds to others should be determined. Prior to training a Kangal or a Turkish Shepard dog, some certain points should be taken in to consideration such as the gender differences, instinctive behavior towards humans, intense emotions and devotions to their owners and their excessive fondness for their ~ freedom. Although freedom and dependency are contradictory for people, this happens to be Kangals outstanding peculiarity. Kangals dependency is harmonious with his freedom.
Rewarding with food, harsh treatment and strict commands are essential parts of the training sessions and are used most of the time, for most of the breeds. But not for Kangals! For a Kangal food is not a reward! They do not like to be treated harshly, if so, they react in a similar manner. A friendly pat, a little praise or showing true emotions are the real meanings of reward for a Kangal. Most dogs trained by professionals, but a Kangal, by his nature, does not like to obey someone else other than his master or caretaker. Climate is an important issue for our devoted friends. If a Kangal brought from Sivas region or from some other plains to a hot or humid location, for sure summers will make him inactive and reluctant, Having inherited a culture from Asian and Anatolian plains, Kangals have been protecting flocks for thousands of years, thus Kangals are most effective during the night. A Kangals performance is not at its highest point during daytime. For those who are not familiar with Kangals this fact can create some undesirable outcomes during the daytime training sessions.
Based on these facts, one can question whether or not Kangals are hard to train? Absolutely NOT! They can be trained easily in many different fields only if the trainer is knowledgeable about his Kangal’s individual temperament, behavioral features and most importantly the breed’s general characteristics.
Main Training fields:
- Herd Shepard
- Field Protection
- Individual Protection
- Military and Police Duties
- Companion
1. Herd Shepard: Kangals, naturally, are fully harmonious with sheep’ s, goats and herds. Kangals protect the herd throughout the whole day and especially during the night. They escort the herd while they are on the move; at night they stand guard around herd barn. The female Kangals generally stay in the barn while the males are outside guarding it. The Shepard dogs are usually fed by the end of the duty, which is in the morning. By doing this a Kangal can always be vigilant while the herd graze at night. Kangal is a natural born Shepard. His instincts always lead him and they do not need extra training for guarding the herd. Three months after birth, Kangal puppies are sent to protect the herd with their parents. By the time they are one year old, they learn most of the things that a Sheppard dog is supposed to know. After this point, they are ready for their own duties. By the time they become the age of two, their physical developments are complete and they are ready to deter or fight against wild animals like wolfs and bears. At this stage, they are the ultimate protectors of the herd.
2. Field Protection: Protection is Kangals main duty. They protect everything that they think it belongs to his master or his territory. By nature they protect their masters and his belongings or family, therefore Kangals are very good Sheppard’s. His strong muscles are powerful enough to fight against wolves or even bears. His large body, powerful jaws, big teeth, loud and raucous bark are enough to deter wild animals and those people with bad intentions.
While raising a Kangal puppy, he should not be in contact with many people if he is going to be a guard dog. He should only be fed and patted by his owner or his caretaker. Strangers should not offer food and pat the puppy, other wise he may most likely become unctuous. In this case, he may not be the right kind of a guard dog. During his off-duty hours, Kangals should be kept in at least a 100m2-fenced area and not be chained. Even if Kangals property is trespassed by an intruder, a Kangal will not aim to kill the intruder. If a club or some sort of a firearm injures the Kangal, he will harm the intruder but in the end he will capture the person(s) until his master or caretaker arrives. Mean while he may pee on the intruder to denigrate. During nights, Kangals are excellent protectors and in some cases they may be even more affective than a lethal weapon.
An alert Kangal’s appearance with his large body, powerful jaws, big teeth, loud and raucous bark is enough to deter any intruder. Kangals are not likely to be deceived by food easily and this makes them unique protectors. If a Kangal is protecting a place of employment, he will recognize the employees and vehicles within a short period of time and will not threaten by barking or attacking them, but instead will watch them carefully until they leave his territory.
A Kangal on a night duty should be fed in the morning just like a Shepard Kangal. This is an Anatolian plain tradition. Scientist agree to divide the guard Kangals portions, and feed the dog 1/3 of its portions 3 hours before the duty and 2/3 of the remaining portion one hour after the end of the duty.
3. Individual Protection: Kangal is a natural born protector for his master. A Kangal protects his master with everything he has and does not mind sacrificing his own life during the process. Kangals are the only breed that would die for their masters without any training. If someone talks to the Kangal’s owner in a threatening tone of voice, then the dog listens and watches very carefully. If the owner physically gets attacked then the Kangal intervenes without a command. Additional specific training sessions are necessary if it is desired that the Kangal should attack or be stopped with specific commands.
A Kangal needs extra training if he is expected to protect someone other than his master or his family. On the contrary, the content of this special training is having many differences than regular guarding principles that are thought to many other breeds. Professional trainers, unless they are the owner of the dog, usually do not have influences since food is not a reward for Kangals. For a Kangal true rewards only come from his master or his caretaker, therefore, the trainer should educate the owner and cooperate.
4. Military and Police Duties: So far, this has been the most challenging and difficult off all. Usually soldiers serve 1.5 years and police personals change their service location frequently in Turkey. Kangals only obey their masters; if the owner changes frequently this confuse the dog’s behavior. This is the reason most military trainings do not result in the desired outcomes.
One should question whether or not Kangals could be good military and police dogs? Can they be easily trained for such missions? The answer is yes and great results can be maintained. Such soldier or police trainer must be a Kangal lover and must be the owner of the dogs that he is training. Puppies must be chosen from distinguished parents when they are three months old. These puppies should be physically healthy, smart and have a well appetite. If the trainer (and the owner) raised puppies to train most of problems would have already been solved. This means that they will be partners for the next 8 to 10 years together. A house with a sensible back yard must be given the trainer where he can keep his Kangal without chaining him down. During nights the dog should wander around feely. Under such circumstances, the soldier or the police trainer (and the owner) is ready to train his partner. Kangal will easily learn the basic trainings. The training sessions must take place at night or early in the morning. (Remember, chaining a Kangal down is not good for his mental health.)
Most Kangal trainings fail due to an outsider trainer’s inability or lack of communication with the dog, or unproductiveness of the daytime training sessions. By his nature, Kangal is a creature of the night and his performance peaks at nighttimes. It is quite normal to get bad results if the training sessions take place during the daytime. People who fail to train Kangals do blame this breed and give them low IQ marks. This is not only false and misleading information but also a total injustice to this breed. If the training fails, this most probably means that the trainer is not skilled enough.
5. Companion: Despite his large body, a Kangal can easily be trained and raised as a companion dog for a house with a back yard. They are fit to be life long companions to families, elderly and single individuals. If kept in the house, Kangals can learn how to use an Alaturka toilet. Part of the house can be given the dog with an easy exit to the back yard but the entrance into the house should be based on a command. This command will come handy during the shading season. Basic and advance trainings must be provided by the owner alone or with a trainer assistant together. Once Kangal takes these trainings, he will be even more bonded emotionally to his master. Female Kangals are considered to be more devoted, committed and easily trained.
Let’s not forget that for almost every European and American originated breed have been scientifically researched and their temperaments and characteristics have been determined. These dogs have been trained by taking their breed’s specific features in to consideration. Education and social heritage facilitate the learning process for us Humans. Scientists agree on the same validity for dogs as well. Puppies start their lives by imitating their parents. Just like humans, if the puppy has well-trained parents, he will have a better chance to get a more advanced training.
The essential facts about training Kangals should always be kept in mind; A Kangal is a creature of the night. His performance during the daytime is low but peaks at night. Kangals love cold weather and their movement abilities are in the minimum level during hot daytimes. They become more active towards the evening and they are the most active at nighttimes. If training sessions take place during the warm midday times, it is quite normal for a Kangal to behave unwillingly. This unwillingness has nothing to do with his IQ.
My views about “Kangal Training” are quite radical. I would like to use this opportunity to correct a few common mistakes.
A short summary: Kangals can be trained for varieties of specific duties as long as the breed’s general and individuals characteristics are taken into consideration. Some of them are:
- When choosing puppies, make sure to choose the ones who are not spoiled, frightened or chained/locked in a small place.
- Kangal is an animal of plains and must be trained in plains or similar locations.
- Kangal is a creature of the night and must be trained at night.
- Kangal must be trained by his master, live with his master and work with his master.
i want to know dogs trining tipes
Hello,i’m now the proud owner of a three month old female pup.
Although I am familiar with dogs,i thought i should ask about something.
We live on a farm but have neighbours a 1/2 mile away who own dogs.I’m worried about our kangals nature towards other dogs and if when she gets older her desire to wonder away.
Our Great Pyranees was causing some problems for a while but i have since broke him of that.
Any help would be appreciated.
Best regards;Chad
Kangal Dogs do not recognize boundaries; Fencing is recommended. Good Luck.
Hi if got this beautiful kangal female she is 10 months old from a good friend she bought it for her son as a present,hen is just 17 years old and is studying,they found out is not easy to handle a kangal because it’s not listening her owners,mother and son,if she sees other dogs she wants to go and play,she will run over the road without any warning,she is not aggressive but is in a playing mood and wants to smell and play with other dogs,in the end she wanted to give it away and she asked me if it want her,she is very well behaved actually but she didn’t have discipline training,it already have a lab staff 29 month’s old and she is well trained and listens and understand all my commands,honestly when she is not on a lead except when she is on heat she listens and always does what it tell her to,not crossing roads,sitting waiting,going almost everything,so if was thinking with the help of my lab-staff in might have it easier to train the kangal,by the way they getting on very well they play and the kangal is letting my older dog dominate her i guess because she is older,but will it be easy still to train her after 10 months
Thanks
My Kangal will be 3 April 1,2015 and she is great with dogs she knows. She acts very “alert” when a dominant breed with a strut and a gleam in their eye to suggest dominance creates tension when other dog fails to acknowledge can not dominate her or her pack. I explain to these owners that Georgia is friendly as long as your dog is but if your dog is rough or aggressive it’s not going to be a good fit. When I decide interaction is too risky we leave. I put leash on Georgia and go home because Georgia is my main concern. It amazes me how people are so limited on understanding pack order or body language. They generally think if their dog is barked at or told to back off then their dog is justified to fight. I never want Georgia to ever fight and prefer to leave but tonight this lady with a 90 pound German Shepherd walks in with dog not on leash as I was leaving. I told her that if her dog lunged at Georgia she would defend herself because the trust we have is that I never put her in harms way and her being on leash with aggressive dog places her at a disadvantage and will not allow her to be hurt. She says maybe my dog should not be at park these are the small trite jackasses that create drama and as much as I wanted to tell her off chose to leave lady has zero sense or judgement. My dog is smarter than her!
HI, This is a wonderful website full of very valuable information! Definitely NOT an ideal breed for a first time dog owner. These dogs need experienced owners and firm but gentle patience, patience, patience! I am now the owner of a maremma/kangal cross who adopted us 2 years ago. I have experienced first hand many of the training challenges ! We live in open range cattle and horse country with lots of coyotes, wolves, cougars and bears so that is how the breed came to be introduced here. This breed does NOT respond to harsh treatment, does not like simple games like fetch, and is indeed aloof. These dogs are very smart and have amazing memories! There is no need to train them to protect, they just do. There is no point in yelling at them; they may choose to ignore you and remember a dog’s hearing is better than yours 🙂 I have found our dog to be highly visual and will come to my body signal from 100 m away. He responds very well to body language and normal voice or even whispered commands. They do need to be shown where the physical boundaries to protect are, and fences are extremely helpful.
Our dog was 6 months old, very bored/destructive, and extremely insecure when he entered my yard (and my heart) and refused to leave me. Imagine my surprise when a great big gangly beast streaked across my front lawn! He moved so fast I didn’t realize he was a dog until looked a second time. I tried to get into my car about 5 times but the dog kept dashing between me and my car thus preventing me from leaving. I was very relieved to discover he was friendly. I found his owner’s phone number on his dog tag but when I opened my front door to go to the phone he ran right in my house , jumped onto my teenager’s bed and refused to leave. I asked my neighbour to help me and she laughingly said it appeared the dog had chosen me.
Well, as it turned out the dog came from a couple houses away. The owners said they both worked shiftwork and the dog was frequently boarded with friends or family. The dog was a ‘Houdini’ that had run away may times with extreme separation anxiety; they had tried most of the usual dog training techniques unsuccessfully. They just couldn’t handle the dog any more so they had arranged to give the dog away the next day to someone they did not know and who lived hundreds of km away, but had more experience and time. Kudos to owners who realize when ownership is too much and try to do what is best for the animal! However I also immediately felt sad for that sweet rambunctious puppy about to be abandoned and sent to live in a big city! I heard myself say ‘we’ll keep him’, and so began our journey in training each other.
I did a lot of research over the next week or two. I live and work in town, so I determined right away the dog had to be very well socialized and had to be well exercised and mentally challenged. For the first year we socialized him with other dogs for a couple hours every day, plus walked him two or three times a day. Fortunately there are many locations in our town and close to town where dogs can walk and run off leash. He came to us at old 6 months old weighing 34 kg and thought he was a lap dog! It took a lot of patient repetition to break his habit of sitting on people and wanting to be carried, occasionally he still regresses (People, please stop carrying puppies everywhere!).
It took another 8 to 12 months for the dog to out-grow his bad puppy habits and to accept we are now his permanent home. (Big puppies make bigger marks when they chew clothing, shoes, door frames and baseboards! ) His strongest desire was to be accepted in the family and to know his position in the family. To let him know I was in charge I often had to act rather aloof myself. I found that simple short praise was enough reward for correct behaviour and shunning or rejecting him for short time periods when he misbehaved was very effective in curbing poor behaviour (just a minute or two seemed to work, never more than 10 minutes) . Spending one on one time with another older well trained and well behaved dog was also very beneficial because he learned desired behaviours from the older dog.
Our dog prefers toys that test his curiosity – such as toys with treats hidden in them, or ropes with a series of knots to untie. He still loves to run over mountain and field. Without any training he has never chased the cattle. I have taken him to the petting zoo and he shows only his gentle curiosity, little or no hunting instinct with farm animals. The two animals he has ever tried to chase are pigs and deer, I have no idea why only those two.
He loves to spend hours in the back yard sniffing the wind, listening intently to all the neighbourhood noises. If I he barks I pay attention because it always means something – either he is responding to another dog in the distance or someone that doesn’t belong to our home is nearby. Twice his big bark has scared intruders out of our yard.
Yes he was indeed an unruly handful, but he has never tried to run away. Yes he remains aloof and I appreciate that he is seldom under foot. Smallish for his breed, only about 58 kg, he has grown into a gentle giant and is truly a wonderful companion and a well balanced dog.
This was inspiring to read, and very encouraging for us new-kangal owners. We have a fairly shy/scared 10-week old pup now, and we are apprehensive, but excited for the future. Now it’s time to build that fence!
Our is also very shy. Wondered how normal it is
Hi,
we just picked up a Kangal puppy and are looking for training tips from recent owners. We got him as a companion/property protector as we are in a high coyote/wolf/fox area.
How has your training come along now?
Your comment/reply is very helpful for me! I have a 7 month old Kangal adopted from a couple who lived in an apartment. He is everything you described. Aloof, very rambunctious and strong. We are currently working with a trainer. He’s dominant at doggie daycare but not aggressive. The dogcare keeps saying to neuter but we aren’t ready yet. Do you have any other tips on how to train?
Hi I have a 9 week old Anatolian Shepard and would like some assistance in regards to training him please could you help via email?
I got a female kangal as a gift,she is 10months old now and the problem is we leave in an apartment and I can’t get her to stop climbing on my bed though she has her own but she doesn’t use it, she prefers mine.I’ve followed the instructions as to be kind rether than violent with her but this is an issue we simply can’t get to agree on.She’s extremely attached to me even though there are other people in the house she refuses to stay in a room if I am not around which considering her size is a problem for my parents when thay are alone with her.I need an advice on this problems please.Thank you
hello every one
my name is chewar i have a kangal puppy he is very active and good shaped but the problem is when he plays with me he bites very hard and i did every thing to stop that biting like giving him a high pitched yelp but those kind of exercises wont work
please if there is any thing i can do tell me ?
How old is the pup now? Until a certain age, they don’t have the impulse control to stop their biting.
Young pups bite when they play. I’m not sure a Kangal or other LGDs are any different. Consistency is key — when the pup bites, give the same reply every time (e.g., “no bite!”), and stop playing with the pup — ignore him. Eventually they make the connection that biting ends the fun, and then when they have the ability to control their impulses, they will stop biting.
Hello, I have a 20 month female Kangal and two Cardigan Corgis (9yo and 6yo). I also have a husband, 5.5yo daughter, and 9mth old daughter. My husband wanted the Kangal but I’m the pack leader and always have been for the Corgis. Recently, my Kangal has started getting protective-aggressive towards my Corgis and it’s been when I’m in the middle – physically. Just today I was sitting on the floor playing with my baby and the 6yo Corgi was behind my baby. Out of nowhere my Kangal flew up and stood over me, posturing to basically attack (for what would be the 4th time), one of the Corgis. At first I thought it was jealousy but the pattern seems to make it look like she’s protecting me. I can’t have her acting this way and ‘defending’ me because I have small children and small dogs that she’s gotten into serious fights with already – and could certainly kill if/when she chooses. How can I balance and reward her devotion and protection to her master, while she’s just doing what she knows how to do best, with the other downsides of her behavior? My husband put her in the barn to sleep but I don’t want her outside by herself in a stall in 15 degree weather. I’m starting to feel unsafe and I’m sure my anxieties are coming through and potentially exacerbating the situations. Please help!
Mine picks up my energy quite well and for a long time he was like yours, very protective of me (he’s meanwhile 5yo). It helps them to show that it’s ok, that you’re in charge and don’t need her protection. Mine is very sensitive and reacts very well to body language
I have one i do not training him he learning everything that i wount