The Breed
Are Anatolian Shepherds aggressive?
Not toward their own people. They are serious guardians: territorial, wary of strangers, and aggressive toward predators and strange dogs. That is the job they were bred for.
The AKC standard describes the Anatolian as calm and observant, highly territorial, and reserved with strangers. The national breed club calls it possessive of family, property and livestock, and suspicious of people it does not know.
A survey of livestock producers published in 1988 shows where that protectiveness points. Of 56 Anatolians rated, 9 percent were called aggressive to people, 86 percent aggressive to other dogs, and 96 percent aggressive to predators.
A good Anatolian does not start with a fight. The breed club describes the sequence: the dog stands and lets itself be seen, then gives a warning bark, then escalates only if the intruder keeps coming. The club strongly discourages protection or bite training for this breed because of its independent nature. In our experience the guarding instinct is already there and does not need sharpening.
What we value most in our own dogs is their judgment. They track everything on the farm, all the time, and they know what is normal and what is not. They know the difference between a visitor we welcome at the front gate and something that does not belong. Our farm cats live with them and eat out of the same bowl, yet the dogs have killed stray feral cats that came onto the property. They watch the sky in a way we have not seen in other dogs: hawks, crows, eagles, even airplanes. They track birds of prey and run them off.
That judgment is taught. The breed club notes that an Anatolian may expect a ‘formal introduction’ before it accepts a stranger. In our experience a visitor needs a personal introduction. With practice and repetition, the dog learns what a normal visit looks like. A dog settles into its own environment, and it is up to its owner to show it the way.
With our own stock, Tucker is the opposite of aggressive. He is gentle with the sheep.
The information on this page is general information about the breed, drawn from the sources listed and from our own experience. Individual dogs vary. Nothing here is a guarantee about the health, size, temperament or working ability of any particular puppy. The terms of any sale are those in our written contract.