A General Description of the Breed

The dog derives its name from the Abkash region of western Turkey, which is its native place. The word Abkash is derived from the Turkish word for ‘white head’ and indicates the white heads of the dogs belonging to this breed. The dogs are white bodied too.

Over the years these dogs have mainly been used for guarding livestock. These are white headed and white-bodied strong dogs that have a keen sense of hearing. Akbash dogs have coarse and non-matting weather-resistant white colored short to medium length double coats. One will not find too much of doggy odor with them.

The dogs have massive heads and powerful jaws. They have long legs and feathered curved tails that reach to the hocks. They bear characteristics of both mastiffs and sight hounds.

Akbash dogs have v- shaped ears set high. Their eye color varies between different shades of brown- light golden brown to very dark brown. They have a strong and muscular neck of medium length that arches at the crest. The dog’s toes are strong and well arched. The pads are thick and hard, elastic and dark in color and the nails are gray, brown or white and blunt.

Height

Heights of adult dogs range from 28 to 34 inches.

Weight

Weights of adult females average at 90 pounds while those of males average at 130 pounds.