Unhappy Dog.

Well, I guess unhappy isn't the right word for what she is. It is me that is unhappy. As for her, she just wants to live a bigger life than what we are providing for her! I am trying not to take it personally, but I must admit she is a little overdrawn on my emotional love bank at the moment.

Sequoia is a Kangal/Anatolian Shepherd. Related to the Mastiff, but taller, and finer, less jowly, and somewhat less drooly. Kangals are the national Dog of Turkey, and originally come from the province of Kangal. They are livestock protectors. There is only one breeder in Canada of the true Kangal Dog.
We got Sequoia from the SPCA at just under a year. I doubt that she is pure,as the only pure Kangals are bred from out of lines from Kangal Turkey. Other kangal like dogs are called Anatolian Shepherds, and these dogs are plentiful in the US, with the breeders breeding for the characteristics that most look like the true 'Kangal' dogs. In Turkey, Anatolian shepherd dogs do the same work as Kangals, but they are mixed, and from all over,not just the province of Kangal. Anyway, she has enough of the markings of a anatolian Shepherd for the SPCA to call her one when we adopted her. Being the infomation junky that I am, I have researched this Dog, its beginnings, the dispute over Kangal/Anatolian breeding etc.
If I haven't lost you yet, the point of my post is to say that from everything I have read, these dogs are impossible to be trained to stay home. They need at least a six foot fence to keep them in.
It isn't that she wants to run away, she always comes back. It is just that she wants to go for very extensive walks, way beyond our property. Please dont say she needs more excersize, because we've tried that. This is just a problem, (not for the dog,but us) of this breed of dog. In our last house, we had the six foot fence, and as long as the gate was kept closed we were fine. This house has a fence, but it is not Sequoia proof.
Plans are for a six foot fence, but that will be in the future, as new flooring, and another bedroom are higher on the priority list.
She has gotten out so many times, and I have worried my self sick about losing her, or someone taking her, or her getting hit. Not to mention the neighbours who have been less that charitable, when she picks up their garbage can and takes it down the street to go through it. They said they knew that it was Sequoia, because she is the only dog that can carry a full garbage can.

Until there is time for fence building, poor Sequoia is tied next to her dog house. She could have the whole lot to run in, but she just keeps seeing that greener grass and leaving. This could be an allegory for a life lesson!! how about, "The grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence?, Be content with what you have?, Count your blesssings?
The only lesson I have learned is that I need to clone my husband, so I can get all the jobs done around here that need to be done yesterday. Poor hard working man. I would never run away from home. I have it just great in my own backyard.


My Daughter Colleen with Sequoia


Photo of two working Kangal dogs in Turkey, Working dogs ears are sometimes cut off, so that when they are protecting their flocks, their ears will not be ripped when fighting off predators. They also wear these collars to give them advantage.


I should say in closing that Kangals/Anatolian Shepherds are gentle giants. They are not aggressive to people, and only fight predators as a last resort, if their barking doesn't scare the other animal off. Sequoia is a loyal, loving companion dog,and has never in the 5 years we have owned her showed any aggression, (oops the neighbours cat wouldnt agree with me about that) even though she happily co-exists with our two cats.
However, she is large, and she is and always will be a dog, so I am always careful to remember that especially when children are around.