UKC Guardian

Akbash Dog.

Flock guardian of sheep. UKC: white livestock guardian native to the plains and mountains of western Turkey; owned and bred by villagers and shepherds to protect sheep from wolves and other predators; the Turkish counterpart of the white guardian breeds of the northern Mediterranean, with a combination of Mastiff and gazehound traits (long legs, deep chest, tucked-up flank, speed and agility). Size, strength and courage to challenge large predators and the speed and agility to chase fleet predators; temperament calm, quiet, steady, independent and able to respond to changing circumstances without human direction; aloof and suspicious toward strangers; may react aggressively to intruding dogs on its own territory; slow to mature, two to three years to reach prime; no difference between sexes as guardians. UKC says the U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced Akbash Dogs to its Predator Control Program in 1980, where the dogs "performed successfully", and that the breed is also suitable as a home companion or estate guardian. Scientific Reports 2024 (Perfilyeva et al.): whole-genome data cluster the Akbash with the Central Asian Shepherd Dog (and the Kazakh Tobet), and mtDNA analyses cited there show very low differentiation among the Caucasian, Central Asian, Akbash and Kangal breeds.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

90–120LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 120 lb; breed bitches 90 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 30 to 34 in · bitches 28 to 32 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

UKC only. Center blank.

Weight

dogs 120 lb · bitches 90 lb

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

Center is UKC's printed average, not an ideal; no range printed.

Coat

UKC: always white; light biscuit or gray shading around the ears or in the undercoat is not penalized; gray or silver-blue skin pigmentation desirable; nose and lips black or dark brown; the UKC disqualification list also prints "Short-coated. Long-coated." without defining them

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

The standard accepts a medium and a long coat in the text but its disqualification list prints "Short-coated. Long-coated."; the standard does not reconcile these, so both are shown as printed.

Shedding

UKC: normally sheds its undercoat annually

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · UKC: double coat in medium or long length; undercoat thickness varies significantly with climate and exposure and is shed annually; native to the plains and mountains of western Turkey

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 1998

Derived from the coat description (3 = medium double). UKC says the long coat sleeks out in summer or warm climates.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Grooming

UKC: double coat of longer coarse guard hairs over a dense soft undercoat; the undercoat thickens with climate and exposure and is normally shed annually. Two equally acceptable lengths: medium (short to medium, lies flat, slight ruff, slight feathering) and long (distinctly longer, slightly wavy never curled or matted, distinct ruff and profuse feathering); the long coat looks sleeker in summer or warm climates

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

No Royal Kennel Club or AKC page for grooming bands.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

Single registry source (UKC) for the work description, backed by one peer-reviewed genetics paper for relatedness only. No FCI standard exists for the Akbash and no breed-club page could be read.

Also used on

UKC: predator-control dog in the USDA programme from 1980; home companion and estate guardian when properly socialized and trained

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 1998

No hunting use is stated.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

11.7% · 11.7% dysplastic of 618 OFA hip evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 87.9% normal; mild 5.8%, moderate 4.2%, severe 1.6%; breed rank 116 (OFA name: AKBASH DOG)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher. Current all-data figure, undated.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

USHip evaluation (OFA lists an AKBASH DOG hip statistics row)OFA · Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Disease Statistics by Breed (hip and elbow dysplasia tables, all evaluations on record), read from the OFA statistics service on Oct 5 2026

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 2 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Akbash, Akbas, Akbash Dog

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your akbash dog, on the record.

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