*Update - December 15, 2024: The 2024 KDCA Holiday Raffle is now closed. Winners were randomly selected and notified today, December 15th. A HUGE thank you to all who participated and have helped us fundraise! We appreciate you all! Join the 2024 KDCA's Holiday Raffle for a chance to win a lovely Turkish collar while supporting our mission too! We will sell tickets from 12/1-12/14. We will offer the winner choice of the black collar (80 cm) or the red collar (70 cm). The se

In the early hours of Monday, February 6th, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked eastern Turkey, the homeland of our beloved Kangal Dogs. The reports are beyond imagination, with already over 20,000 presumed dead and masses of people without shelter or water in below zero conditions. KDCA is making a donation of $1500 to humanitarian efforts in the devastated region. We feel it is important that our friends and colleagues understand we value the Turkish people. If you would

Jan Dohner Our ability to maintain an open registry within the UKC and under the control of the club is invaluable to our breed. The pitfalls of closed registries with limited gene pools are well known. Our responsibility to carefully evaluate new dogs is highly consequential and complicated by a continually changing situation. In general, the Single Registration Committee of the KDCA works to register Kangal Dogs who are the offspring of non-UKC registered parents that are

Jan Dohner What is a dog breed? We often answer this question with a list of breeds recognized by an organization such as the AKC. However, the simplest definition comes from the global Food and Agricultural Organization, which once said a breed is what a group of people in a specific area say a breed is. This definition also comes very close to describing the term landrace as it applies to dog breeds. The common definition of landrace breed is a locally adapted, traditional

Great news! We were informed by the UKC that our request to update the official UKC Kangal Dog Breed Standard for our breed was reviewed by the UKC Breeds Committee, who agreed with all of our recommendations and therefore will update the official standard for the breed. The changes will go into effect January 1, 2023. The KDCA would like to thank the members of the Breed Standard Committee for their work which began in July 2019, as well as all the Club members who attended

The KDCA/UKC Standard predates the KIF/FCI document by more than two decades. The KDCA Kangal Dog Standard was officially adopted by the United Kennel Club in 1998, when the UKC recognized the Kangal Dog and our national club. This recognition of the Kangal Dog was among the first internationally. The Kangal Dog Club of America has always supported the recognition of the Kangal Dog by the FCI through the work of KIF, the Turkish national kennel club. As historic landrace bree

I spent a lot of time debating just how many wonderful things I could say about my girl Bea… how beautiful she is, how gentle she is, great with poultry, great with elderly and children… and the list just kept growing! I realized that was not the most important thing I wanted to tell you about my adopted fur baby. What I want to share with everyone is the importance of never giving up and being willing to think outside the box when it comes to caring for your animals. Abou

As the national parent club for our breed, we have a direct interest in our Standard and it is good form to periodically review it. The current Standard was adopted in 1997. To read the entire Proposed Standard click here. For some time we have wanted to revise the History section of the Standard, to better reflect what we’ve learned about the origin and genetics of the Kangal Dog in the past 30 years. We also wished to clarify some words in the breed description. Finally, w

Babette Turk, Entrepreneur, Homesteader I sat and cried on the cold ground with my little doeling dying in my lap. I tried to give her whatever comfort I could as she breathed her last breath. Through my tears I watched the blood trickle from her neck wound where the mountain lion had inflicted the kill bite. My little Olga was gone, only two months old and my favorite. In the distance, I heard my German Shepherd barking furiously somewhere in the forest. I was alone, my husb

The Top Ten Best and Worst Things about Having an Urban Kangal.

Note: Lots of kennel club names and acronyms ahead! Recently we became aware that some folks are selling dogs as registered Kangal Dogs but they do not have UKC pedigrees/registrations. They actually have pedigrees/registrations from one of the less reputable “kennel clubs” and this is something that is sure to confuse potential puppy buyers. The only legitimate registry for Kangal Dogs in the U.S. and Canada is the UKC, but many interested buyers may not know that. Who are t

The Kangal Dog is noted for his solid temperament. Temperament is of prime importance in Turkish villages today and in the past - aggression towards humans or stock is never tolerated. Kangal Dogs are gentle with livestock, children, and pets. Compared with other livestock guard dog breeds, Kangal Dogs tend to be more people-oriented and less standoffish. They are often great judges of character and they will accept visitors or workmen at their home much more reliably than ot

Kangal Dog breeders get lots of phone calls and emails from folks interested in obtaining a wonderful Kangal Dog puppy for their family. Unfortunately many of us do not breed regularly and when we do we are looking for good homes where a Kangal Dog will be a full-time livestock guardian dog or family and farm companion dog. We have several guidelines that help us place dogs in good homes: 1. Good fencing. Kangal Dogs will not stay in your yard or property without it. And we

This wonderful article was written nearly twenty years ago, but it is still an excellent discussion of livestock guard dog breeds. Dr. Sponenberg was responding to an discussion with some of our club members about the need to preserve the Kangal Dog and other landrace LGD breeds, as opposed to a lumping together of all the regional Turkish breeds into one. He also refers to Judy and David Nelson, the original importers of both Akbash and Kangal Dogs. Dr. Sponenberg is a prof

Beyond Kayadibi the country dogs were the largest and most savage of any I had met. In build they were like Newfoundlands, but larger, with black head or muzzle, yellow body, and long curling tail. From nearly every flock that fed within a half-mile of the road a dog would presently detach itself and come lumbering across country to the attack. - Childs, W.J. Across Asia Minor on Foot. London, 1917 Childs was certainly not a dog-lover but he accurately described the native K