Kangal Dog Club of America

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In 2008, the Kangal Dog Club of America initiated The Kangal Dog Health and Pedigree Database (Kangal P&H Database). The purpose of the Database is to carefully develop and make available to contributors a comprehensive Kangal Dog database on dog lineages and health records.

 

The project seeks to recruit information on all documented purebred Kangal Dogs, regardless of registration, from around the world, and to make it available for the protection and development of the Kangal Dog by those involved in its husbandry.

 

Database operations are guided by the KDCA Kangal Dog Health and Pedigree Database Policy, Version 2007. Data integrity, participant privacy rights, and data access are fundamental issues that are addressed in the Policy and are of paramount concern for this project.

 

To date, there is no known comprehensive Kangal lineage database either in the US or anywhere else in the world. Given the breed’s limited population worldwide and particularly small gene pool in countries such as the US, the need for thoughtful selection of dogs for breeding is critical to the success of this breed. Further, there is a great need for the careful selection of traits in our dogs to ensure that the characteristics of the Kangal remain true to its standard.

 

While visible traits such as appearance, height and weight are important, health and behavioral traits are also of monumental importance and can be much harder to identify and select when breeding and purchasing dogs, particularly for use as working animals. First and foremost, Kangal Dogs are working dogs that must have specific behavioral characteristics. These characteristics are not always easy to identify and track along lines of dogs, given the number of dogs that are not kept in working environments and especially when some of these key traits can only be witnessed in action.

 

A well developed and readily available database of dog lineages and documented health information can be a key tool for any breeder trying to make the best choices possible when matching dogs for breeding. Additionally, this is also a valuable resource for dog buyers who are looking for ways to select dogs to fit their needs.

 

The participation of Kangal dog owners in providing extensive, detailed, and accurate data on their dogs, living and deceased, is the key to achieving this goal. We hope that you will both contribute and benefit from this project.

 

 

For additional information or to provide comments, please contact:

 

Elizabeth Walters Brown
walters.14@osu.edu

PO Box 295

Seal Rock, OR 97376

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