Kangal dogs to be hired for Turkey’s border post security

SİVAS – Doğan News Agency

The Turkish Armed Forces will start using Kangal dogs, a Central Anatolian native sheep dog, at border posts next year according to local breeders.

“Kangal dogs sense danger quickly and react immediately. They can warn soldiers,” said Hüseyin Yıldız of the Sivas Special Provincial Administration Distinguished Race Kangal Dog Education and Production Center and a Kangal dog trainer.

Istanbul police forces have already hired Kangals from the Central Anatolian town in the province of Sivas.

Yıldız said these dogs can function like radars at night and even sacrifice their lives for their mission.

“When appointing Kangal dogs in border posts, it is important to choose radar-like Kangal dogs that can perform duty on land like armed unmanned drones under the command of our police and soldiers. Otherwise, if you bring a lazy and restless dog there, the success ratio would be zero,” he said.

Yıldız said territory was one of the main factors that defined the success of Kangal dogs.

“The Kangal dog’s territory is very important. They become efficient in their habitat. They are very successful in high territories, the eastern Black Sea, eastern Anatolian, and Central Anatolian regions and especially in the high mountains of southeastern Anatolia,” he said.

“At sea level, the Kangal dog is completely unsuccessful. You cannot expect success from them in regions where there is too much humidity. They cannot protect their specialties in climates lower than sea level. If you take them to the southern province of Mersin, the Aegean region and the Aegean province of İzmir, they become weak and unsuccessful,” he said.

The price for a Kangal dog is defined as 1000 Turkish Liras in next year’s government budget draft, which is still under debate.