Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Akbash Breed Overview
- History of the Akbash Breed. Where Akbashs came from
- What the Akbash Looks Like
- How Much is the Akbash Puppy?
- Adopting or Rescuing the Akbash
- What Colors do Akbashs Have?
- How Long Akbashs Live
- Good Names for Akbashs
- Health Problems in Akbashs and How to Prevent Them
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Akbashs
- Other Things to Know About Akbashs
Akbash Breed Overview
The Akbash is a large-sized dog.
The adult Akbash stands 27 to 34 inches.
The Akbash belongs to the Working Dogs group.
Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Akbash, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.
Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.
Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.
The fact that Akbashs belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Akbashs have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Akbash is generally described as:
- Brave
- Independent
- Intelligent
- Loyal
History of the Akbash Breed. Where Akbashs came from
The Akbash began some three thousand years ago in Turkey.
Turkey bred the Akbash to help shepherds to protect their flocks from predators.
Akbash coats are white in color and this helps them to blend in with the flock they are protecting.
The Akbash is the national dog of Turkey and a couple of curious and educated breeders brought the breed back to the United States with them and introduced the breed to Americas in the 1970s.
Akbash are great for companion and guard dogs in the home and don’t have to be out in a flock to be successful.
The Akbash breed is great with family members of all ages and is easily trainable.
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What the Akbash Looks Like
The Akbash is a large dog that was bred for protecting livestock.
The dog is naturally bred to be pure white and “Akbash” in Turkish translates to “white head”.
This beautiful white color helps the Akbash to blend in with sheep which is primarily what they are bred to protect.
The Akbash does tend to shed, especially in the summer.
It is important to give this breed a thorough brushing a few times a week to keep up with their hair.
Because the Akbash is usually an outside dog the white coat can get prone to mud and dirt.
It is important to maintain the coat and remove oil, dirt, and old hairs to keep their coats healthy.
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How Much is the Akbash Puppy?
The average price of a Akbash puppy is $610. The price of a Akbash puppy ranges from $500 to $800.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Akbash. These factors include what health records the Akbash puppy has, the lineage of the Akbash puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Akbash based on the many factors that determine the price of the Akbash puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Akbash puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Akbash breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Adopting or Rescuing the Akbash
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Akbashs included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Akbash named Bear that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Akbashs like Bear on pefinder.com.
You can find more Akbashs that are available for adoption on petfinder.
What Colors do Akbashs Have?
Akbashs come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- White / Cream
- Apricot / Beige
How Long Akbashs Live
The lifespan of the Akbash is typically from 10 to 12 years.
Akbashs live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
Good Names for Akbashs
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Akbash ranked by popularity:
- Dexter
- Edgar
- King
- Buckyanna
- Spartan
- Pinto
- Axel
- Dog
- Truman
- Truman
Health Problems in Akbashs and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Akbash is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Akbash puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Akbash breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Akbashs for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Akbashs here.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Akbashs
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Akbash.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Akbash:
- Estrela Mountain Dog (81 percent match with Akbash). Learn more about the Estrela Mountain Dog here.
- Spanish Mastiff (78 percent match with Akbash). Learn more about the Spanish Mastiff here.
Other Things to Know About Akbashs
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Akbash that you need to know about the Akbash breed:
