Turkish Dogs - particularly Anatolian Shepherd Dogs

Inboxes are coming alive with more political mail. Not complaining. I like that people get active in the processes of shaping understanding. I think it is undeniable that a lot of stuff in circulation has certain bias, sometimes it is good bias and other times it's just plain wonky. At the end of the day, none of us really know the whole truths of anything nor how an elected candidate will act on his/her new reality, once they "have the tiger by the tail".

A site that I have found pretty useful in working out issues in local government is Vote Smart. Go there and look up a candidate that you may be researching. Check out their stance and their voting record on the issues closest to your heart. Then check out to see if they balance out this position by defeating it with other measures. The site may probably be most useful in issues in local government but it certainly has value for candidates who are jockeying for national positions. (The fastest way to get info on an incumbent or candidate is to type their last name into the search box.)

Once you are there... on the main profile of your target (the way it is formatted now) there will be a picture of the incumbent and then a list of things such as "Biographical", "Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)", "Interest Group Ratings", and assorted other things. You can also check out how they voted or abstained on various issues. We are all aware that sometimes bills come about that sound like a good idea, but for example if you have a large population of people that would like to use their clout to control issues in an area affecting another group -- they are often guilty of heavily profiling that group and anyone that doesn't fit precisely into the literature's dogma, will be swept into the chaos. (this was a major area where proponents of Mandatory Spay and Neuter bills have totally taken leave of their brains. Give them a hammer and everything is a nail.) There are sometimes good reason for a candidate to not support a bill that appears to be something that they actually believe in and that really should go without saying, but I am increasingly made aware that certain classes of activists are little more than Barbie cheerleaders for a cause they little understand. Also at least among my acquaintances, many of us are not strict on our party lines -- for even the candidates themselves are not as simple as black and white.

Cheryl, a great gal, sent me this link that I hadn't seen before. It is kind of fun to do.

ABC has a test to see who's campaign statements, McCain's or Obama's, you agree with most.

They don't tell you who made the statements, of course, but a statement made by each candidate on the same topic (economy, immigration, judiciary, etc.) will be side by side. You just pick which statement you agree with and, after selecting all 13, you'll find out which candidate's philosophy you support (and you can hover over the checkmarks to see the statement again, if you've forgotten).

Try it at: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/MatchoMatic/fullpage?id=5542139

Although I had no issue with the result I got, it really is just another example of how survey design can sort people into categories based on the rules of that survey. While that may seem obvious with any survey, it actually takes place every time you read about a candidate. The literature all have their inherent biases.

And don't forget, when you get around to musing that "there ought to be a law about..." -- remember this-

"You should not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harm it would cause if improperly administered." Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the U.S.

I'm still having fun with old pictures... :)
A 2006 photo: In dog house is Ruya, and on the step is Bella. Looking up at them both is Coco.
I remember the moments of such photos as if they were taken yesterday. :)

Labels: Bella, Coco, Politics, Ruya

Okay, this is short.
I originally started posting this on "Talk Like a Pirate Day" (Sept 19th, Friday). While trying to tweak a Google setting for languages and while looking at Google filters, I ran into the screen above - click it to make bigger and see the language choices.
Surprise eh? but humor can be a welcome thing. :) -- and makes for interesting searches!

I do have a link to Rinkwork's dialectizer, to see this page dialectized in redneck speak, just click this link. :)

To dialectize another page, just go here and have fun! (or play with your google language setting options, there are several surprise languages which don't change the pages you find, but change the google search interface!) LOL B)

Labels: compu-internet, Google, humor

UPDATED: 17Sep2008- see at the bottom.
If you're not already familiar with it, there is way to get some popular magazines in digital form downloaded to your computer, which can then be read without an internet connection, or if you are roaming, you can use your internet connection to log into your account and read your stuff in online mode.

Above is a browser enabled peek at a beautiful magazine, click image to read the teaser while it is still available, and check out some of the recipes and glorious pics! (TIP: maximize the window that opens, click to toggle an individual page to maximize. Click and drag around pages & check out the hyperlinks that jump to articles/recipes or that hyperlink to a website).

Zinio's free proprietary software has more bells and whistles, requires a download, but you don't have to buy anything to check out complete issues of free sample magazines on your computer - and the freebies do change from time to time. Fun for grazing in foreign magazines and checking out book samples! The only fees you pay are just the subscriptions to the magazines you want and payment for ebooks that you download. I know, this is sounding a lot like an ad!! But honestly, I love this service because I get magazines and other stuff I want to read while reducing bookshelf and table clutter. The software remembers your last open page in each magazine, and by using a built in virtual highlighter and virtual sticky notes, it is that much easier to find that 7 month old Reader's Digest article or re-find a bunch of recipes that I thought I might adapt. Some people think using digital magazines is 'green' (is it?) but it certainly reduces some waste of trees.

A drawback in using digital literature include some aspects of computer portability -- like you probably won't be taking a digital magazine with you for a relaxing bubble bath (but you can print out most articles, oops- goodbye trees!). Also, occasionally there is a software security glitch and you can't open your stash of literature, so you have to go online and get another certificate. This doesn't happen often. I had more trouble with it when I was switching between computers, upgrading and setting up new ones -- and first learning the ins and outs of this kind of media. Of course it takes a bit of hard drive space. I have a few books downloaded and about 70 some magazines, so far it is taking about 2 gigs of space. But it's still cheaper than doing a room addition and battling with the local government for a building permit! Plus, you can always delete stuff, redownload and as of now, just read your stuff online.

If you scroll around some of the Zinio pages, you'll also find a link to textbooks. One fantastic freebie that as of this posting is still available, is a free genetics textbook download. The license allows you to have only one machine with a copy, but you can read it online if you are roaming.

Given my current budget
...anyone that feels awesomely generous is allowed to buy me a subscription to what looks like a fabulous New Zealand foodie magazine called Foodtown. Gosh the previews look fantastic, packed with eye candy and lots of ideas!


UPDATED: 17Sep2008 - WOW update!!!
YAY, Whee!! I am now getting Foodtown! Thank you!

Here are a couple more FREEBIES! VIV Magazine and classic literature!

1. There's a free subscription to an amazing digital magazine for women called VIV available at the time of this posting. It runs on the Zinio reader (older versions of software may need to be updated). You can sign up for for a free subscription at the magazine's homesite VIVMag.com. This magazine is quite a unique experience for the magazine lover. There are slideshows, animations and even short movie clips included as part of its medium. It covers topics of women's interest, health, exercise (with animated demos!) and there's cooking, recipes and fashions among other things. It seems to have a little bit something for everyone. It's free, so check it out.

2. The final Freebie that I want to add for this Zinio posting regards a least a hundred classics that can be found here. Some of you might remember Project Gutenberg, which is an ongoing effort to textify classics that are not copyrighted so anyone can read them online or download them. Zinio has "over 100 literary masterpieces, digitized and bound in the finiest electronic leather" hosted on their site for people to read in their browsers. Zinio customers can store the books in their online library (for roaming) or download these books to their own Zinio Library. Using the Zinio reader software will allow one to annotate and sticky note the classics. That is just so cool! I downloaded Edgar Alan Poe and also The Picture of Dorian Gray. Woohoo! :)

Thank you to Zinio's Adam Kadleck who answered some of my questions and was helpful to me in locating the Classics.
He mentions in comments to this post that Zinio has a facebook group. Check the comments!

Labels: compu-internet, Food, Freebies, Science, Zinio

Here's a 2005 photo of Zoey with Phyllis.
It's a fun pic with Zoey's amusing expression as she scrutinizes the cameraman's antics for this photoshoot.

Zoey as a baby.

I got happy giggles out of Brandi's blog posting here. Check it out!
She has several pics where she is sharing animal crackers with her Anatolians, who stand with their paws over her shoulders.
There are a lot of Turkish dog pics and videos on Flickr or YouTube and similar sites, with Turkish owners showing off dogs posed with paws up on the shoulders of their handler, so it is amusing for various reasons, and a lot of us with Anatolians (sometimes just us females who are decidedly not on a macho kick) just get a kick out of doing it. :D I'm not sure what message our amusement carries beyond our turf, but no harm intended. :)


Now for some concerns and rants...

Every once in a while, we get emails from people wondering if this is the breed right for them. More often than not, people are not really prepared for the level of responsibility required for ownership of a dog like this.

You can find any number of forums where people are listing their 'favorite breeds' and mostly all they are doing is talking about appearances or reputation of the dog, with little consideration for breed character, the amount of care required for coated breeds and any number of other issues. Sometimes their lists are so diverse it becomes a bit unsettling to me, and reminds me of why dog rescue is so necessary - you can't choose a breed solely on its appearance... it has to fit your lifestyle and you need to have realistic expectations. Hey, I've done the same when I was a teenager. I loved the look of certain fluffy dogs, of certain hero dogs (Lassie, Rin Tin Tin) or a dog seen in an advertisement (Borzoi, Afghan, Great Dane, whatever).

I get a huge kick out of all those people that would be PERFECT for a poodle. But the reason they don't want one is because of the 'hair cut'. What's with that? You can choose a mohawk if you like or just get the puppy cut if you like. You could even have your poodle trimmed like a lion. But what do these people say? "I want a breed that is "nonshedding", "non-allergenic", really smart and makes a great family pet. I'm thinking of getting a doodle." -- say what? Doodles are crosses with one of the most allergenic breeds there is and there's no guarantee on what many of the traits will be. Why not just get the poodle you ask, and the response is stupefying... "We don't like that haircut". Holey Toledo! There is no universal law about how a pet could be trimmed, and there's no limit to the lack of common sense out there.

I've heard about people giving up their Anatolians because the dogs turned out "too big". Actually, while that sounds kinda stupid, I can see how it happens. Often people meet the breed while the dog is outside or working with stock. Or maybe the dogs are at a show, or just hanging around on the patio at home and even with furniture in the area to help the person gain perspective -- the tightness of home living with a fairly large dog, just doesn't really settle into their consciousness just yet. The dogs they meet may be very polite and give a good impression so they come away thinking of the merits.

As they raise their pup, the daily issues of the dog's size in the house become realistic. Ponder the real estate the dog needs, the size of the crate or cushions, the amount of space the dog consumes on the couch or bed, or in a corner of the room, the amount of food and the cost medications (heartworm preventative, or maybe the dog steps on glass and needs 10 days of antibiotics for a mature 120 to 160 pound dog). They come to realize how powerful the dog is when part of a fence is reduced to kindling (we all have some regular fence maintenance when we have dogs like this!), or maybe a hole is dug next to the house, and the house tips and slides in, totally disappearing into the void and ends up somewhere in Turkey (okay, I got just a little carried away...). But all these do add up to a new perspective of reality.

Above, here's a picture of Helmut at one year. That table surface is about 29-30 inches high. He is not standing on a box! He is helping me to sort some books into boxes. (that is his sister Coco, in the background) Click the pic to enlarge

People who just are not prepared for this, feel like they have a miniature horse in the house.

Ruya with some horses.

Then, there are other considerations.....

We can sometimes be quite excited by anticipation, and might be guilty of glossing over the issues raised when the breed heritage and its character are discussed. (yeah, yeah, every breed has someone saying, this isn't the breed for everyone, ha) Now we can sometimes feel a bit invincible when originally getting the new pup. We plan to do everything right.

Since we get a dog from the start, we can feel we may be ahead of the game. But for some people, the problems begin fairly soon.

The Anatolian is generally not a dog that is a bully, but they are generally rather sizeable and fast growing. And here is where it gets tricky. While they can tend to be easygoing, they do sometimes opt to ignore their human when the person wants them to do 'something' and the dog has a different arrangement of priorities. This by and of itself doesn't seem like major obstruction to the pack order the human fully intends to have securely established in the end. -- BUT the problem, is that owners don't always realize that every interaction, every decision they make with their dog, actually has potential to set some precedents for that dog and future behavior.

Over time, it can create patterns of behavior. The dog may do nothing really 'wrong' for most of his puppy months, then some incident happens, like the dog crowds the children when the owner is giving the small humans affection and the dog will not wait his turn. Then the owner feels that suddenly the dog is too bossy and asserts that they have raised the dog right and have 'always been alpha'. But you know... all this time, the pup has been tucking feathers into his growing war bonnet. He's an analyst par excellence. He's been learning how to manipulate others in his sphere. Any analyst and strategist will recognize patterns and as the info accumulates, it can be used to an advantage or as may turn out, executed by the dog to the dog's disadvantage later.

I know of a few cases where people backed down when their four month old puppy raised a lip at them -- he was just testing to see what he could get away with. It could be a one time thing but it should not be ignored. (I won't say what has to be done, because each situation can be different and often people panic and want a paint-by-number cookbook of things to do if their dog does this or that... and sometimes it is the human that caused the problem, so we don't have enough info!) If they really want to work through the problem, they may contact their dog's breeder or find other sources for advice.

When you come right down to it, a big four month old Anatolian puppy is still a baby, but they can be pretty sizeable. (see growth chart.)

I encourage people asking about owning one of these dogs to consider a lot of issues. Many people do decide that perhaps they would be better off selecting a different breed. That's not a bad thing. Okay, rant over for now.


:edit: Here's a link to my post about using Anatolians as service dogs.

Labels: DogChoice, Helmut, Ruya, Zoey

I found this photo on Pixdaus. It is titled: You are safe now.
Click the pic to see full size at the hosting site! Lots of awesome pics there on a just about every subject. I wasn't there long so don't know if there are more of my breed there. No clue where this dog is located but based on some elements of the contents of the picture, it is very likely in North America.

Labels: ASD_Pics

This is Masoud from May this year. He is about 1.5 years old in the photo. Isn't he handsome?

He is a rough coated littermate brother to Helmut and Marlowe. We originally called him Neil as his baby name.
Here he is at 6 weeks. Maybe these pics will also help others doing breed ID and trying to guess how old a puppy looks as he is through the various growth stages?

As happened, I had never had a rough coat in the previous near twenty years with Anatolians, then boom, I have four out of seven! Coco, the chocolate sister, and these three rough coated brothers, Masoud, Helmut and Marlowe! Both parents are standard medium coats as are three littermates. I've posted pics on Jasmine and Bella previously. I still need photo updates on one boy, Lincoln. :) So far, I think they are turning out awesome and everyone loves the temperaments. Fingers crossed on the hip films to come after their we celebrate their second birthdays in October.

No Anatolian in this pic. I got this lovely 2006 photo from Vera, showing her son Gabriel, with a pretty bloodhound named Daisy. Such a handsome couple! I think Daisy is about two years old in the photo.

Now here are Masoud at 3 months with his new friend Daisy in 2007. Looks like he's already catching up with her in this pic!

Here's Masoud at 5 months, with Gabriel.

And here is a pic of Masoud at about 1.5 years with Daisy. Did she shrink?!

Vera writes:

Masoud is doing excellent! What a sweet boy he is, a really wonderful personality. He is really tall and has just filled out. For a long time he was really thin and gangly, with this enormous handsome head. In the last couple of months he really changed into his adulthood. He loves being up on the property, and it really is great seeing him do his thing. He truly is a guardian in every way. I will remind our vet about the upcoming x-rays.

We're hoping to get the whole litter cleared for hip soundness. (our previous litter of 2003 OFA screens are here). Hip dysplasia is a potential problem in large breed dogs. Boone, the father of the litter is a new dog for my bloodline, and while he tested clear, that information is not good enough as a stand alone. There hasn't been a lot of history in tracking the hip soundness in his line and occasionally a pairing of otherwise good dogs produces more than their share of hip problems, and this can indicate some genetic issues. We're all hoping for the best that this combination of traits from my girl Semavi Kadinsi Zor (the mom) and Old Glory Boone (Dad), will help us in making the right choices for the future of our breed.

Hip dysplasia can sometimes have no symptoms til the dog approaches or passes middle age, but in some cases can be so severe, that puppies are put to sleep before they reach 7 months. :(

Many dysplastic dogs are not screened, are bred anyway and produce litters containing puppies whose hip joints are located outside of the hip socket. Not good. We believe that every pet owner that loves their breed can help reduce hip dysplasia by sharing an interest in supporting the future health of their breed. This can mean participating with the breeder by hip screening, even the pets, so that if the parents have unfortunate propensity to pass on dysplasia, that future choices regarding the line can be considered with as much information as possible. To read more about how using this information can help our dogs, see this article at OFA. (Collecting and utilizing phenotypic data to minimize disease: A breeder’s practical guide - PDF)

Labels: 2006Litter, kids, Masoud

Amazon.com will be participating in the Give One and Get One incentive program of the nonprofit group One Laptop per Child (OLPC).

From first link above:

The nonprofit organization started Give One, Get One as a way to raise money to send laptops to schoolchildren in poor countries. The idea is that a person pays for two of the XO laptops developed by OLPC. One is sent to the buyer, and another is donated to a child in a developing country.

I've been really interested in this project for the past few years and am interested in the impact it will have as the program broadens. It's been reported that some donators who can, will buy two and donate both. That is just awesome; I think the computer is awful cute. You can see a brief animation of it here.

Reportedly, and quite believably, kids really are reacting in a great way to having this tool. I'm still however pondering potential problems at the level of the child's family for one thing. Probably not big serious things will happen but I've seen sad things happen when a parent or perhaps a sibling or other relative, who didn't have the benefit of a newer generation's technology reacts to the younger one. Probably it is the pessisimist in me but as I said, I have observed it, it happens. Of course most of the reports are going to reflect the good stuff. You can read about student and teacher reactions to this tool at the LaptopGiving site. The main site for OLPC is here.

Take a look at the older posts on this label, to see how much this little computer has changed. :)

Labels: OLPC

Who has got the bigger butt?

Ha! I couldn't help it with the goofy adolescent sounding subject. I'm tired, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Sheena has periodically been sending wonderful pics from Idaho. Baby boy Coen is of course, at center stage, teaching his human parents the ropes about total servitude. Of course, grandparents and everyone else in the family share the joy and outings are part of the fun since it's a great time to all get together and celebrate life. Yay!

Anatolians Matilda (pinto brindle) and Marlowe (on right) are in the first pic having a nice Idaho boat ride. There were other cool pics from this outing back in late June, with some distant shots of an eagle and another eagle, maybe the same one with its nest.


Another butt shot, only a doggie mom can appreciate?
It does make a nice pic of sexual dimorphism anyway, showing the difference in size between a female and male Anatolian. The male in the pic is about 18 months and the female is around three years old. And yep, the person on the right is seated and those are knee caps. Pretty tall dogs! I think they were on the lookout for pirates! "Talk like a Pirate Day" happens on September 19 btw.

Here's another rather fun shot. Master Coen is snoozing in the center between his parents. Anatolians, Matilda and Marlowe in front to left and right. The big cages to the sides of the loveseat are the crates. You know, only doggie people really appreciate shots like this. I love 'em! :)


Since I'm also digging up puppy pics, here is a 2006 pic with Ruya supervising or playing with two younger brothers. That's Helmut in the middle and Marlowe shaking his head. So cute! They are both much taller than she is now.

Labels: Marlowe, Matty

In August, Geno, Lisa and Helmut came to visit from So. California.
In the pic above, you see Ruya on the glider with Lisa. In the background, you can see Helmut sniffing around and marking his spots. That's Coco's tail right at the far right. Coco and Helmut are siblings. Last time he was here, Helmut was a year old and still squatting, but at this point he was lifting his leg. My little boy, growing up! :D

Anticipating the visit, James and I figured the girls would be excited enough to see their brother again and that it could get complicated, so we decided to keep Boone out back (separate), just in case Boone wanted to make a comment about his harem while his son was visiting. Based on what our foster dog Molly had to say about the attention she was getting from Helmut (back off you nosey boy!), it turned out to be a good choice!

Additionally, Bella had just come back to us the day before and we were all getting reacquainted. Bella was reintegrating into the social order and still trying to assert how many stars she should have should she be allowed to assume rank of General, but it was for the most part going quite smoothly. She seems to adore her sibling sis, Coco, (they used to be arch enemies at one point at 3 months age), but she's now a bit more standoffish to her older sister, Ruya. It's amazing, even after nearly 1.5 years apart (for Bella), that all these siblings seemed to recognize each other very quickly and settled down. It all worked out rather well. :)

pic by Dave Koerner
This is big sister Ruya, protectively watching over little Bella. Bella isn't so little any more. :)


pic by Dave Koerner
Here are Coco, Bella and Helmut at one month. It's kind of amazing to study their baby pics and see how they all were back then and how they are now.


This is Boone. He is daddy to Coco, Bella and Helmut.


Now, here is Coco on the glider with Lisa. She really dug Lisa!
Lisa was stuck on the glider for the whole visit with all the dogs milling around her.

Geno takes great pics!

Another pic of Coco just enjoying hogging all of Lisa's attention. That's Bella standing in front. She was a bit more aloof for the day and adapted pretty well to the commotion.


Here is Molly. She is a mystery girl, possibly an 'akbash'. We picked up from Animal Control. Eventually we hope that she gets a perfect home. She was the only one of the girls that got much attention and flirting from Helmut. It was cute to watch, but she made it pretty obvious she wasn't interested in that MUCH attention from him. ;) As you can see, she looks very pretty, relaxed and easy going. Her paws are muddy because her idea of getting a drink of water when she is happy and playful, is to stand with her front feet in the bucket while she drinks. This behavior makes the water muddy for everyone else, alas.


Now here is Geno. Left to right are Molly, Coco, Helmut and Bella.
If Helmut deliberately wanted to look totally goofy in a pic, he could hardly have picked a better way to stand and stick his tongue out. Sheesh.


One more glider pic showing four dogs around Lisa. That's Coco eating up all the attention. Bella prowling in the foreground. In the background is Molly trying to get away from a persistent but very flirty Helmut.

It was so nice to get a chance to meet Lisa. And so good to see Geno and Helmut again!

Labels: 2006Litter, Bella, Boone, Coco, Helmut, Molly, Rescue, Ruya

A very useful link for those opposing or exploring the broad negative implications of 'one size fits all' mandatory spay and neuter agendas. See especially, the links in the second half of the message after the horizontal line.

Labels: animal_control