Cautionary tale regarding rescue dogs.
Discussion
Firstly I wish your sister all the best, that's a terrible thing to happen.
I'm worried that this sort of thing is going to be more common and that the Mali will be the up and coming chav breed of choice. People are realising they are replacing the GSD as police/military dogs and are pretty tough and look it.
They are brilliant dogs in the right hands but can also be bloody lethal at the drop of a hat. I have been around Belgian Shepherds my whole life and have had my own for 8 years now and have numerous friends with a mix of the 4 varieties. They are a super intelligent but quite jumpy breed and (especially the Malis) can go from 0-mental quicker than you imagine.
It takes a LOT of work to rehab one if it has been scarred in some way. And they are odd buggers in that specific things will upset them. I accidentally bonked mine on the nose once, years ago with a ball thrower and despite 5 million trouble free ball throws since then she will still flinch if I hold it in the same way as when I hit her.
So there might have been as suggested something specific but unintentional about your sis turning or maybe holding the phone up, might have looked like she was raising her hand for a smack? and the dog maybe has history of being walloped by previous owners, which is why it bit?
I'm worried that this sort of thing is going to be more common and that the Mali will be the up and coming chav breed of choice. People are realising they are replacing the GSD as police/military dogs and are pretty tough and look it.
They are brilliant dogs in the right hands but can also be bloody lethal at the drop of a hat. I have been around Belgian Shepherds my whole life and have had my own for 8 years now and have numerous friends with a mix of the 4 varieties. They are a super intelligent but quite jumpy breed and (especially the Malis) can go from 0-mental quicker than you imagine.
It takes a LOT of work to rehab one if it has been scarred in some way. And they are odd buggers in that specific things will upset them. I accidentally bonked mine on the nose once, years ago with a ball thrower and despite 5 million trouble free ball throws since then she will still flinch if I hold it in the same way as when I hit her.
So there might have been as suggested something specific but unintentional about your sis turning or maybe holding the phone up, might have looked like she was raising her hand for a smack? and the dog maybe has history of being walloped by previous owners, which is why it bit?
Don't know much about Belgians but knew a guy who had Komondors and Anatolians - they were proper mental herd guardians, he definitely knew what he was doing but one of the rescues went for him once and nearly took his arm off. Anatolians have been known to fight off lions apparently. Glad your average chav hasn't picked up on how tough they are, and glad that the very few breeders of them are extremely picky about who they home to!
tbourner said:
Don't know much about Belgians but knew a guy who had Komondors and Anatolians - they were proper mental herd guardians, he definitely knew what he was doing but one of the rescues went for him once and nearly took his arm off. Anatolians have been known to fight off lions apparently. Glad your average chav hasn't picked up on how tough they are, and glad that the very few breeders of them are extremely picky about who they home to!
I had to look Komondor up.
I love all dogs but the only breeds (as opposed to individuals) I'm naturally wary of is Akita and Husky types. I have difficulty reading their body language.
tbourner said:
Don't know much about Belgians but knew a guy who had Komondors and Anatolians - they were proper mental herd guardians, he definitely knew what he was doing but one of the rescues went for him once and nearly took his arm off. Anatolians have been known to fight off lions apparently. Glad your average chav hasn't picked up on how tough they are, and glad that the very few breeders of them are extremely picky about who they home to!
I can't really speak for Komondors but I can speak for Anatolians. They are incredibly intelligent but also extremely headstrong and independent. What they have decided to do sometimes does not align with what you want them to do so you have to have their absolute respect for them to even consider what you want from them. You have to be firm but never lose your temper and try to hurt them as this can undo years of bonding of seconds.Although they are flock guardians, I would never describe them as mental. They are calm, aloof, incredibly suspicious and are constantly assessing threat levels.
I have a lot of respect for your friend rescuing an Anatolian as that is no easy task. You have no idea of their background or whether they've been abused or and that can be a very dangerous prospect with one of them.
They also don't really come in to contact with actual lions in Turkey but do come in to contact with wolves, bears, caucasian shepherds and even hyenas. They do, however, have contact with big cats in Africa and timber wolves and larger bear species in North America and Canada but that's not their natural habitat, they have been imported due to their excellent livestock guardian instincts.
Robatr0n said:
tbourner said:
Don't know much about Belgians but knew a guy who had Komondors and Anatolians - they were proper mental herd guardians, he definitely knew what he was doing but one of the rescues went for him once and nearly took his arm off. Anatolians have been known to fight off lions apparently. Glad your average chav hasn't picked up on how tough they are, and glad that the very few breeders of them are extremely picky about who they home to!
I can't really speak for Komondors but I can speak for Anatolians. They are incredibly intelligent but also extremely headstrong and independent. What they have decided to do sometimes does not align with what you want them to do so you have to have their absolute respect for them to even consider what you want from them. You have to be firm but never lose your temper and try to hurt them as this can undo years of bonding of seconds.Although they are flock guardians, I would never describe them as mental. They are calm, aloof, incredibly suspicious and are constantly assessing threat levels.
I have a lot of respect for your friend rescuing an Anatolian as that is no easy task. You have no idea of their background or whether they've been abused or and that can be a very dangerous prospect with one of them.
They also don't really come in to contact with actual lions in Turkey but do come in to contact with wolves, bears, caucasian shepherds and even hyenas. They do, however, have contact with big cats in Africa and timber wolves and larger bear species in North America and Canada but that's not their natural habitat, they have been imported due to their excellent livestock guardian instincts.
bexVN said:
Robatr0n said:
tbourner said:
Don't know much about Belgians but knew a guy who had Komondors and Anatolians - they were proper mental herd guardians, he definitely knew what he was doing but one of the rescues went for him once and nearly took his arm off. Anatolians have been known to fight off lions apparently. Glad your average chav hasn't picked up on how tough they are, and glad that the very few breeders of them are extremely picky about who they home to!
I can't really speak for Komondors but I can speak for Anatolians. They are incredibly intelligent but also extremely headstrong and independent. What they have decided to do sometimes does not align with what you want them to do so you have to have their absolute respect for them to even consider what you want from them. You have to be firm but never lose your temper and try to hurt them as this can undo years of bonding of seconds.Although they are flock guardians, I would never describe them as mental. They are calm, aloof, incredibly suspicious and are constantly assessing threat levels.
I have a lot of respect for your friend rescuing an Anatolian as that is no easy task. You have no idea of their background or whether they've been abused or and that can be a very dangerous prospect with one of them.
They also don't really come in to contact with actual lions in Turkey but do come in to contact with wolves, bears, caucasian shepherds and even hyenas. They do, however, have contact with big cats in Africa and timber wolves and larger bear species in North America and Canada but that's not their natural habitat, they have been imported due to their excellent livestock guardian instincts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIXoYHYEnkg
Such a sad story of what happened to him but an amazing ending, Owen is a cute kid too and really nice he found Haatchi to help him out. Pretty dusty in the office just now
bexVN said:
Robatr0n said:
tbourner said:
Don't know much about Belgians but knew a guy who had Komondors and Anatolians - they were proper mental herd guardians, he definitely knew what he was doing but one of the rescues went for him once and nearly took his arm off. Anatolians have been known to fight off lions apparently. Glad your average chav hasn't picked up on how tough they are, and glad that the very few breeders of them are extremely picky about who they home to!
I can't really speak for Komondors but I can speak for Anatolians. They are incredibly intelligent but also extremely headstrong and independent. What they have decided to do sometimes does not align with what you want them to do so you have to have their absolute respect for them to even consider what you want from them. You have to be firm but never lose your temper and try to hurt them as this can undo years of bonding of seconds.Although they are flock guardians, I would never describe them as mental. They are calm, aloof, incredibly suspicious and are constantly assessing threat levels.
I have a lot of respect for your friend rescuing an Anatolian as that is no easy task. You have no idea of their background or whether they've been abused or and that can be a very dangerous prospect with one of them.
They also don't really come in to contact with actual lions in Turkey but do come in to contact with wolves, bears, caucasian shepherds and even hyenas. They do, however, have contact with big cats in Africa and timber wolves and larger bear species in North America and Canada but that's not their natural habitat, they have been imported due to their excellent livestock guardian instincts.
I should add, the breed Anatolian can be a massive grey area. All the while I was looking and researching the breed, I was talking to breeders who were going to sell me an Anatolian Shepherd. When I collected him and they handed the papers over, he was described as a Kangal dog as the Kangal dog had just been recognised by the kennel club. Prior to the Kennel Club recognising them as their own breed, they were imported to the UK as Anatolian Shepherds.
There are massive debates online as to whether Kangal dogs and Anatolians are the same breed but named differently or whether they're two entirely different species. It's all massively time consuming and a bit of a waste of time if I'm honest.
Robatr0n said:
Although they are flock guardians, I would never describe them as mental. They are calm, aloof, incredibly suspicious and are constantly assessing threat levels.
Sory I didn't mean mental as in "nutty", I meant more in the colloquial "awesome" context, like they are the most guardiany of herd guardians. Husky breeds have very similar traits just not to the same extreme - they are very intelligent but often mistaken as stupid due to their independence (read as; "doesn't do as it's told"). Independent enough to run away when let off lead and go and find fun things to do on their own, but not independent enough to be left alone to roam the farmland and patrol the borders without being told to 
I think I would be very wary around an Anatolian, even though I've never met one IRL, but I'm fine around all Husky breeds.
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