Anatolian Shepherd Dog

Dirt Ball Raven

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Raven is such a special girl. She's so sweet and most of the time innocent except this day that we found her laying out in a nice hole that they've all been working on along the fence. It looks like Raven dug a little bit out too right before she made herself comfortable. Even the beautiful girls like playing in the dirt too! I just love the expressions on her face. Enjoy!

Here she comes.

Maybe if I look away, she won't see me.

Yep! She saw me.

I'm not moving!

Did she just laugh at me?

I'm just going to relax now.

Atakan's UKC Championship Weekend

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Last year Atakan was so close to becoming a Champion and during that final show there was a light reflecting off the wall and floor and he didn't like it at all. He would not gait past it and blew his chance. He was doing great last year and even went to Best In Show the day before. He had all of his Championship points and 2 competition wins. He only needed 1 more win to earn his title. That did not happen as planned. He loved showing and was proud when doing it up until that last show that the light bothered him. Early this year, I found a local show but it was outdoors. He had never shown outdoors but I figured I would give it a try with him since he only needed that 1 win yet. We were so close and I figured there would be no light reflection to get him upset so we went for it. This weekend fell on April, 30th and May 1st, 2011. There was 2 shows each day and I was hoping for the best. It turned out to be a beautiful weekend to hold an outdoor show. I promised Atakan that if he just got this 1 win then he could retire from showing. This weekend turned out to be a whirlwind weekend. The first day and first show, he did well for his first outdoor show. He did not take the win but I was proud of him for trying. By the time the second show started hours later, he was just worn out and done. He didn't want to gait at all and of course did not take the win in that one either. It was the first time that he's ever shown outdoors and in 2 shows in one day. I figured it was just too much for him and the waiting around for hours didn't help. I took him back the second day and he was a completely different dog. He was so proud and it was like something came over him and told him to go for it and he went for it with all he had. I only entered one show but got called in to the second show too. That is when it got a bit crazy. My boy was so proud and on the move in the first show that day. We left the ring to wait for Group when we got called to the other ring. We went right over to the other ring and showed. It gave him no time to stand around and get antsy. We went in for Group in the second show and was finishing up Group when the other ring was calling us all for Group for the first show. It was non stop! The first show waited until Group was finished in the second show and Atakan didn't win that one either. I was so nervous but Atakan was on the move and raring to go! He was so happy and really showed his heart out this day. We got back over into the first show ring for Group and by then I felt like I was going to pass out and couldn't even catch my breath from all the constant running. No worries on Atakan's side though. He showed his heart out and got his final win! He took his win in the show that we originally entered that day. We were done! Atakan was now a UKC Champion! I was so proud of him and he was a happy camper that day. Atakan is now retired from showing and is now relaxing and living the good life protecting his family and goats. Here are some pictures from his Championship weekend.

April 30th, 2011

Show 1

Show 2

(Note: This was not a finished free stack but it was him going into one.)

May 1st, 2011

This is going to flip back and forth a little due to it being a crazy day.

Show 1 (Atakan's Championship Show)

(Note: These next 2 pictures he had moved and come out of a nice stack to get ready to gait.)

*Published in Choban Chatter ~ Summer, 2011 ~ Volume 21, Issue 2*

Show 2

Back to Show 1

Atakan finished his UKC Championship on May 1st, 2011. He was owner handled under Judge Ms. Violet Denny. Atakan is now:

CH Mystic's Atakan of Clear Creek, CGC

Fahrunisa's First Meet The Breeds

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:40:00 +0000

Here are some pictures of Fahrunisa's 1st Meet The Breeds in Harrisburg, PA on April 16th, 2011. She was showing earlier in the day and they held a Meet The Breeds later in the afternoon for people to meet some dogs up close and in person. They could also talk to people and ask questions about the breeds. I only took Nisa into it for about a half an hour. She did well and I was proud of her. She was quite tired by this time but was happy to meet people. At one point some people did start crowding around and I could tell she had enough and was starting to get a little uneasy so I took her away. It was starting to get overwhelming for her but she held it together and did very good for this being her first time in a situation like this. Enjoy the pictures!

Atakan's OFA Ratings

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Mystic's Atakan of Clear Creek

OFA Hips: Good ANS-1452G25M-VPI

OFA Elbows: Normal ANS-EL365M25-VPI

OFA Thyroid: Normal ANS-TH74/24M-VPI

Happy Halloween 2010

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:52:00 +0000

The gang here at Mystic Anatolians would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween. Here's a quick picture of Atakan. I love the expression on his face. Boo!

Fahrunisa's OFA preliminary evaluation

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:45:00 +0000

Fahrunisa turned 1 year old on October 4th, 2010. I wanted to get her hips and elbows x-rayed for her OFA preliminary evaluation. We did the x-rays on October 8th, 2010 and she was a trooper. She was quite funny while waking from the anesthesia. She was acting as though she had been put under for a major surgery. She was so pathetic acting. She was perfectly fine but really played the drama queen act. The x-rays looked good so we submitted them to OFA. I got the results back and her hips came back good and her elbows were normal and clear of any dysplasia. We also ran some bloodwork on her to check her thyroid and all of the results came back normal. Here's a picture of her preliminary x-ray for her hips. I have the original copy and cannot share it due to the program. I had to take this picture with my cell phone of my computer screen. It's only part of the picture concentrating on her hips.

Fahrunisa's OFA hip preliminary x-ray at 12 months of age. Rated: GOOD

Tayyar of Clear Creek, CGC

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:07:00 +0000

I'm very pleased to announce that Tayyar has successfully passed the Canine Good Citizen test! Here's my goofy boy with his new ribbon.

Tayyar of Clear Creek, CGC

"Tayyar"

Date received: October 13th, 2010

Age: 3 years old

*Published in Choban Chatter ~ Winter 2010 ~ Volume 20, Issue 3*

Pasa of Clear Creek, CGC

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:00:00 +0000

I'm very pleased to announce that Pasa has successfully passed the Canine Good Citizen test! Here's my precious Pasa proudly wearing her ribbon.

Pasa of Clear Creek, CGC

"Pasa"

Date received: October 13th, 2010

Age: 3 years old

*Published in Choban Chatter ~ Winter 2010 ~ Volume 20, Issue 3*

Kazara of Clear Creek, CGC

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 02:38:00 +0000

I'm very pleased to announce that Kazara has successfully passed the Canine Good Citizen test! Here she is in her glory with her new CGC ribbon. She knows that I'm very proud of her.

Kazara of Clear Creek, CGC

"Kazara"

Date received: August 25th, 2010

Age: 5 years old

*Published in Choban Chatter ~ Winter 2010 ~ Volume 20, Issue 3*

The Learning Process

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:23:00 +0000

It's been a crazy summer around here. After everything that happened with Raven, the training process with some of the dogs getting adapted to the goats was put on hold. I've been playing catch up on everything around here and now have been able to start working with some of the dogs and getting them to be with the goats. Fahrunisa was with them shortly and was ok but wants to be a goofy puppy and chase. Once she gets it out of her system, she calms down. I'm hoping as she matures that she'll get more calm and be able to be trusted with the goats like some of the others are and not chase them. Tayyar and Pasa and absolutely wonderful with them. Atakan has been doing really great too. He's been more calm this year with them and doing fantastic. He's a wonderful guardian and will charge the fenceline putting off a powerful bark to keep whatever he feels is a threat at bay while the older 2 split and serve as a middle defense or back up for Atakan and the other will stay closer to the goats. This was all until Atakan saw Fahrunisa chase and it kicked him into puppy mode again and he wanted to chase. This past weekend I wanted to do a test with them and see how Atakan would react without Fahrunisa around. Did her bad habits wear off of him or does he just do it because she does it? I removed Fahrunisa so there was no way Atakan would see how she would act with them before I even turned the goats out. When they were out, he started to chase and act like an idiot. Out of no where, Pasa went charging after him and started body slamming herself into him and growling. She would not let hhim anywhere near the goats at all if he was going to act like that. She literally knocked some sense into him. I was amazed. Pasa normally keeps her distance from them and acts like she could care less. She stepped up to the plate and showed me that she really is watching over them. After a couple of minutes of Pasa body slamming Atakan, he calmed down and was just like he acted before Fahrunisa's bad habits wore off on him. He was completely trusted to be with them. He didn't dare chase and he quickly calmed down and relaxed and watched over them like a good livestock guard. All it took was Pasa to knock some sense back into him. It was so impressive! I'm very pleased with Tayyar, Pasa and Atakan and how they watch over the goats. Fahrunisa will need a lot more work with them before she's to be trusted. Once she matures, I'm hoping she'll be fine just like the others.

Now for another update! Miss Kazara! The one who pulled me across the ground when I took her on a long lead to see what she would do with the goats. Since that incident she has not been with the goats at all. I couldn't handle being pulled like that again. She's been only able to watch them through the fence and she does love to watch them. The one night after work I decided to put the 4ft lead on her and take her in the goat enclosure to see them up close. She did good! A couple of nights later she was begging to go in and see them when I went in to tend to them. I didn't go get the lead this time. I grabbed her collar and held on to her to take her in. She was doing really good and just checking them out. I took the biggest chance I ever took with her and I left go of the collar. I kept my hand right on her back so she knew I was there. She was wonderful! She knew she better not attempt anything with me right there. She was doing so good and then little Moonshine ran past her really fast and she turned like she was going to chase but I grabbed her quick and she calmed immediately. I removed her after that. I've taken her back in the enclosure several more times off lead and she has done really good. This girl that I thought would never be off lead with the goats was off lead! She still needs a lot of work with them though. The last time I took her in, we had quite a scare. The goats got all excited and Kazara put her eyesight on little Moonshine again and she tore off after him. I was scared to death she was going to grab him by the neck. I'm not sure if she was serious or if she thought it was just fun. Kazara is a bit unpredictable at times. I was yelling at her and trying to catch her. Thank goodness Moonshine is a quick little guy. I was able to grab her and scold her. I removed her from the enclosure immediately and she hasn't been back inside it yet. She needs a lot more work yet to be trusted with them. Once I feel that she'll pass the test of being in the enclosure trusted with them, the big test is outside of the enclosure. That is going to be a ways off yet but we are making some progress with her. Baby steps! Just take one step at a time. I can tell she really wants to go back in the enclosure but we'll have to start all over again from the beginning.

Here are some pictures of her finally off lead with the goats! This was an amazing milestone we hit after what had happened before even though there is still a lot of work and learning ahead. I never thought I would see the day she was off leash with them.