In November of 2005 actually on the 22 nd we picked a new addition to Flatcreek Farms and we call him Alec, his full name is Lost Horizons Alec of Avanos. At this point he was only 8 weeks old but as you can see he has grown up quite nicely and is still growing. We purchased Alec in California from a breeder to add to our stock and allow us to have new blood lines plus we wanted a dog to start our venture into showing ourselves.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvHere is when we picked up Alec

Here we took Alec to see the Redwoods in Califorina

I have to admit when my wife told me she wanted to start bringing our Guardian dogs into the house and train them to be companion dogs, I was very skeptical. Even to the point that I almost refused. But being the wonderful man that I am I said I would give it a try and see but I left the right to say no, if it did not work out.

Well after picking up Alec and traveling around California visiting relatives, I was impressed with him. He was the mellowest puppy I had ever owned. He just lay on the console and slept most of the time and when we stopped and took him out to do his business he did. We trained Alec to sleep in his crate when we went to sleep because we were afraid he might soil if left un-checked. Well the more we left him out the more we learned how good he learned. Today he comes in and lays just about any where on the floor, never where he is not allowed. He has used socks that we have discarded (because of holes worn in the heals) as toys for him to play with. He also has dog toys we have bought for him and these are the only things he will play with in the house. I take off my socks, shoes and undergarments and drop them on the floor next to him by the bed as I go to bed at night and he never touches them. This is important for you to understand he only play's with things given to him, and we have left him at home all day, and never had a problem.

Now we have a new litter of pups that one of our bitches just had and she has been out in our goat area from the day she was born. After birth we had a very large rain and the area she was whelping her pups got flooded. Because the area got wet and is in a goat area some of the puppies died from what the vet says was probably e-coli poisoning. We immediately brought the pups and the bitch inside our living area and put them in Alec's dog crate with here pups.   Here name is Syrian and as I said she has never really been inside before, but she quickly became comfortable with us, Alec and being in the house.

She never soiled in the house ever and of course she cleaned up after here pups when they did.

So now when people ask if these dogs make good companion dogs, my answer is absolutely, positively yes. Of course you have to say there are always exceptions but so far, this breed has more than impressed me as both a outside guardian dog and an inside companion guardian dog.

We have been in many situations with other dogs around, children, cats, goats, horses, cows and seen these wonderful dogs bond and protect all of them without having to be told to, just bring the dog around the animals you wish to protect, show them you care and they seem to understand on their own.

Don't get me wrong these are big dogs, even though they don't eat like extremely large dogs, (ours usually only eats 1-2 lbs per day of dry dog food) but they do need some space outside where they can run and get exercise. You should see our dogs race the horses, I said race not chase. The adults can hold their own with our horses at a dead gallop. I don't know for how long but in our pasture we have watched this wonderful game they play sometimes. Our horses have never trampled our dogs, they were even there for the birthing of our last two foals. When the mares did not like the dogs around they put their ears back and maybe even snorted at the dogs direction, the dogs would immediately sit with their heads in the characteristic submission that the Anatolians do and the mare would back off. They communicate very well, much better than most of us do. Our Alec when he needs to go outside, goes to our door and puts his nose to some bells that are next to the door hanging there and sort of nudges them like we have taught him to do. Then he stands there patiently until someone comes. If no one comes, like sometimes we don't hear it because we are wrapped up in things we are doing he will come over to us and nudge us with his nose. Many times I will be on the computer typing and he will walk over to me and put his nose just ever so gently under my elbow and lift it up. This is his way of saying "I need some attention please". Some times I just give him a good petting on the head, a scratch behind the ears and he goes off and lays down, and other times he goes to the front door. Let me repeat this it is very important, he has never except in the first few days ever soiled in the house.

My wife likes to say that Anatolians are very sensitive dogs and you don't need to yell at them, and we never have had too. Don't get me wrong we correct him when he does something we don't want in his behavior but we have never yelled, just a deep voice with "Alec NOOOO!"   has been all we have ever had to do.

My wife is really loving going to the dog shows and I have enjoyed watching her, but enjoying these great dogs has been a real joy for me, and this is my two cents worth for the breed.

Thanks for looking.

Jim Birdsong.