Akbash Puppies: What To Expect In The First Two Years

An Akbash puppy takes two to three years to mature, by the United Kennel Club standard, and Texas A&M AgriLife puts effective guarding at 18 to 24 months. Owners who expect an adult at 12 months are living with an enormous teenager for a year longer than they planned.

Decide the dog’s job first

Decide before the puppy comes home whether it will work stock, because a developmental window forces the choice. Texas A&M’s research on livestock guardians puts the imprinting period at roughly five to 16 weeks. A pup meant to guard stock should meet that stock at four to eight weeks and must be bonding with it by 16 weeks, or the attachment may never form properly.

A working pup therefore spends those weeks in a pen with calm livestock, following the protocol in working with livestock. Many are raised that way by the breeder from birth, which is a question to settle when you choose a breeder.

A companion pup spends the same weeks meeting people, places, and household life. Akbash Dogs International recommends early and continuous socialization, puppy classes, and obedience training for companion-placed dogs. You cannot easily convert one kind of puppy into the other at a year old.

The first months at home

Set the house rules on day one and apply them the same way every day. The puppy climbing on the couch will grow into a dog of 90 to 120 pounds, and guardians treat any rule that bends as optional.

Handle the puppy daily. Pick up each foot, look in the ears, open the mouth, run your hands down the legs and tail, and reward the pup for standing still. Every nail trim and vet exam for the next decade depends on this, and it is far easier to teach a puppy than an adult of 120 pounds.

Texas A&M’s training guidance for guardian pups is 15 to 20 minutes, three or four times a week, covering come, stay, and a firm no. Short, calm sessions suit the breed better than long ones. The approach is covered in training.

Teach the fence early. Texas A&M found that electric fencing inside a bonding pen teaches pups to respect a boundary, and the general principle holds for companion pups as well. The aim is a dog that has never once gotten through, over, or under a fence. Walk your fence line before the puppy arrives and close every gap a 20-pound animal could use.

Feeding and growth

Keep the puppy lean. You should be able to feel the ribs easily under the fluff, and a vet can check body condition at each vaccination visit. A giant-breed puppy that grows too fast or carries extra weight puts stress on joints that will not finish developing for two years.

Ask your vet about a large-breed puppy food and how long to stay on it. Portion sizes change month to month at this growth rate, and they are worth reviewing with someone who has the dog on a scale in front of them.

Exercise should be self-directed. Play on grass, short walks, and free time in a secure yard are ideal. Long runs, repeated jumping, and forced marches can wait until the dog is grown, as explained in exercise needs.

Adolescence

The hard stretch runs from about six to 18 months. The puppy now has an adult’s size and reach, and its judgment lags well behind. Commands it knew reliably at five months get ignored. Gates get tested, holes appear along the fence, and the barking arrives.

Texas A&M identifies this as the age when working guardians begin chasing stock and wandering off the property, and those are the two leading reasons ranchers lose dogs. Companion dogs go through the same phase with different targets: the neighbor’s cat, the garden beds, the delivery driver.

Keep the rules identical to what they were at four months. Supervise more, since a dog that cannot yet be trusted should not be given the chance to practice bad habits. Fix fence problems the day you find them. Around the second birthday the testing fades, and the settled adult described in temperament starts to appear. Owners who give up during this stretch are often only months away from the dog they wanted.

Veterinary decisions to plan for

Ask your vet early about the timing of spay or neuter, which many vets prefer to delay in giant breeds until growth is further along. Texas A&M’s research found that neutered male guardians roam less and that guarding ability is the same in neutered and intact dogs.

Ask at the same visit about gastropexy, a preventive surgery against the stomach twisting in deep-chested breeds, which is usually done at the same time as the spay or neuter. The health page explains what it does.

While the puppy is young, watch for the conditions the parent club tracks. Squinting or weepy eyes can point to entropion. Small bald, scaly patches on the face or front legs can be demodectic mange, which a vet should see. Any seizure needs a vet visit and a call to the breeder, who should want to know.