The Akbash dog is a large, beautiful breed. With his pale, almost pure white coat, his size, and his incredible aptitude for shepherding and other working conditions, the Akbash can be a terrific companion for any owner. But what about those owners who want to have a perfect show dog to present at the most prestigious dog shows? Here, you may run into a problem with the Akbash. While he is an incredible dog, he is not widely recognized in the international canine registries as a showable animal.
Though this dog's breed is not recognized by the main canine registries like the American Kennel Club (AKC), the Canadian Kennel Club, the Kennel Club of the UK, the New Zealand Kennel Club, the Australian National Kennel Council, or the Federation Internationale Cynologique (FIC), they are listed with the United Kennel Club.
The United Kennel Club (UKC) is an organization that was established in 1898 to provide a forum for all pure-bred dogs to compete in competitions as working dogs. This is the ultimate place for an Akbash dog to be shown as they are incredibly skilled working dogs. The UKC prides itself on allowing dogs to compete who exhibit both breed standard excellence and behavior excellence.
The behavior excellence awards at the UKC dog shows are given for a variety of events, including agility trials, water races, dog sports, field trials, weight pull trials, and work events. All of these categories would be places where the Akbash dog would highly excel.
Of course, as is true with any dog show, there is an appearance standard for each breed. For the Akbash dog the breed standard encompasses several aspects of the dog, especially the perfect balance of the breed's ancestors, the Mastiff and the gazehound. From the Mastiff, the Akbash should have a broad head and the appropriate height (30 inches to 34 inches for a male and 28 inches to 32 inches for a female) and weight (120 pounds for a male and 90 pounds for a female, though the dogs are judged based on their general size). From the gazehound, the Akbash should have inherited his arched loin area, deep chest, shallow lower jaw line, long legs, and his tucked flank. He will also have inherited the speed and agility of the gazehound.
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