# Archer: Pyr/Kangal mix



## Archer (Sep 23, 2014)

Meet....Archer.

We picked this little guy up at the beginning of april.  He was supposed to be 6 weeks, and was a little over eight lbs so we assumed he was.





He was actually 4.5 weeks, and the farmer was desperate to get rid of the puppies.  Seems the kangal AND the pyr got to his female, and he was worried.about getting rid of the puppies.  No harm done, just takes a little extra teaching when they are young.





This is after he met the two american bulldogs...both of whom alerted us to his age.

The male, 6, by walking up to the pup, sniffing him, rolling him toward me, growled once and wandered off.

The female, 3, by attempting to smother him, repeatedly, until she witnessed him eating dry food.

Once she saw him eat, and the male saw I wasn't concerned, back to being one big happy family.





He grew pretty fast...






And now at six months...






He weighs in at a little over 80lbs.  Even though he is 20lbs lighter than the male bulldog, he is 6 inches taller or so at the shoulder and considerably longer.



He is my first LGD, and is being kept mainky as a pet.  We have a large amount of land and the dogs are fenced in.  But, a few months before we got him, a neighbor about half a mile down had his retriever killed by coyotes.  He was alone in a yard at night, but our dogs do stay outside in their yard if we are out late for dinner.  I decided in addition to making sure our fence was up to par, we should have a third dog, preferably of a breed capable of handling itself.  We looked at wolves and purebred kangals.  The wolves seemed unpredictable, but very intelligent. The kangals I had liked sinced seeing them a few years before.  They seemed workable, but the pricing was beyond what I was looking for.

Given our south Louisiana heat, anything long haired wasn't an option.

I stumbled upon the farmer a few hundred miles away, we made the drive, and the rest is history.

He owned a small farm with a male and female pyr and was still having issues with coyotes and two legged thieves as well.  

He picked up a four year old dog who was very dark tan with black tipped hair with a white chest, he was unsure of its parentage.  One look and it was obvious the dog was a kangal, and a darned well bred one too given his size, coloring, and demeanor.  Once he hit the farm he trained the Pyrs and they thinned the local coyote herd by two and sent two thieves to the hospital and jail.

We got one pup, and considered getting a fluffy pyr too, though I thankfully talked the wife out of it.

Archer was bitten by a snake while exploring under the porch, where the bulldogs can't get, when he was about eight weeks.  It was a 3ft moccasin, based off the head.  Thats all I ever saw of the snake, he killed it, ate it, brought me the head.  We gave him a mild sedative as per the vet and he slept through the night, woke up with a swollen neck but a happy healthy puppy.

If it happens again, he now knows to be quicker on the draw or to leave it alone.  Given his curiousity, I'm sure he will eat it.

He seems to onky have inherited the Pyr's desire to bark, in all other ways he seems a kangal.

We are curious as to his eventual size?  I went in expected 130-180.  The vet seems to think 150.  We freefeed diamond naturals and he hasn't gotten chunky, so we will likely be able to continue.

Any questions, please ask.


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## BrownSheep (Sep 23, 2014)

That's funny about the snake. Every dog I've ever owned has been wary/terrified of snakes. We had a rattler inside of their pen last year one of the dogs ran a round it barking and the other four tried to get as far away as they could.


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## Baymule (Sep 23, 2014)

Your dog is awesome, thanks for bringing his story to us, hope you update from time to time so we can keep up with him! There is lots of info here on the forum, lots of knowledgeable people here!


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## Archer (Sep 23, 2014)

Down here, snakes are everywhere, I always say you either get used to em, or get good at killing em.  

If they aren't poisonous, I'll typically leave em alone.  If they are, they are meeting the business end of an object longer than their body.

Most dogs around here usually get bitten so much they don't even react anymore, our bulldogs have never been bitten, leave it to archer to find one and harass it.

They are an interesting breed.  When we bring him to a dog friendly restaurant 40 miles or so away, you can watch him closely.  He's friendly, loves the petting, likes sniffing the other dogs, and enjoys his dog bowl of people food, but you can watch his eyes.  Every person who comes in gets a look.  

Definitely the most intelligent breed I've encountered.  Potty training took a week, leash training just happened.  Commands that arent parlor tricks are pretty instant too.

He will sit on command, but only once if you dont have food.


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## Baymule (Sep 24, 2014)

A smart dog sure makes you look like a brilliant trainer. We have a black Lab/Great Dane that learns quickly and it only takes one or two times and he's got it. Your Archer sounds like an exceptional dog and I am sure he will bring you many years of enjoyment. You will like the snake feature that came with him! LOL

I had a dog once that was a snake killing fiend. She actually went looking for them, but she didn't eat them. My mule stomped a coral snake this spring. She stomped it and drug her hoof, doing a good job of smashing it. The other horses sniffed it from a safe distance and ran from it, looking back like it was chasing them. But my mule sniffed it several times after she killed it and proudly showed it to me.


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## goatgurl (Sep 27, 2014)

what a beautiful boy.  Anatolians are probably my favorite LGD and to me a kangal is a Anatolian plus.   at this time i have a pair of Maremma but really love the 'tolies.  my jasper was a snake dog extraordinaire and had a special snake bark.  he knew if he didn't take care of it i would.  enjoy him.  and i like your bullies, American bulldog is the next kind of house dog i get.


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