Zor is Top Dog at Rare Breed Ranch

Some people decry the usefulness of a guard dog overlooking livestock because the dogs are often seen sleeping all day. But that's because they are up all night working, countered Lynn Kenny, who, with her husband Mark Griffith, breed Anatolian Shepherds at the Rare Breed Ranch in Cottonwood.

"My dogs are up all night long," she said.

Rather than lose several sheep or goats per night, the dogs can pay for themselves on the first night acting as protection for the flock from predators, Kenny said.

"They're worth their weight in gold, these guys," Kenny said of her dogs.

Anatolian Shepherds are not herding dogs, Kenny emphasized, adding that she keeps Australian Shepherds on hand for that task.

Kenny referred to the Anatolian Shepherd, an old Turkish breed, as possessing a self-contradicting personality that has been bred into them.

"They have 6,000 years of DNA telling them what to do," Kenny said.

The dog behaves very quietly and "sheepish" around sheep, Kenny said, "but at the same time, when there's a threat they become bigger than life."

One Anatolian Shepherd can stand up to a coyote, a wolf or a mountain lion, Kenny said. Two or three, she added, can stand up to a bear or an arctic wolf.

Both the male and female Anatolian Shepherds that the Cottonwood couple are breeding have won numerous accolades Griffith said in a press release, with the male "Zor" named the country's fifth best Anatolian Shepherd stud and the female "Anya" winning the title of number-one bitch Anatolian Shepherd in the U.S. according to points awarded at American Kennel Club shows.

"At our national breed show in Napa, last November, Zor won the award for Best Working Dog in the U.S., while Anya won the award for Best Brood Bitch in the breed," Griffith said in a press release. "We're so proud of what they have accomplished, the past year."

The 3-year-old female, called Champion Carpe Diem's Champagne or "Anya" for short, was born from the highest rated Anatolian Shepherd of all time, Kenny said. As a pup, Anya was purchased for $3,000, she added.

The 4-year-old male, called Champion Gerlach Zorlu Veli or "Zor" for short, has also accumulated a number of awards, and has been rated a Top-20 Anatolian Shepherd Dog for four consecutive years, according to his owners.

The two dogs have already mated once, producing a litter of 12 pups that included five pups that went on to compete at shows at the AKC. Kenny added she would have been lucky to get one AKC competitor out of the litter.

The canine couple are to mate once more, Kenny said, adding that she plans for a litter to arrive sometime in March. Kenny sold puppies from the last litter at $1,200 each. Many of the dogs she breeds spend time working on ranches in northern California, she added.

Beyond raising her specialty Anatolian Shepherds, Kenny said she and her husband also keep Peruvian Paso and English Shire horses on Rare Breeds Ranch.

For more information about Rare Breeds Ranch, contact 347-9088.