At the place where I stayed for the last couple of days, the woman that owns the house has an Akbash dog. I had never heard of them before, but it was an absolutely neat dog. They are ginormous. This one was 18 months and must have already been at least 80lbs. In some ways they look almost Labrador-like. Lean, but massive.
This dog, especially for a puppy, was one of the calmest, sweetest dogs I have ever run across. Absolutely mellow. They are apparently very independent dogs who like a lot of land to roam they are herd protectors rather than herders. I watched this one do the rounds on her ten acres, checking the cattle and horses, and she would always find some high spot or other good vantage point to hang out at when she was resting, so she could watch all of her territory.
Anyway, I found this one example of the breed to be very cool. They are apparently a very popular dog in Idaho. I don't think I've ever seen one in CA. I read up on them a bit, and the reading doesn't match much of what I saw in this particular example. She lives with a Jack Russel and an Australian sheep dog, and the Aussie is an example of her breed - likes to nip, etc., but I only ever saw the Akbash either disregard the other dogs, or if anything, mother them. She also seemed quite intelligent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbash_dog
