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The Anatolian Pyrenees is a mixed breed, so they don’t have history as their own breed. Both parent breeds, however, are well known and loved. The Anatolian Shepherd is named for their homeland of Anatolia in the central part of Turkey, where they are featured on a national postage stamp. It is belived that the working ancestors of the breed date back over 6,000 years. Despite their large size, their lanky legs assist the breed in swiftly defending the flock from predators. Anatolian Shepherds got their most well-received introduction in the U.S. in the 1970s, although Turkish government officials had previously given Anatolians to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a gift, for experimental work as guardians of flocks. In 1970, the Anatolian Shepherd Dog Club of America was formed by Robert Ballard, a U.S. naval officer who had become fascinated by the dogs while in Turkey, and who began to breed them once back in California. The breed entered the American Kennel Club Miscellaneous Class in 1996. It moved to the Working Group in August 1998.
The regal Great Pyrenees originated in the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural border between France and Spain. The breed is known by different names: Great Pyrenees in the United States and Canada, and the Pyrenean Mountain Dog in the United Kingdom and most of Europe. The breed’s ancestry is believed to date back ten to eleven thousand years to dogs who originated in Asia Minor – the breed is also believed to have arrived in the Pyrenees Mountains around approximately 3000 B.C. Throughout the 1800s, the breed gained popularity throughout England, Europe, and the United States. The two World Wars took a toll on all dog breeding; luckily several Great Pyrenees were imported to the United States before the European continent was effectively closed due to World War II. After the war, dedicated breeders began to restore the breed to its former glory, and today the Great Pyrenees is a much-loved and admired dog both as a companion and a working dog.
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