Mikarma Kangal Dogs

Karen Affeld and Michael McKniff

492 John Craft Rd

Red Rock, Texas 78662

512-484-2915

karen@mikarmafarm.com

OUR LITTERS

November 2010 Litter

We repeated the Nesheli - Python breeding (see below) using frozen semen and had a litter of 6 pups, 4 males and 2 females. We kept one female, Mikarma's Kizim. The other pups went to Indianapolis and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the US and to British Columbia, Alberta and Toronto in Canada. Here are photos of a few of the pups.

August 2009 Litter

In 2009 we bred Mikarma's Nesheli to Odaci's Python from Germany using frozen semen.  It was a wonderful cross.  Neshe has excellent conformation but is somewhat lighter-boned than Python.  Both dogs have lovely, dark coloration that we hoped they would pass on as well.  Unfortunately, as sometimes happens with frozen semen, the breeding resulted in a single, much-loved pup.  He went to a great home in British Columbia.  Here are some photos of the sire, dam and pup.

April 2007 Litter

We had a litter in April 2007 from a breeding of Ch. Ashkabad's Kibar to Misty Acres Aslan.  There were 5 pups in the litter, 2 females and 3 males.  The pups were placed all over the U.S.  One male joined his half-sister from our 2005 litter outside Redmond, Washington.  The best female from the litter went to central California where she protects sheep and goats at an organic farm and winery in Calaveras County.  You can see her below trailing after her sheep at the tender age of 2 1/2 months old.  Other pups ended up in Oakland, Kansas City and suburban Maryland.   Here are a few pictures of them at work and play.

July 2005 Litter

We had a litter of 9 puppies born July 31, 2005. There were 7 females and 2 males. The parents were Ch. Mikarma's Teminni (sire) and Ch. Ashkabad's Kibar (dam).  Here are photos of some of the pups as they've grown.  Only one has been showns so far, Mikarma's Akilli, but she won Best Female at the Kangal Dog Club of America National Specialty Show-- her very first show!  Akilli lives outside Lexington, Kentucky, on a farm with several horses and a Corgi.  Mikarma's Sanli lives at Misty Acres in Michigan with a number of other Kangal Dogs and goats and sheep.  Mikarma's Yaman is at Wild Rose Kangal Dogs outside Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on a farm with other Kangal Dogs, various livestock and three young children.  Mikarma's Huzur lives in Redmond, Washington on a small property with a horse, miniature donkeys, another Kangal from our April 2007 litter, a cat, and a little girl who is her best friend.  Mikarma's Abari lives in Denver with other dogs and several children, where she roots for the Broncos, goes camping, and celebrates the seasons.  Mikarma's Kitmir lives in the Ft. Worth area with 3 cats, another dog that he adopted and a little girl.  We kept Mikarma's Nesheli as a potential breeding dog. Here are some pictures of the pups at various ages, some in their new homes.

Puppies at Play

Here are pictures of the 2005 litter playing together, eating, and "helping" wth chores around the house. We had a great time with the pups! They were born in our bedroom and spent the first 6 weeks of their lives there since it was too hot for them to be outside. Then they spent evenings and mornings outside and days indoors until they were ready to spend enture nights outside in a puppy-safe pen. Eventually they graduated to spending most of their time outside and only brief periods indoors one or two at a time. They were socialized with different people and with children, with our cats, with other dogs to some extent and to loud noises. They spent entire nights in crates, went to the vet several times, to a dog show, and to community events.

Puppies at the Show

Most of the puppies from our 2005 litter went to the KDCA National Specialty Show held in Hutto, Texas (just north of Austin) on November 19, 2005, when they were less than 4 months old. It was a great socialization experience for all of them, and the three puppies that were bravest that also had very good conformation competed in the baby puppies class which is a "fun" class that doesn't count toward championships. Mikarma's Yaman won Best Male Baby Puppy and Best Baby Puppy and Mikarma's Tanyeri won Best Female Baby Puppy. Mikarma's Sanli got second place in the female baby puppies class and we were proud of her for trying because she turned out to have a very full bladder!

Puppies Meet the Stallion

We also breed Missouri Fox Trotter horses and our stallion's pasture is adjacent to the yard where the puppies exercise. From the first time that we let the puppies out into the big world, they have been fascinated with the stallion and he has been very taken with them. I caught on film the very first meeting when he came up to the fence and sniffed noses with them. Ever since then, he comes over to greet them as soon as they are let out of their pen in the morning. Two of the puppies were so attached to him that they dug under the gate to get into his pasture. They were only about 10 weeks old at the time. Luckily we were watching them and we were able to catch them and put them back where they belonged. The stud was very gentle with them, being careful not to step on them, and they semed to know not to bark or jump on him. It was really amazing to see. They have very strong livestock guardian instincts.