General Appearance

The Kangal (Karabash) Dog is a large, powerful, heavy-boned canid, whose body in general resembles a lioness The harmony between its size and proportions gives it a beautiful silhouette. It has a body designed by nature for running, and of the type called typus respiraturius. Its bone and muscle structure are powerful. It is never fat.

Body: The body is powerful and muscular. A properly proportioned Kangal (Karabash) Dog is slightly longer (measured from prosternum to point of buttocks) than tall (measured from the withers to the ground), and length of the forelegs (measured from the point of the elbows to the ground) should equal slightly more than one-half of the dog's height. The line of the back inclines very slightly downward from the withers, levels, and then rises with a slight arch over the short, muscular loin which blends into a moderately short and slightly sloping croup. The ribs are well sprung. The moderately wide chest is deep, with the brisket extending down to the elbows.

Head: The head is large but in proportion to the size of the dog without appearing heavy or coarse. This gives it a majestic appearance
The forehead is large and high. Viewed from above, the broad skull tapers very slightly toward the place where the muzzle joins it and then tapers slightly from the base of the muzzle toward the nose. The skull is broad between the ears and slightly domed. The muzzle is wide. Its black mask is a distinguishing breed characteristic. It may cover only the muzzle, or it may extend over the eyes and ears.

 
The upper lips are somewhat pendulous over the lower lips, which are also slightly pendulous. The jaws are of equal length. The lips are fairly tight and always black. The teeth can be seen from the sides of the jaw. It has a complete set of large, evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors or level bite.
The eyes are medium size, set well apart, but appear small in comparison with the size of the head. Eye colour ranges from gold to deep brown. Its looks are warm, full of love, affectionate, and sad.

 
The thick velvety ears are flat to the skull. They are pendant or drop, medium sized, triangular in shape and rounded at the tips. They may appear large disproportionately to the body in puppies. In Turkey the majority of Kangal Dogs have their ears cropped (to prevent tearing or ripping during a fight) as puppies.
The neck is powerful and muscular, moderate in length, slightly arched, and rather thick.

Forequarters and Hindquarters: The forelegs are long, well boned, and set well apart, with strong, slightly sloping pasterns with big pads. The shoulders are well muscled and moderately angulated. The forelegs are straighter than the hindlegs, which have a slight S-shape. They are well-boned and moderately angulated at the stifle and hock joints. The forepaws have four toes and five claws each; the fifth one, the dewclaw, is set too high to be of any use. The hindpaws have four toes, and may have five, six, or seven claws the forelegs have an additional pad without claw on the back of the leg below the knees. The upper surfaces of the toes are slightly domed. The colour of the claws may be black, white or a mixed colour.

Tail: The tail is uncut, thick at the base, and tapering to the tip. The length of the tail is 2/3 of the body length excluding the head. When the dog is in repose, the rather long tail reaches at least to the hock. When the dog is alert, the tail is carried in a curl over the back. The curl may be tight or loose but when the tail is curled tightly, the tip of the tail may hang to one side of the back. The tail and legs are never plumed or feathered.

Coat: The Kangal (Karabash) Dog has a thick, dense double coat, uniformly short but only very slightly longer on the ruff (neck and shoulders) and neither wavy nor fluffy. The under layer is short and dense. The outer layer is more sparse with longer thicker hairs. In summer the undercoat is shed, creating a slightly less carpet-like appearance. It is this double coat which allows the Kangal (Karabash) Dog to withstand extremes of temperature. The short coat becomes much denser rather than longer in winter, providing protection from ice, sleet, and snow. The Kangal (Karabash) is resistant to cold but not a hot, humid climate. The hair on the face, head and ears is quite short.