AKDA Karakachan Puppies

  • Litter expected Early 2024 from imported working stock

    • Kyurenitsa 2 Karabash x Margarita Strahil

  • Hips and Genetic Testing Cleared Parents

  • Puppies are Microchipped - Vaccinated - Vet Checked -Registered

  • $2000 each - text 423-496-1070 to be placed on waiting list.

  • See Blanche Farms Karakchans Facebook Page for more pictures

It has been a long road - literally all the way to Bulgaria and back! We have had LGD’s for 25 years, starting with Pyrs, then switching to Anatolians. We had some great dogs, but nothing has come close to the intelligence, loyalty, protective instinct, and work ethic of the Karakachan.

For our situation we needed a dog that could handle the climate swings in comfort, respect boundariaries and not want to wander, be fiercely protective of their herd, but not desire to wander or inceease their territory, and think independently without being hardheaded or untrainable. Oh, and great with kids because we have a riding lesson program on our farm. The Karakachan dog ticked all the boxes and then some. We purchased our first Karakachan in in 2016, and she was everything the breed promised ! 2 years later we added our first male, who went to work the second (literally) we he came home. He parented 3 orphaned lambs and slept between them each night. We were sold!

The history of the Karakachan helps us understand just how exceptional and precious this endangered breed is. The Karakachan is a landrace breed that was used for centuries by the Therasan nomads as the guardian of their flocks, and later as a border guard. The Karakachan Dog evolved through survival of the fittest, from a gene pool that was small through geographical isolation and selective practices of the shepherds. This resulted in a dog that could thrive on very little, possess the intelligence to outsmart the wolf, be quick, and agile but powerful, and be able collaborative flawlessly as a cohesive pack.

Following WWII, when communist rule overtook Bulgaria, the forests were nationalized, the sheep moved from the mountains, and the shepherds were permitted to keep only 2 dogs out of their precious pack of hundreds. These remaining dogs were exterminated for their pelts! Only the few on government owned farms and in remote regions survived. The remaining dogs were fiercely protected by Bulgarian shepherds. In 2005 the first dogs were imported to the United States as an LGD, and as a conservation effort.

The Karakachan has quickly gained a reputation as a superior LGD that filled the gaps of the other LGD breeds in the US. This has been great for the numbers of the breed, but improper breeding practices of genetically inferior animals threatens to take the breed in a very negative direction. We are now faced with the task of properly maintaining this ancient gene pool that makes these dogs truly like no other.

Realizing how limited our gene pool had become in the US, and the fact that there had not been any imports since 2015, we took action. In 2020 I made the decision help diversify our gene pool, by importing from Bulgaria. After months of research and communication with many kennels, I found a puppy that matched my wish list. All the paperwork, planning, and expense were worth it when Karabash 2 Kyurenitsa arrived in the Atlanta airport on April 8th at 3:00 am. He was PERFECT on the car ride home, and instantly started working the minute his feet touched the pasture. He changed everything for us:)

After our first import, we have progressed to breeding only imported stock from pure working lines that will bring positive diversity to our US stock. We imported Margarita Strahil in 2022, and she has been the model guardian. Her signature move is the Katakachan side eye to all who don’t belong:) We just returned from Bulgaria in August 2024, with our latest additions - Balkan Vulkan and Zora Vulkan.

While in Bulgaria we were fortunate enough to be welcomed in by several knowledgeable breeders. We gained invaluable insight and centuries old philosophies into the breeding practices, which bloodlines to use and which to avoid and why, and how they manage and raise their dogs. We will continue these transitions at our farm, and continue to add dogs from these specific lines in the future. Balkan and Zora astound me daily with their work ethic, maturity, intelligence, guardian ability, and delightful personalities. I have never seen Karakachans work without error, literally, at such a young age.

We are actively producing superior working puppies that will eventually reproduce dogs that are exactly like their parents. It’s not just having the exceptional working dog, but one that can reproduce puppies that are just as exceptional, or better.

If you would like to get on our waiting list, please email or text us. . Initially, we will take $25 deposit to get on the waiting list. Picks will be given in order of contact and commitment. Puppies are $2000 each and are all from parents with clear genetic, hip, and elbow testing. The puppies are microchipped, vaccinated, socialized, PAT tested, and raised with sheep, goats, chickens, horses, donkeys, children, other adult dogs, and cats.