Kars dog

The Kars, known as the Kars Köpeği in Turkish, is a breed of livestock guardian dog from eastern Turkey.

Overview
The Kars takes its name from the town of Kars in Kars Province, although it is also found throughout Ardahan, Artvin, Erzurum and Iğdır provinces in eastern Turkey.

The Kars closely resembles the closely related Caucasian Shepherd Dog which is native to the Caucasus countries over Turkey's north-eastern border. It has a long, heavy double coat (short-coated examples are known) that can be found in a number of colours including black, white, gray, red, yellow and brown, they frequently have white markings on their chest, necks and forelegs; slightly smaller than livestock guardian breeds from central and western Turkey such as the Akbash and the Kangal, the Kars has a mean weight of 44.6 kg and mean height of 72.4 cm. kars considered a purebred turkish breed.

The Kars is used by local shepherds to protect their flocks from predation from various predators found in the region, anecdotes exist of several dogs repulsing and even killing bears.