17 Ways to Keep Your Akbash Active

akbash dog puppies are playing

If you’re looking to keep your Akbash active, there’s no doubt that you can find plenty of activities to engage in. It can often be extremely difficult to find these activities after letting your dog participate in activity after activity.

After all, you can do only so many things with your dog, right? Despite that being the case ⁠— in a way, at least ⁠— there’s no doubt that you can create almost infinite activities that you can participate in with your dog simply by mixing things up and making different things fun.

There’s no limit to creativity; your dog will have every activity they could imagine just from the comfort of your home. They’ll have even more things to do, which will keep them active when you start branching out.

You may think it’s a struggle to keep your Akbash active. After all, this dog can easily become content to lounge around the house all day. Like any dog, the Akbash doesn’t have to stay true to its roots. Despite being a giant working dog breed, there’s no question that this dog would jump at the chance to be your pet and lounge around.

But the fact does remain that the Akbash is a flock guardian dog, bred to protect livestock from predators in Turkey. And while your Akbash may not be chasing off coyotes, he does need plenty of exercise to stay happy and healthy.

The Akbash is a large, athletic dog that needs a fair amount of space to move around. Because of this, it’s important to get creative when finding things for your dog to do.

These dogs are meant for working, so they thrive on having a job. If you have livestock to watch over, that’s great! There’s no doubt that this will keep your Akbash active all day long. Plus, it’ll keep them happy ⁠— these dogs thrive off guarding livestock, after all. But if not, there are plenty of other ways to keep your Akbash busy.

If you’re looking for some ideas on things your Akbash can do to stay active and busy, then these 17 ways to keep your Akbash active are things to consider. Plus, it’s important to remember that you can always get creative ⁠—nothing is stopping you from doing that.

an akbash sheep dog protecting the herd

1. Get Your Dog a Food Toy

A food toy is a great way to keep your Akbash active, as it’ll require them to use their nose and brain to figure out how to get the food out. It is a great way to keep your dog’s mind active, as they’ll need to problem-solve to get the food.

Interestingly enough, giving your Akbash a food toy such as a Kong toy can also help prevent separation anxiety. The dog will associate you leaving with getting a Kong toy, so they’ll be less anxious when you eventually leave them alone.

Even if this isn’t the primary reason you end up giving your doggy a food toy, there’s no question that these toys will keep your Akbash active. After all, they’ll need to use their brainpower to figure out how to get the food, and that’s a good thing. Plus, it’ll keep your dog on the move until they’ve gotten every morsel of food out of the stuffed food toy.

Believe it or not, these toys are extremely inexpensive as well. The Akbash breed may be a livestock guardian and a large dog, but they’ll undoubtedly become a giant puppy no matter if you’re buying a name brand or a budget food toy.

2. Stop Feeding Your Dog Your Food

It may seem extremely obvious, but one super-easy way to help your animal increase their activity is to stop feeding your Akbash puppy’s food off your plate. There’s no doubt that every dog owner is tempted to do this at one time or another ⁠— unlike cats, dogs are always avidly interested in finding as much food as possible from their owner’s plates and convincing their owners to let that food end up in their mouth.

Despite this, allowing your dog to eat your food can increase their physical weight gain and help your guard dog improve their agility and stay more active overall. Though this may not be a small dog with as much overflowing energy as a border collie, for example, the Akbash breed is undoubtedly a breed that requires energy and shouldn’t be sitting at the table begging for ⁠— and receiving ⁠— treats.

For this reason, it’s always a good idea to stop feeding your dog food. It remains true for every dog, even a livestock guardian dog. Though we humans often treat food as a good reward, this isn’t always the case for dogs.

Because of this, dog owners should be careful to keep their dogs away from too much food. Also, we should be careful to use too much food to reward our dogs. Beyond this, it’s important to keep your puppy on a strictly balanced diet that will benefit their overall activity.

Diet is a large aspect of keeping your dog fit and healthy, and because of this should be an important thing to consider when you’re trying to increase your dog’s activity.

Rather than increasing their activity, one way to solve the overlying problem may be to start feeding your dog the right dog food.

3. Take Your Akbash on a Walk

Taking your Akbash on a walk can be an easy way to increase their total activity and have fun. Walks may be one of the most classic activities when people think about dogs, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less important.

There are many arguments that walks don’t get as much recognition as they deserve. Keep in mind that walking your dog doesn’t just benefit them. It provides benefits for you.

Plus, there’s no reason to feel uncomfortable when you’re taking your Akbash for a walk ⁠— after all, this is a very large dog breed that was bred to be a guardian dog. They’ll take as much care of you as you do of them. It, of course, is one of the many great joys of owning a dog ⁠— and something that makes many people hang a poster on their wall saying “Who Saved Who?” in honor of their dog’s loyalty.

After all, the Akbash breed is one known to be extraordinarily loyal. You don’t want to put them in a situation where they need to protect you, but your dog wouldn’t hesitate if they needed to.

Three Akbash puppies running around in grass

4. Go to the Dog Park With Your Akbash

Going to the dog park with your Akbash is another fundamentally great idea that can help increase your puppy’s activity tenfold.

Dog parks are quite literally designed to increase your puppy’s activity. After all, there’s nothing more activity-inducing than spending time socializing and playing with other dogs, or simply running and playing fetch while you watch.

Because of this, taking your Akbash to the dog park can be a great idea, there’s no question about it. Even though there are plenty of considerations you have to consider before taking your dog to a park, it can be an overall positive experience as long as you ensure your puppy is trained properly and knows how to socialize with other dogs.

So why hesitate? So long as your Akbash won’t freak out, there’s nothing wrong with taking them to the dog park and letting them run wild ⁠— or keeping them on a leash if necessary.

5. Play Nose Work Games

Playing nose work games with your Akbash can be a great way to pass the time and keep your puppy active. Ultimately, doing this with your doggo is a fantastic way to train them and teach them to listen to commands.

Because of this, playing nose work games with your doggo should be one of your top choices when thinking of a creative pastime to help them burn some energy.

6. Create an Obstacle Course for Your Akbash

No matter if you make an indoor one or an outdoor obstacle course, creating an obstacle course for your Akbash can give them the environment needed to get rid of all that pent-up energy they’re likely to have accumulated throughout the day.

Ultimately, helping your puppy by doing this is a great thing for any dog owner ⁠— especially a self-identified dog lover ⁠— to do. You may falter when you consider the work that goes into creating an obstacle course.

With that being said, this could be one of your top picks for your dog to expend energy in the long run. As long as you’re dedicated enough, there’s no question that creating an obstacle course for your Akbash is a great idea.

Akbash dog walking along a wooden wall, sniffing

7. Play Fetch

Another classic, but this is undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to help your dog get rid of that annoying excess energy that keeps them bouncing off the walls.

If you’re looking to keep your Akbash active, there’s no better method than to play fetch and let your dog go at it with a stick, tennis ball, rope, or anything else.

8. Tug-Of-War Tires Your Dog Out

Playing tug-of-war will tire your dog out. Pulling on the weight of a human ⁠— no matter how hefty or light ⁠— is going to make even the biggest dog ⁠— from a Labrador Retriever to an Australian shepherd to your very own Akbash ⁠— extremely tired.

9. Play Hide and Seek

Another great option is to play hide and seek with your doggo. Keeping an Akbash active doesn’t just have to be fun for them.

It can also be fun for you ⁠— and playing hide and seek with your Akbash is a great way to do this.

10. Take Your Akbash to an Event

Taking your Akbash to an event ⁠— whether a dog-specific event or something more related to you ⁠— can be a great way to let them burn energy.

Even if the event you take your Akbash to isn’t specifically related to your dog or activities they can do, there’s no doubt that this will let them run around and burn some much-needed energy.

anatolian akbash dog peeking over a stone wall on a sunny fall day

11. Join a Dog Meet Group

Joining a doggy meetup group is a great smaller alternative to taking your Akbash to a dog park. It is especially true if your dog isn’t great with social situations.

If your Akbash either gets nervous or aggressive when surrounded by too many dogs, there’s no doubt that you can easily remedy this by only exposing them to smaller groups at first and then later on expanding it to a larger size.

12. Let Your Dog Play

Letting your dog play is another great way to keep them active. Remember, keeping your dog active isn’t always something you must do yourself.

Rather, you can just let your dog run free and find fun activities to do, such as hunting, foraging, and scavenging.

Akbash dog rubbing its head on the grass

13. Train Your Akbash

Training your Akbash to do things ⁠— whether it’s related to what the breed has been created to do, like guarding livestock or something else entirely ⁠— is another fantastic way to keep them active.

Plus, training your Akbash will allow you to control your dog better. It is ultimately a great way to increase your dog’s activity while also working on a bond with them.

14. Buy a Dog Treadmill

If you have some money or budget to play around with, then buying a doggy treadmill is a great option.

Undoubtedly, a doggy treadmill could keep any dog ⁠— from an Akbash to a pit bull ⁠— extremely active. These machines are quite literally built for this purpose.

15. Let Your Akbash Chase Bubbles

Allowing your Akbash to chase bubbles is a great indoor activity for those colder winter days when they can’t get outside to play fetch.

It is a much less damaging and much safer option for indoor play.

16. Go on a Play Date

Taking your dog on a play date is another great idea when you’re trying to think of ways to keep your Akbash active. Keep in mind that you get to choose the type of dog you go on a playdate with.

Because of this, you could even take your Akbash on a playdate with another guardian or livestock dogs like a Tibetan Mastiff or an Australian Shepherd.

An Akbash and another dog in a field

17. Mix It Up

Remember, there’s ultimately no reason to keep things mundane when keeping your Akbash puppy or adult dog active. It doesn’t matter what type of dog you own ⁠— an Irish Wolfhound, a Siberian Husky, or even a Yorkshire Terrier.

All dogs are the same in that they love to participate in activities with their owners and don’t mind what those activities are so long as their owner is having fun.

As a dog lover, one of the easiest ways to keep your dog active and stay motivated is to mix it up. Don’t do the same mundane things every time. Instead, try new and different activities.

One example might be taking your Akbash on a hike one day, then playing fetch with them at the park the next. It will help keep things interesting for you and your dog and ensure you’re both getting the most out of your time together.

Ultimately, the best way to keep your Akbash dog active is to spend time with them and have fun simply. They’ll love you for it, and you’ll be able to bond with them in a way that only active dogs can understand.

Unlimited Fun for Limited Energy

In the end, keeping your dog active is an easy way to increase your dog’s activity (which should be obvious) and improve your dog’s mental health.

There are near-infinite benefits to helping your dog stay active. It doesn’t matter what dog breed you own ⁠— though, for many dogs like the Akbash, it can be important to remember the tasks they’ve been bred for when trying to figure out what to do ⁠— so long as you keep them active and happy.

A Saint Bernard is as much of a dog that’ll enjoy participating in fun activities with its owner as a Pit Bull or even an Akbash.

So when trying to keep your sweet puppy active, remember that these 17 ways to keep your Akbash active are only the beginning.

Have fun by bringing energetic ideas to the table, and watch your dog slowly drain their repositories of energy until they’re finally content.

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