It is one of three breeds of flock guardian dog in Turkey, the others being the Akbash and the Kangal.
[4]: 101 The first scientific description was that of David Nelson, presented at the International Symposium on Turkish Shepherd Dogs in Konya in 1996.
[3] The Köpek Irkları ve Kinoloji Federasyonu lists it among the indigenous breeds that it has a duty to protect.
[6] In appearance, the Kars closely resembles the Caucasian Shepherd Dog which is native to the Caucasus countries over Turkey's north-eastern border.
[2][3][4] It has a long, heavy double coat (short-coated examples are known) that can be found in a number of colours including black, white, grey, 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 kilograms (98 lb) and mean height of 72.4 centimetres (28.5 in).