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Hugh,

In regard to your letters about livestock guardian dogs, I would add that we have an Akbash, which is a Turkish livestock guardian dog. This breed is similar in build and appearance to a Pyrenees (white) though less heavily built and shorter (less mess) hair. This is a different breed of cat… if you will!… I am not an expert, but I will say that by and large you do not train these dogs… they do their thing… My wife and I raise various breeds of domestic animals, and we no longer have a predator problem; our farm/ranch is bordered on thousands of acres of forest land, and over the years Lucy has treed and/or run off (that I know of) three cougars; bobcats; bears; coyotes, and who knows what else . She stays relatively close to home; we have four dogs (at present!!). We have two Jack Russell’s for pack rat control; a border collie as a stock dog; and Lucy, our livestock guardian. Lucy is on the lead during the day, and the border collie is on the lead at night, as I do not want them to run, and Lucy does her thing every night– woof woof woof; some nights are more busy than others. This is not a city dog/town dog or a pet. She has a purpose and does it well. That said, she is affectionate to us and I have not seen her be aggressive to strangers. I suppose the biggest problem we have along these lines now is when someone in the area allows their dog to run and I end up having to deal with that issue.

In closing, I would say that the most pressing problems we have in our neck of the woods is noxious weeds and communists, and the priority problem is not necessarily in that order! If I could train Lucy to deal with the latter, we would certainly be living safer lives. Yours in liberty, living in the Redoubt, DB

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HJL,

In response to the letter inquiring about Anatolians, I have had one for the past 10 years. He is the best working dog I have ever had, and I have owned Labradors, Mastiffs, and Great Danes. I acquired him as a puppy of about 30 pounds, and he has developed into an 180-pound giant. His primary objective is to guard his flock, and in my case it is my family that he perceives as his flock. From early in the morning until late at night, this dog patrols the fenced perimeter of my property to the extent that a path has been worn in adjacent to the six-foot fence. If any stranger approaches within about 50 feet of the fence line, he challenges them and as such steps must be taken not to allow him off property, unless leashed under supervision. I live in a rural area and have no fear of trespassers on my property. The dog requires a lot of training initially, mainly to learn that his master is the alpha leader and that they are not in charge. When inside the house, he prefers to sleep in the central area of the house so that he can check on the occupants; he works all of the time. Even as a puppy, he never played with any dog toys or balls; he was all business all of the time. Around family members, he was always gentle and allowed the children to touch and pet at any time. I could go on and on about this guardian I have simply the best dog ever!!! – G.P.

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Hugh,

This is my response to the letter asking about Livestock Guardian Dogs. It turned out quite a bit longer than I expected. I don’t know about the breeds mentioned in the letter, but I have used Marremas to guard sheep on a small sheep farm in southern Oregon. We had 50 to 100 sheep, depending on the time of year, and three Marremas. While the neighbors claimed there where cougars, coyotes, and bears in the surrounding hills, we never lost a single sheep to predation. However, our sheep where in fenced paddocks, and the dogs only had to patrol small areas at any one time. If the sheep had been ranging over a larger area, the dogs may have had more work to do.

That being said, when I first arrived at the farm I was truly impressed at the dogs’ instinct for protecting the sheep. The dogs lived with the sheep full-time throughout the year. Whenever we moved the sheep, the dogs would race ahead and the sheep would follow the dogs. In the pasture, the dogs would patrol the fence-lines or relax with the sheep.

While I’m sure some of their guardian behavior was instinctual, much of it was also taught to them by their parents. One of our dogs was a male about four years old. The other two were his son and daughter who were only a year old when I arrived at the farm, so they were still learning how to behave around sheep. When one of the younger dogs would get too playful with the sheep (sheep don’t like being chased) their father would discipline them. I have heard of dogs being used to guarding pigs and fowl as well as sheep, but ours only protected sheep and goats. They were not used to cows, chickens, or pigs, so they liked to kill chickens and bark at everything else. That’s one thing about LGD’s– they bark A LOT. I did get used to it, but even after several months, they occasionally woke me up at night. Eventually I could tell when they were just barking at a cat or car and when something was wrong, like escaping sheep.

During lambing season, the dogs where quite helpful in that they could tell in advance when a ewe was about to give birth. They would stay close and protect them. They would keep other sheep away but never interfered when a person approached. I’m sure part of that dedication was due to their love for afterbirth. We tried not to let the dogs pull the afterbirth from the ewes who had just lambed, as there is some possibility that it will cause excess bleeding, but I’m sure the dogs did that many times when I wasn’t present and no harm ever came of it. There were a few times that we found partially-eaten newborn lambs. However, since the dogs never killed any lambs, I believe they were still-born and the dogs knew they were already dead. I didn’t begrudge the dogs the occasional bit of dead lamb. When a lamb or sheep would die of illness or accident, I would cut it up and feed it to the dogs. One issue I ran into was that some of the sheep developed a taste for dog food. Feeding a raw meat diet would solve that problem. If your sheep develop a taste for raw meat, you have bigger problems.

The dogs where very friendly and always excited to see people. I never saw them growl or bark at anyone, except in greeting. They were not well trained or obedient. They didn’t know how to walk on a leash or sit or stay. They would come when called, if they felt like it, but I think that independence is normal for dogs that are left without supervision most of the time. Perhaps, they could have been trained, but then they may have become too attached to people. The Marremas were NOT friendly to other dogs. As the younger male matured, he started to bump heads with his father. When they started fighting and wounding each other, we had to separate them. By the way, NEVER get between two fighting dogs. A farm-hand tried that and got bitten, though it was not serious and the dog really did look sorry afterward. To separate fighting dogs, you can grab their tails to pull them apart. Perhaps if they had more room to roam they would have settled their hierarchy and got along. I know other ranchers have larger packs of LGD’s. The father and brother never fought the female, but the breeder told me that female Marremas will actually fight each other to the death. Our older male often had to guard the sheep on his own, because the younger dogs really did not like being alone. I think LGD’s work better in teams and are happier. I don’t believe they see themselves as sheep, so the sheep don’t provide the same companionship another dog would.

Right now I don’t have any sheep or enough livestock to justify keeping LGD’s. They eat a lot of dog food, so you need quite a few animals to justify the cost. You also need good fencing and tight gates to keep the dogs from wandering. Our dogs learned to respect the electric fence better than the sheep did. If I ever have enough sheep to justify keeping livestock guard dogs again, I absolutely will, but I’ll make sure they get along with chickens too. – A.G.

Dear Editor,

We are ranchers in northern Maine and have owned and bred livestock guardian dogs for many years. Our particular breed is the Russian Ovcharka, but we also have a Great Pyranees, along with a Border Collie, who is not a guardian dogs but is used to scout ahead on trails to flush dangerous animals and round up or move livestock.

There are many things to consider when purchasing a livestock guardian dog:

1. What is their mission.

   Our dogs have a dual purpose. First, it is to patrol the inner farm perimeter and keep out two- and four-legged predators, especially at night when we sleep. We have fox, coyote, black bear, and a few wolves and even lynx around. Livestock guardian dogs use their waste to mark the perimeter to let predators know they are here; also they stay awake all night, and often bark to announce their presence as protectors, especially the Ovcharkas. Barking is the way that they de-escalate confrontation; most predators will hear the barking and go find easier pickings. They will also chase off the eagles that try to steal our chickens or baby sheep. This works well for us, but it might not work for you if you are a light sleeper.

   The second mission our dogs have is to guard our people. We have an inner, fenced, farm perimeter that surrounds our buildings, including barns and home. Two dogs are used at night to patrol this yard, and at least one dog sleeps in each building occupied by people. It might be mentioned that Ovcharkas can be trained not to bark inside unless entry is attempted by an unauthorized person, or if a certain danger bark is transmitted by our outside dogs. Ovcharkas are extremely protective at night, or if the persons or animals they are protecting are lying down. We have raised our dogs not to trust strangers, which increases our security but also requires us to secure the dogs if we have guests. On the good side, there have been many break-ins lately in our area by drug addicts, yet we have never had to lock our doors; the whole town respects the presence of these dogs. Also, our neighbors have had bears tear into their metal poultry sheds to eat their poultry, but our dogs seem to keep them away.

   Our dogs consider themselves ‘off duty’ if we take them on a walk, so although they would protect me if I were attacked, they do not bark and are not aggressive toward strangers who approach me to speak to me on the street, unless the person yells or acts aggressively.

   If you are just looking for a dog to warn you of danger, just about any dog will do, including a small mutt, so you may not need a livestock guardian dog. On the other hand, if you want security, I can tell you that even living remotely with my husband on business travel I feel completely secure having these dogs around, especially at night.

   Different livestock guardian dogs have different natures, although conditioning also affects nature. For example, if a burglar experienced with dogs came on our property with just our Pyranees out and acted properly, our Pyranees would likely not bite him. That’s not so with our Ovcharkas; they are all business, which is both an advantage and a danger. Our Ovcharkas are very loyal, and once they bond to you there is no better personal protection dog. Study closely the nature of each breed, browse the web to read about each breed, then select a dog with the traits best suited to the purpose you have in mind for them.

2. Your climate.

   For us, we needed dogs that can patrol our yard in 20 below zero, windy weather at night. Many breeds can not handle this; even our Great Pyranees sometimes has to be put inside if it gets below -20, but our Ovcharkas have never gotten cold, even down to 40 below. On the other hand, Ovcharkas and even Great Pyranees would suffer in a temperate climate like Georgia or Florida, so another breed would have to be used in such a case.

3. Time management.

   Livestock guardian dogs require lots of your time and training. You must have a strong personality to be the dominant figure in their pack, and you must consistently train them to behave the way you want them to behave, especially in the area of socialization. These are not always good dogs for someone to own who is gone all the time, especially when the dog is young.

4. Breeders.

   Even the best dog can be ruined by a bad breeder. Get the outside scoop and references for a breeder before you buy a dog from them.

We hope this helps you with your selection process. – G.L.

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HJL,

We have an Anatolian Shepherd that we rescued from the pound. Although we have no livestock other than chickens, with no training she is an excellent guard dog. These are very independent, large dogs. She positions herself in our backyard, so that she can keep eyes on both the gates. At times, she follows our chickens around the backyard, staying about six feet behind them. It’s quite humorous to watch. – B.C.

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Dear A.S.,

Having a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) can be a rewarding experience, but if you’ve never owned one or don’t know anyone who has one, they can be frightening. These dogs are “Dominant breed” dogs or the “special forces” of domestic dogs and are not for a novice dog owner. Similar breeds in this category would be Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherd, Kangal, Barzoi, Kuvatz, Marema, Tibetan Mastiff, and more. Even the English Mastiff is a dominant breed dog. They cannot be trained with physical correction, such as smacking or hitting, because they are bred to oppose aggression and confrontation. They must be trained with non-confrontational techniques, like an electronic collar. I’m sure there are age old techniques, but I was unable to find those. It would benefit you greatly to find a breeder in your state that also works their dogs with livestock. This way they can help you through learning how to make this kind of dog part of your homestead. Buy an appropriate-sized kennel, and an outdoor dog yard that has a canopy and dog house.

My husband and I purchased an LGD puppy in 2013; we thought we had read and prepared enough. We were in your situation, not having someone we could get advice from. The folks we purchased him from are two hours away. These dogs require structure and a daily routine, but raising a dominant breed puppy is even more labor intensive. We have since discovered that a “first-timer” would do better off to get a dog that is older than two years of age and neutered or spayed. This eliminates going through the potentially difficult “rebellion” period that occurs between 16-18 months of age. Depending on the personality of the dog it can be mild disobedience to scary aggression. If you do a web search for guardian breed rescues, you will see hundreds. I believe this is because of that rebellion period that most of them have before two years of age. Even those famous trainers, Millan and Katz, talk about this period in young dogs.

We had a scary time during this period, and we almost put our dog down until we found some helpful information on the Internet and a capable trainer that knew how to handle “dominant dogs”. The techniques are similar to training other strong-willed animals, such as horses, llamas, camels, even elephants. Do your research! You will find a lot of websites with very benign sounding advice on training a LGD puppy, but it is more intensive than these people are saying. Their young lives must be scheduled and regulated daily; nothing is free for them to choose. Just like the animals mentioned above, the training is an investment of the first 3-4 years of daily training, structure, and review. Their time with livestock must also be on the schedule and time learning to obey the dog’s people with leashed walks, grooming, learning commands, et cetera. That’s why I am recommending an older dog and not a puppy. I was blessed to speak with a man who raised English Mastiffs, understood our troubles, and was very helpful. Find someone to guide you.

Our two-year old male is settling down now. We’ve had to regulate his life for the past six months. He’s now beginning to understand his place in our world. He’s very smart and has learned a long list of his commands within 2-3 repetitions. He’s fast and strong, but it’s been ALOT of work. I’m not trying to discourage you but to inform you that this kind of dog requires more of your input than your average Golden Retriever. Good luck, – K.M. in Ohio