The livestock guardian dog is a tool to help you decrease sheep predator losses to your stock. While it is often the case that these dogs are highly effective as flock guardians using them doesn't guarantee you will never have another loss. And if you do have losses it does not always mean the dog is not working either.
One dog may not be enough. Depending on your predator pressure, your territory and how many sheep you have to protect it may take several dogs to accomplish the job. Putting one dog with one hundred sheep on 200 acres is asking a lot more of the dog than one dog with one hundred sheep on 40 acres.
It is often that people think all they need to do is drop the dog in with the sheep, leave it alone and all will be well. We thought so to with our first couple of guardian dogs. While this may work with the occasional dog it is rarely the case for all. These dogs do require some of your attention if they are going to serve you as you expect.They do need some training.
LGD's need to learn to respect your fence boundaries and that they are to stay with the flock. Sometimes this involves waiting in the wings to correct the unsuspecting foraying dog who attempts to cross the fence line. Better yet if the dog can be corrected without knowing you are involved.
They need to learn to respect the livestock. Some of the behaviors you may see in this regard are covered in aggressive dog behavior with LGD's.
They are nocturnal so they do work the same hours as the predators who come hunting for your lambs. But they can not be on the alert 24/7 as they do need time to rest which they do during the day when pressure is less.
Regarding guardian dogs and herding dogs sometime it becomes an issue for the herding dog to do his job without being run off by the guardian dog. Often this is easily sorted out with a little preemptive effort by the shepherd. The guardian dog quickly learns that any dogs that accompany the shepherd are supposed to be there.
Care of the dogs. If your method of raising puppies is hands off then the care the dog receives will be less since it will be a chore to catch the dog. We prefer to handle our dogs and make sure they are comfortable and respectful with us which makes routine care less of a chore. Regular vaccinations, particularly for rabies, and worming treatment is highly recommended due to the nature of the job that these dogs do. They will come into contact with all sorts of critters on their daily forays.
Feeding the dogs. It is not recommended that you leave whole carcasses out for your livestock guardian dog. If you wish to make use of cull animals as dog food then skin the carcass and butcher it into sizeable portions. Leaving whole carcasses will attract the very predators you are trying to deter. You may be doubling your dogs work.
As it turns out dry dog kibble, with it's high grain content, is a highly sought after treat among sheep! Finding ways to feed guard dogs or sheep proof feeders to feed with is a daily conundrum. We've given up on self feeders and feed on the ground away from the flock. We also feed a lot of raw meat and scraps in which case there is no issue with the sheep wanting the food more than the dogs do.
Replacement of the dogs. These are large breed dogs who live an outdoors, rugged life. They have shorter life spans. You should expect to replace guard dogs more often and to have an up and comer before you lose your old timers who can teach younger dogs what the job is all about.
It is often that people think all they need to do is drop the dog in with the sheep, leave it alone and all will be well. We thought so to with our first couple of guardian dogs. While this may work with the occasional dog it is rarely the case for all. These dogs do require some of your attention if they are going to serve you as you expect.They do need some training.
