Livestock Guardian Dogs

by Shelene
(Nebraska, USA)

I use livestock guardian dogs, and there are many breeds, all of which make great dogs, in the right situation.

Some dogs need a larger territory, some guard the stock, some guard property and what is in it.

I have used Anatolians (a pair) for many years, they have recently been retired and the new guardians are Pyrenees or pyr crosses.

When my old anatolians were getting too old to be effective guardians anymore, we had a young pyr/akbash pup that we were training to follow in their footsteps.

She was not quite ready to really guard, so our general farm dog, a lab mix stepped into the breach to guard the stock.

Gracie began to bark and charge at them, she began to patrol the property lines around the 2+ acre homestead. She also warned off oppossum, raccoons, fox, owls and hawks.

She took the young pup under her wing and taught her to patrol, to bark and even threaten and charge predators if need be.

As the pressure was more than those two young dogs could handle, we added another young pyr pup, who had been raised with his parents patrolling a cattle/sheep ranch. He came in partially trained and stepped right into the supporting role with the two current dogs.

Together the dogs have managed to push the coyotes out past the perimeters of our farm, we haven't lost one bird in the time since. They have done all this, with their presence and ability to patrol and warn the wildlife that this is not hunting territory.

We have a large coyote population, and previously they took the chance to begin to sneak up and pick off our poultry. They got so bold as to come into the yard and snatch birds right from within a hundred feet of me in broad daylight. They circled and threatened during the night.

While we had no losses with the hoofed stock, it would have been a matter of time until birthing season started and the young ones would be very vulnerable from the predators, coyotes in particular here in our neck of the woods.

We look forward to many years with this young crew, guarding our livestock, keeping them safe. Mostly it is simply having the dogs here that does it. But we are happy with the knowledge that if a threat does not leave with the barking, marking territory, that these dogs can take out the offending predator and leave the rest of the ecosystem alone.

Guardian dogs are a viable method of keeping livestock safe, without the use of poisons, guns or other means of random or specific removal of predators. By having the dogs, predators can still live their lives, yet are discouraged from preying on stock, and claiming the pastures and yards as their own territories. They move out past the borders, and find it is easier to prey on wildlife than livestock.

Livestock guardian dogs are a farmer or rancher's best help in keeping livestock safe.