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Livestock Guardian Dogs Guide
Our beloved Sam, escorting a goat kid who is only a few days old. Sam came to us as a rescued LGD through the National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network (NASRN) as a 9 year old dog. Despite being a senior dog, he taught us an immeasurable amount about how amazing these dogs can be. We lost him as a 13 year old in 2009, shortly after this photo was taken. He worked right up to the end. We still miss you, Sam.
A Crash Course In The Realities Of Life
With An LGD
Have you thought about getting a livestock guardian dog for your small
farm or ranch, but you weren't sure if it would work out? Have you
admired these dog breeds and wondered if they would be suitable for a
suburban or urban home without livestock? If you have ever thought about
adopting or buying a livestock guardian dog for any reason, this page
is for you.
We have received countless questions over the years, about the pro's and
con's of livestock guardian dogs. And there are definitely pro's and
con's. This page was originally written to answer two such questions
recently. But as the information became more comprehensive, it became
clear to us that it was too much info for an email. We also wanted to
make this information freely available to anyone searching for it,
rather than limit the information to the members of a single email list
(which has been where a lot of these Question/Answer sessions occur).
Towards that end, we created this web page.
We hope that this page answers most of the preliminary questions that
most folks will have as they consider whether to acquire a livestock
guardian dog. If you, Dear Reader, still have questions beyond what's
listed here, please let us know and we'll add that question, and our
best attempt at an answer, here on this page.
What Constitutes a Livestock Guardian Dog?
Livestock guardian dogs are a group of breeds which were not developed
in the same place, or at the same time, but rather developed in the same
way. These breeds have been created all over the world, in basically
the same ways - breeding dogs over hundreds of generations, always
improving certain characteristics that proved useful when guarding other
animals.
Those characteristics are:
1) very low prey drive, ie, they will NOT chase down prey animals even
when those animals run away (many other dog breeds have medium to very
high prey drive, and will chase anything that moves away from them -
cars, balls, people, cats, etc). Many so-called working dogs do NOT
make good livestock guardian dogs because they are too prone to chasing
down the animals they are supposed to protect. For instance, border
collies, German Shepherds, Australian shepherds and true herding dogs
would make a poor guardian dog. They want to "work" the animals, not
leave them in peace and quiet.
2) Large size. Most livestock guardian breeds are in the 90-120# range
and above. Some females will be at the low end of that scale and some
males for some breeds can go well above 150#.
3) A rough hair coat which gives them good protection from the elements
in which they were bred. Not all dogs were bred for all conditions -
Anatolian shepherds were bred on the arid plateaus of Turkey and Asia
Minor, and as such they are high desert dogs. They can take bitter cold
but don't do well in driving rain. Other breeds such as Komodor could
stand out in a hurricane and hardly notice because their long locks of
hair channel the rain away.
4) Independent and sometimes "stubborn" nature. LGD's were bred to work
remotely, often without any human interaction at all. As such, they
make their own rules, set their own priorities and decide for themselves
where to patrol and how far away to range from the animals they
protect. In more recent usage, they are usually housed much closer to
residences and as such must learn how to be good canine citizens with
basic obedience. They often do extremely well in obedience class in
terms of being calm, respectful and cooperative, and a number of LGD's
have earned various obedience titles. However, when they are working,
they will suddenly develop selective hearing (ie, they ignore commands)
and handle situations as they see fit. Human handlers need to be ready
for this possibility, and be proactive about things like strange
children wandering into the yard, UPS guy coming to the porch, etc.
Should LGD's be raised in isolation, or integrated into family life?
When LGD's were first introduced to the US as a solution for livestock protection, the general recommendation was to limit human handling and leave the dogs at a young age with the animals they were intended to protect. Since then, LGD owners and trainers have figured out that the opposite should be done - these dogs should be well socialized to both human beings and a variety of other animals. This does not interfere with their ability to bond with and protect their flocks/herds. Rather, it prepares them for the reality of modern life, where they are much more likely to come into contact with people, kids, other animals, etc than they were on their ancient territories.
This exposure also helps LGD's form bonds with EVERYTHING in the family - the people, the pets, the livestock, even the friends, family and business acquaintances for any given household, farm or ranch. If any of these individuals have legitimate reasons to visit a property where an LGD is working, then the LGD should be introduced to them in advance, under controlled circumstances. Even people like the UPS delivery person, the meter readers, the post office delivery person, etc, should be introduced to the dog. For those personnel who will only be on the property for a short time, for instance repair or construction people, an introduction under relaxed situations will go far in reassuring the dog that all is well. This can help prevent issues where the dog is uncertain about whether an individual has legitimate reasons to be on the property.
Sometimes we can't introduce visitors in advance, so we just have to do the best we can. There have been several occasions here where we needed to call a veterinarian for emergency care of a sick animal. Under those circumstances, no one is relaxed or casual. Still, try to reassure the dog that no matter what else might be going on, that particular person is needed there, at that particular time.
THis may seem like a tall order, and it is important to make these introductions as often, and in as relaxed a manner as possible. Yet the dogs also pick up on our own body language to help them determine who belongs and who doesn't. When farm vets have visited here for emergency services, sometimes in the middle of the night, somehow our dogs have known they were there for legitimate reasons. They didn't even bark. When we have been inspected by various state agencies, again the dogs picked up on our deference to the inspectors, and were quiet and respectful themselves.
A friend had an interesting story to tell along these lines. While they were building their house, they had contractors in and out and all over the property, for weeks on end. Their several LGD's became accustomed to the many new individuals coming and going. The standard routine was for the general contractor to meet with our friend, and her dogs, upon first arriving each day, and at that time any new employees would be introduced. From that point on, the dogs didn't hassle the workers. Yet one new employee got a different response. Of all the dozens of people working on that project, somehow the dogs didn't like this particular person. They growled, their hackles stood up, and they physically blocked the person from coming on the property. Everyone was very surprised. The new employee was intensely insulted, and walked off the job in a rage. Later, the general contractor found out that particular employee had been recently convicted of small thefts on previous job sites. The general contractor fired him. Somehow, the dogs knew that this person, of all the people on the job site was not trustworthy.
Can Livestock Guardian Dogs Be Trained To Do Obedience, Agility or Therapy Dog work?
Training an LGD is not like working with other breeds. They are not Laboradors, ie easy to train, always responsive, and eager to please. On the other hand, they are extremely intelligent, acutely aware of everyone's demeanor around them (ie they can tell very quickly when someone is nervous, tired, wounded, angry, happy, etc), who is in control of any given situation, and they will readily prioritize a situation to sort out what's important and what's not. So in terms of intelligence, they are very easily trained. But in terms of obedience, they will consider most "commands" to be "suggestions" instead. Many LGD owners talk about how their dogs had perfect obedience manners in the show ring and/or in class, but then won't obey when out and about in public. Most LGD owners believe this is not because the dog is distracted, but rather because the dog is more "on guard" and less likely to be willing to follow a command to Sit or Stay or Come, when there are various potential threats to be monitored. That being said, there are LGD's doing wonderful obedience work, agility competition and even therapy work. These dogs have chosen, for their own reasons, to apply themselves to those tasks. Regardless of how easily any given LGD can be trained, all LGD owners are strongly encouraged to at least complete basic obedience with their dogs, so that the dogs are better canine citizens and so that the owners can effectively handle their dogs in multiple situations.
I've Heard Livestock Guardian Dogs are Aggressive and Dominant
First, let's define the words "aggressive" versus "dominant". They are not the same.
Dominance is the desire to be at the top of the pecking order.
Literally, the "top dog" in the pack. That pack might be other dogs, a
family of humans, a herd of goats, or any gathering of individuals of
any species. The desire to be dominant means that the dog would have
first rights to everything - the dominant animal gets to choose when to
eat, when to drink, where to sleep, where to sit, where to stand, where
to walk, etc. That dominant animal is "alpha", and gets to make all the
decisions. If there is a contest between two individuals (whether that
means two dogs, a dog and a human or a dog and any other animals), a
dominant animal will use any tool at its disposal to "win", whether that
tool is force, intimidation, threats, body language, barking, etc. But
dominance usually does not come down to actual injury.
Aggression, on the other hand, is the desire to inflict damage, for any
reason. It could be motivated by fear - if a dog has been abused, they
might answer future abuse with growling, snarling and biting. If they
are food aggressive, they will guard food by threatening and then
carrying out a threat to do bodily damage if anyone interferes with
their food. These are only two examples - there are many more.
Unfortunately for dogs, they use some of the same body language for both
intentions. If you don't know a dog very well, you might not know that
a growl is a sign of aggression or dominance. Some dogs will seem to
be one when in fact they are the other. Some dogs will do both. But
one rule of thumb is that almost ALL dogs will seek to determine who is
Alpha in any given group, so the question of dominance will eventually
come up. Fortunately, most dogs do not resort to aggression unless they
are threatened with bodily harm, and/or believe that someone or
something they are guarding is being threatened such that they go into
protection mode. Many, many, many dog bite incidents are because human
beings did not understand dog body language, and/or ignored body
language cues that the dog was giving to warn them off.
The question of dominance is one that comes up often. These are
confident dogs, and most will eventually assert themselves and try to
figure out who's actually in charge. That results in subtle and then
more and more direct challenge to every human handler in the family,
sooner or later. Some advocate training them early before they reach
full size, and that's definitely preferable. But most LGD's will begin
to test their limits when they reach full size anyway, and determine
who's truly leader of the pack. The #1 reason for LGD surrender to
rescue groups is that they became pushy and dominant over their human
handlers. This situation can be avoided if the human knows what to
expect, is ready with appropriate training/handling methods, and stays
consistent.
Happily, some very good dog trainers have already worked out a
collection of strategies known as either Alpha Dog Boot Camp, or Nothing
In Life Is Free. These methods are essentially the same thing - a
series of techniques and lessons that will give the human the tools to
take command and stay in command, with the vast majority of dogs (LGD or
otherwise). These techniques work regardless of breed, age, sex or
previous training of the dog in question. They also work regardless of
age, size, sex or experience of the human handler. They are universally
effective. If you are thinking to get a dog of any kind, but
particularly an LGD, arm yourself with either NILIF or Alpha Dog Boot
Camp tools FIRST. Then you'll be in a strong position to answer the
question of who is in charge. Because YOU will be in charge.
Ironically, the stronger the dog, the more they will likely respect that
leadership once it has been established and enforced. For more reading
on NILIF and Alpha Dog Boot Camp, check out the resources listed below,
in the Additional Sources of Information section.
One further note: For those readers who are small-statured, whether male
or female, it is important to say that size is not the determining
issue when it comes to determining who is Alpha Dog. Many
small-statured women have very successfully handled LGDs that outweigh
them 2:1, once those ladies learned how to handle the dogs
appropriately. Children have also learned how to successfully work with
these big, confident dogs. In fact, using force and larger size to try
to dominate the dogs physically is absolutely the wrong approach, and
is nearly guaranteed to provoke further conflict, rather than turn down
the contest. So, if folks can't use size and strength, what approach
should be used?
Some LGD's will never push that boundary. Some push it every single
waking minute. There are a lot of practical things an owner can do to
stack the deck in his/her favor and develop a working relationship with
the LGD such that everyone is happy. See below for some websites which
provide LOTS of info about this. But it's something that needs to be
considered in advance. Once those contests start, it's important to
recognize them for what they are and nip that process in the bud. If a
person is considering an LGD but doesn't want that responsibility (and
it's not like we're talking about police dogs or high levels of
training; just someone willing to be in charge), then LGD's might be
more of a hassle than a help. With a 150lb animal, it's in the owner's
best interests (and the dog's) to learn what that contest is going to
look like, and be ready for it. By reading about it in advance, every
potential owner (man or woman, large or small) can have some strategies
or methods in mind. So when that day arrives, the owner can very
quickly and competently step forward to say "you want to know who's in
charge? I am. You're #2 (or whatever). Now let's get back to work." It
really can be that easy, if folks know in advance what to expect.
How should LGD's be trained to stay home?
LGD's will range far from home if given the chance. Once upon a time this was prudent, so that they could either patrol and find out if predators were in the area, and/or drive them off before they got too close to the herds/flocks. Ranging over a 10 square mile area was a day's work. In today's world of subdivisions, highways and high population densities, all reputable LGD breeders and rescue groups strongly advocate (or flat out require) at least a 5' woven or chain link fence to contain the LGD. That keeps the dogs home where they belong, and out of neighbor's yards, off the highways and out of trouble. You CANNOT train an LGD to simply "stay home". They will push the boundaries of what is theirs until they meet a boundary they cannot cross. All too often, that "boundary" is a neighbor with a gun, an Animal Control officer or a car on the highway. The #2 reason LGD's are turned into rescue groups for adoption is that their owners didn't have adequate fencing, and they wouldn't stay home, regardless of training. Expect that any rescue group or breeder you work with will require a good stout fence to keep them home. If fencing is not an option for whatever reason, LGDs will probably be a LOT of hassle because they'll keep getting out and running off.
Do LGD's work better as guard dogs or as family dogs?
LGD's are often said to be "aloof and uncaring". That is not true. LGD's can form very strong bonds of loyalty, devotion and affection with their human owners, even while also being loyal and devoted to the herds/flocks they protect. The notion that LGD's can only bond with either the flock or the human is utterly false. An LGD in a loving family will form strong bonds with all the members of that family, whether that's a single person or a big family with lots of kids and hundreds of livestock. The LGD will guard them all.
How can I tell if a particular LGD will make a good guardian?
The vast majority of LGD's can successfully be trained to guard anything
- 2-legged kids, 4-legged kids, ducks, chickens, horses, tractors,
gardens, kittens, whatever. If an LGD is tossed out into a field and
left to their own devices, they will pick and choose what they decide to
guard. That choice may not be what was intended by the owner. If they
are handled intelligently and introduced to "their jobs", ie, which
flocks, which kids, which areas, they will learn THAT is their job and
they'll defend it with their lives against all comers. A lot of the
dogs we have rescued (we've rescued 5) were turned in for adoption
because "they wouldn't guard". A few short interviews with their
previous owners found that in every single case, the previous owners
thought they would just automatically "know" what to do, and then didn't
like the choices the dog made in that vacuum of training. All five of
our LGD's have turned out to be fantastic livestock guards, and we
trained them all after they were already adults. That success rate
isn't because we're hotshot trainers. It's simply because we showed
them what we wanted them to guard, and set them up to be successful in
that particular job. There is the occasional LGD which has too high a
prey drive or too aggressive a nature or whatever. That will happen in
any population. But it's extremely rare.
The question here is not one of active training per se, but rather the
owner deciding what he/she wants the dog to protect, then setting them
up to be successful with that job. That usually means setting up either
temporary or permanent housing with their "protectees" so that they can
get used to their protectees over a period of time (usually a few
months) without anyone starting to play so rough that things get out of
hand. We have five LGDs guarding different areas of the farm - one with
the cows/horses, one with the goats/sheep, two with the chickens/small
animals, and one watching the front driveway (really!). So some careful
thought should be given in advance to where the dog will be, what the
dog will be guarding, and whether the dog needs to be protected from the
"protectee" or vice versa. What we've done is set up each new dog near
(but not in) the pen or yard they will eventually guard, such that the
dog can watch them all day every day. Then throughout the day, we get
the dog used to the people, animals, events, vehicles etc which will be
coming and going as part of normal business. That includes introducing
people (like the vet) who might be in working with the animals being
protected. Nothing makes a vet crankier than being bitten on the butt
by an LGD while working on a goat. If the dog is going to be in a home,
give the dog an area (like a kennel or crate) which he/she can retire
to, eat in and otherwise be in without being hassled by kids or other
pets. And provide lots of walks around the perimeter of the area to be
guarded, even if that's only a backyard. By setting the boundaries the
schedule and the expectations early, the LGD will sort out right from
wrong much, much more easily.
People say LGD's should be obtained from a breeder raising them with livestock, in order to make sure they learn how to guard livestock. But then I hear about rescue groups trying to re-home older dogs. Which source is better?
The question sometimes comes up about whether to get an LGD from a
breeder, or a rescue organization. There are pro's and con's to both. A
breeder can give you information about their parents, can provide good
handling right from birth, can raise them with livestock so they are
already accustomed to the animals, and provide a solid foundation of
learning in a safe environment. Those breeders put a lot of work into
their dogs and their pricetag reflects that. If you want to work with a
breeder, they should be willing and able to provide references for
other families who have purchased dogs from them. Talk to those
families and see if the breeder continued to provide support,
encouragement, answers and information as the family got used to the new
dog. If the breeder does not show much interest in how you'll be using
the dog, the type of home it's going to, and/or doesn't want to be
contacted after the sale, keep shopping for another breeder.
Rescue organizations can sometimes give a lot of information about a
dog, but sometimes no details at all. However, they often do at least
preliminary testing with each dog to determine the personality traits,
flush out big problems, etc. Most LGD's are turned in for adoption
between the ages of 18-30 months, so they have most of their working
lives ahead of them. While any dog from any source should get basic
obedience training, these older dogs are often much easier to handle.
They are more settled and have outgrown their goofy puppy stage where
they destroy everything and need constant attention. Most rescue groups
have extremely stringent adoption policies, for the simple reason that
they don't want the dog to be adopted out only to have that adoption
fail. Every rescue group I've ever worked with will try to work with a
family where a dog was placed, and solve any problems that come along,
but they will take a dog back if the adoption doesn't work. The only
exception to that is in the case of a dog biting a human being. Most
states now have a one-strike-and-you're-out clause where rescue groups
cannot adopt out a dog that has ever bitten a human being. That's why
they work so hard to make sure that adoptions work, and the dogs are in
good homes with good training so that bites are less likely. That's a
sore point right now, because a lot of good dogs are put down after a
bite that was totally justified. But whether folks agree with it or
not, it's the law that those rescue groups must work within. Cost for a
dog from a rescue group is usually much, much less than from a breeder,
even when these animals are purebred and registered (three of our five
were purebred with papers).
I've heard that LGD's bark a lot. Can that be controlled?
Another issue with LGD's is barking. An LGD's first line of defense, to tell the predators to just keep on moving, is to bark. LGD's have a large vocabulary of barks, from sharp warning barks about an intruder, to long drawn out howls at the moon (yes, one of our LGD's regularly howls at the moon), to yippy barks of excitement (oooh, it's dinner time!), to snarls and growls that would make you think you just brought home Cujo. Barking is another major reason why LGD's are turned over for adoption. That barking will max out during the first year the dog is in a new home, with most dogs gradually decreasing their barking until they only bark when they need to drive away an actual predator (but with a few bellowed "yes, I'm still here" to the world scattered throughout the rest of the day). And this isn't normal barking. This is a big booming sound that can be heard 1/4 mile away. Some folks like that sound, because it tells them that Mr. Dog is on duty for the whole neighborhood. But lots of neighbors do object. With our 5 current dogs, we have had to come to something of a truce with our neighbors that the two biggest barkers are on duty during the day, and the three least-likely-to-bark are on duty at night, just so that everyone stays sane. Have that conversation with neighbors now, rather than after everyone's ticked off because of all the racket. For the rest, we have used the "day duty vs night duty" rotation to keep the peace.
Additional Sources of Information
The above questions are those which are usually the first to be asked
when someone is either considering acquiring a livestock guardian dog,
or has begun having problems with their dog. We strongly encourage
potential owners to review the following websites so that they are as
fully educated about their potential dog as possible. For those owners
already facing some behavioral problems with their dogs, we encourage
owners even more to review this information, so that the dogs can be
worked with and kept in the household if at all possible. There are
already a great number of dogs being put up for adoption, and most
rescue groups have more dogs than adoptive homes.
www.lgd.org. This website is possibly the single best source of information about all aspects of livestock guardian dogs around. The Library
page at that website is a compendium of excellent articles, by various
authors, which detail the Nothing In Life Is Free and Alpha Dog Boot
Camp philosophy and techniques. Whenever we need a quickie review of
these techniques, this is where we get it.
K9Deb's NILIF page is another
excellent summary of not only the philosophy and techniques, but also
what to expect when you start using these techniques on a dog for the
first time.
Who's In Charge Here?
is an article written by by Vicki Rodenberg De Gruy, Chairman of the
Chow Chow Club Inc.'s Welfare Committee. It is an excellent explanation
for the Alpha Dog Boot Camp philosophy. Her work is quoted elsewhere,
including on the LGD.org website, but here it is individually.
Further Questions, and One Last Note
If either this website and/or the above additional websites do not
answer your questions, please feel free to Contact Us and we'll do our
best to answer your questions, then post that additional information
here so that others will be able to benefit.
These dogs can be a lot of work, but they are worth that work to become
the fantastic partners they were bred to be. All our rescued livestock
guardian dogs have become priceless partners for our work here. We wish
you the same experience with yours.
Livestock Guardian Dog Books
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