Judith Strom

Reprinted with permission from Dog Fancy magazine

For many North American ranchers, the difference between a profitable enterprise and going out of business is a dog. Stock losses to coyotes, bears, mountain lions and other predators, including dogs, have been a fact of life since people first domesticated animals. The annual cost of losses to these predators exceeds $100 million.

But many ranchers have found a way to reduce their predator losses to almost nothing--with livestock guarding animals. Although donkeys and llamas are used by some sheep and goat ranchers, the most common livestock guard is a dog.

But not just any dog will do. Livestock guarding dogs are usually large, white and floppy-eared, often weighing more than 100 pounds. The idea of entrusting a flock of sheep to a large dog might seem like madness to some, but the practice has succeeded in many cultures.

"Dogs are a primary predator for many sheep producers, and the idea of intentionally placing a 100 pound canine into the flock to ward off predators without the dog becoming predator itself may seem foolish", says Jeff Green, who for 10 years was part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Livestock Guarding Dog project at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois Idaho.

But livestock guarding dogs have a long and successful history, stretching from recent time in Central Europe to more than 1,000 year ago in central Asia. Few North American ranchers showed interest in them, however, until the 1970s when the poison 1080, used to kill predators was banned, and public opinion began to swing against trapping and other indiscriminate methods of predator control.

Although most ranchers were acquainted with herding dogs, livestock guarding dogs were a new concept. "In the early days of the programs, livestock producers who tried guard dogs were thought to be foolish, brave, desperate or a combination of all three", Green says.

Initially, the research projects bred and raised dogs for distribution to interested ranchers. Researchers then monitored the dogs' success and the reactions of the ranchers to the dogs. Within a couple of years the projects' emphasis switched from producing dogs to supplying information about them. The programs continued to gather information from ranchers using guard dogs, disseminating the information through livestock growers organizations, county extension services and animal damage control personnel; and to research the basic behavior of, and best training methods for, livestock guarding dogs.

But were the dogs really effective? Today, after a decade of data gathering, there is no longer any question. "Guard dogs have proven their ability to protect livestock." Green says.

In the USDA's survey of guard dog users, more than 80% said their dogs had saved sheep. In an earlier survey, more than 50% of the ranchers who reported losses before getting a dog, reported no losses after the dog's introduction. The majority of those surveyed believed that their dogs were well worth the initial cost of about $500, plus the dollar or two a day to maintain them.

Green estimates that in the last 10 years 5,000 to 8,000 dogs have gone to work on some 4,000 farms and ranches in the United States and Canada. Acceptance has come not only from rancher, but also from the government. In 1988 Animal Damage Control, the federal agency in charge of predator control, incorporated livestock guarding dogs into it program. This represents quite a change for an agency best known for its use of poisons and government trappers and hunters, and whose founding legislation mandated killing all predators.

Although ranchers were satisfied that their animals were being protected, researchers wanted to know why the dogs did such a good job.

All the guardian breeds share similar characteristics. They show little interest in herding or chasing sheep, and they work independently of humans. They have calm, placid personalities, often spending much of their time dozing or plodding along with the sheep, but they are wary of intruders and can become quite fierce if provoked.

In most cases such aggressiveness is not necessary. The dog's presence alone may intimidate smaller predators such as coyotes. An experienced guard dog will display behaviors such as scent marking, barking and boundary patrolling to advertise its presence.

Crucial to a guard dog's success is its bond to the livestock. the dog must stay with the livestock most of the time: It doesn't follow a herder around, nor should it return to the ranch buildings for human attention, or seek canine companionship elsewhere.

Research shows that the critical period for canine socialization is between the fourth and twelfth weeks of life. For a guard dog to be successful, it must form bonds to the livestock during this period.

At weaning, pups are placed in a confined area with a few lambs or gentle ewes. Human contact during this crucial period is kept to a minimum. Understandably, this can be difficult, as guardian breed pups are as cute and lovable as any other. More than one rancher has had to lay down strict rules about contact with the new puppy.

After the crucial socialization period, puppies receive more human contact. Too little human contact can cause a dog to be shy or fearful of people, making it difficult to handle for veterinary exams or to move from pasture to pasture.

Dogs raised at the Sheep Experiment Station in Idaho are given basic obedience lessons at about 4 months of age. It is important for guard dogs to work independently of humans, but it is also necessary to control them at times. The simple commands "no" "heel" "come" and "kennel" (jump in the truck) are usually sufficient. The dogs receive short five to ten minute lessons a couple of time a week until about 9 months of age.

Because guarding behavior is largely instinctive, it can't really be taught, but routine training can produce more effective guardians. The exact routine depends on the type of operation the rancher has (farm flock vs. ranger operation), but in all cases, supervision of the pup is needed to prevent bad habits from developing. By 3 months, the pup is ready to move from its pen to a small pasture with 10-15 sheep.

The ideal pasture should be one to five acres, enclosed with escape-proof fencing. The pup should be walked around the area for about 30 minutes and returned to its pen. Gradually, the pup is left with the sheep for longer and longer periods, with daily checks by the rancher. By about 6 months, if all is going well, the pup is ready to move to a 20 to 80 acre pasture with regular sheep fencing.

This gradual socialization is as important for the sheep as it is for the dog. Flocks used to being worked by a herding dog may initially retreat from a guard dog, but forced coexistence in a small pasture teaches the sheep that they have nothing to fear from their guardian.

Because the guardian breeds are large dogs, they are slow to mature. Expecting a pup to assume a guarding role before it is physically and behaviorally mature can be harmful. The exact age is difficult to determine, and there appears to be some breed differences.

The dog must also be physically mature enough to defend itself against coyotes or feral dogs. Even with both physical and behavioral maturity, though, dogs often respond with fear or uncertainty in their first encounters with predators. In one case, a coyote chased a mature dog three times its size. But the following day, the dog routed the coyote and continued to do so in all subsequent encounters.

A successful guard dog is experienced. Some ranchers have been disillusioned by guard dogs because they expect them to immediately solve their predator problems. This is rarely the case. An initial investment of time and patience is necessary while the dog gains experience. Most people believe a guard doesn't reach maximum effectiveness until 18 mos to 2 years of age.

Ranchers are quick to point out that raising a second dog is much easier than raising the first. At about 4 months, after the initial socialization with lambs and some basic obedience training, a pup can be placed with an older dog. The older dog will generally provide all the necessary training.

As with anything involving live animals rather than machines, results can't be guaranteed.

Young dogs may harass sheep by trying to play with them or interfere with herding dogs when they are used to move the sheep. Other dogs may be overly aggressive to humans--a potential problem for ranchers whose pastures abut favorite jogging lanes. Some producers have reported problems with overenthusiastic guards that want not only to protect their livestock, but also to patrol the neighbor's pastures.

Because guard dogs work independently, they are liable to be hit by cars or caught in traps. The second most common cause of death is by shooting. Uninformed people who see a large dog in the midst of a flock of sheep often assume the worst and attempt to shoot it. Barring such misfortunes, and with regular veterinary examinations and immunizations, a guard dog can be expected to protect its master's flock for up to 10 years.