Livestock Guardian Dogs
CONSERVATION DOGS | 02
Hello Friends.
Today I share with you humor (at my expense), knowledge (because we all need it), and the glory of what is collectively known as Livestock Guardian Dogs, a.k.a. ‘LGDs’ (they’re amazing on so many levels).
These dogs humble me, impress me, make me respect them, and if I’m being honest, can scare me (that’s technically their job).
Twelve years ago this June, my husband and I adopted a 4-month-old Anatolian Shepherd whom we named Percy. His kind personality, lumbering gate and droopy lower eyelids stole Adam’s heart the instant he laid eyes on him. It was love at first sight.
Back then, I had no idea what a Livestock Guardian Dog was other than gleaning the straightforward basics from the name. For someone who has spent most of her life training dogs this is embarrassing to admit. And as I tend to learn best from “doing”, Percy put me on a quick learning curve just by the sheer simplicity of day-to-day life together. How humbling that was.
He behaved like no other no dog/breed I had ever lived with. Underneath his seemingly laid-back disposition (which we honestly thought was lazy) belied lightening-fast reflexes, unexpected agility for his size and stature, surprisingly stealth movements, an independent spirit, the uncanny ability to shut-off his hearing, and the need to travel distances which frustratingly coincided with what I like to call his ‘broken internal GPS’.
For all the traveling he did on the eastern hillsides of Napa Valley, he never returned home on his own. Never. I always had to retrieve him from whatever ranch or vineyard he chose to loiter around. As I write this I can think of each and every time I had to do this — no two episodes were the same and each one had its merit of story telling.
This retrieval task brought me to tears almost every time — each step towards him pushed him several steps away. We were the “like poles” of magnets. Somehow I managed to get Percy by his collar and lead him to our car.
I thanked my neighbors for their help and graciousness with seemingly endless pies and bottles of wine.
In my eagerness to learn more about Percy — what made him tick, how he was hardwired, why he did what he did (which he did well) — I discovered something I wasn’t expecting: LGDs are playing an important role in conservation efforts around the globe. Ranchers, whether intentionally or not, are boosting conservation efforts in their corner of the world when they employ these magnificent dogs to protect their livestock from predators.
So this month, is the ‘prequel of sorts’ that I mentioned in the last newsletter. It’s devoted to giving us a better understanding of what these individual breeds are that comprise the group of dogs known as Livestock Guardian Dogs and play a vital role in conservation efforts around the world.
xo ~ Suzanne
A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators.
There are more than 30 distinct breeds throughout the world, most of them native to Western Asia. As you might suspect, there are nuances between each breed, each bloodline, and the individual dog itself.
LGDs live with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the herd or flock. Their ability to guard it is instinctive, as the dog is bonded to the herd from an early age — usually around 4-5 weeks of age.
Unlike herding dogs (think Border Collies) which control the movement of livestock, LGDs blend in with them, watching for intruders within the flock. The mere presence of a guardian dog is usually enough to ward off some predators, and LGDs confront predators by vocal intimidation — barking (they really do excel at this) and displaying very aggressive behavior (our neighbor’s Anatolian Shepherd is massive and scares the bejesus out of me every single time I walk by its pasture). The dog may attack or fight with a predator if it cannot drive it away.
History
Ancestors of livestock guardian dogs can be traced back to six thousand years ago in Western Asia — roughly the territories of modern day Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
As our early ancestors were beginning to breed livestock, they turned to the dogs that had once helped them hunt and began using them to guard against the ever-present and numerous predators. Thus began the selection of using types of dogs that could assist in early farming: large, strong, courageous, decisive, capable, and ready to defend its herd. In today’s modern agricultural world, these are still very much the traits needed to keep livestock safe from would-be predators like bears, wolves, large cats, coyotes, foxes, birds of prey, and other domestic dogs.
Working Features and Purpose
LGDs specialize in protecting smaller farm animals like sheep and goats. Whether ranching on large open spaces where managing the livestock tends to utilize the distant pasture method or farming on smaller parcels of land with paddocks, LGDs protect its flock from predator attacks.
The number of LGDs and the types of breeds utilized by a shepherd depends on the size of the flock, the amount of land and its topography, as well as the type of predators in the area. For instance, some shepherds may use several different breeds (because each breed has its own unique characteristics) within a single flock.
Temperament and Work Ethic
The three qualities most sought after in Livestock Guardian Dogs: trustworthiness, attentiveness, and protectiveness. Trustworthy in that they do not roam off and are not aggressive with the livestock, attentive in that they are situationally aware of threats by predators, and protective in that they attempt to drive off predators.
Dogs, being social creatures with differing personalities, take on different roles with the herd and among themselves; most stick close to the livestock, others tend to follow the shepherd or rancher when one is present, and some drift away from the livestock. These differing roles are often complementary in terms of protecting livestock, and experienced ranchers and shepherds sometimes encourage these differences by adjustments in socialization technique so as to increase the effectiveness of their group of dogs in meeting specific predator threats.
LGDs that follow the livestock closest assure that a guard dog is on hand if a predator attacks, while LGDs that patrol at the edges of a flock or herd are in a position to keep would-be attackers at a safe distance from livestock. Those dogs that are more attentive tend to alert those that are more passive, but perhaps also more trustworthy or less aggressive with the livestock.
Two or more guardian dogs may be placed with a flock or herd, depending on its size, the type of predators, their number, and the intensity of predation. If predators are scarce, one dog may be adequate, though most operations usually require at least two dogs. Large operations (particularly range operations) and heavy predator loads require more dogs.
While LGDs have been known to fight to the death with predators, in most cases, predator attacks are prevented by a display of aggressiveness. LGDs are known to drive off predators for which physically they would be no match, such as bears and even lions. With the reintroduction of predators into natural habitats in Europe and North America, environmentalists have come to appreciate LGDs because they allow sheep and cattle farming to coexist with predators in the same or nearby habitats. Unlike trapping and poisoning, LGDs seldom kill predators; instead, their aggressive behaviors tend to condition predators to seek unguarded prey (non-farm animals).
Physical Traits
LGD's are large, powerful dogs. The large size provides guardian dogs with a number of advantages: they retain heat longer, carry more fat reserves and can go without food for longer, are less likely to get bone fractures and tolerate illnesses better. Their stride is longer, so they are more efficient at long distances. However, dogs that are too large suffer more from the heat, therefore they are used exclusively in the northern regions and in mountain pastures. Livestock guardian dogs working with the herds in hot areas are lighter in bone and shorter.
All LGD's have similar physical traits. Differences in appearance reflect the peculiarities of the climate in which these dogs live and work. They all have a dense water-repellent coat, strong build, and independent disposition. Differences in the color are determined by local traditions: puppies of a typical color were given preference for breeding in different regions.
In many areas, the color of dogs is chosen according to the main color of the livestock: in flocks of white sheep, the dogs are white — with colored sheep, goats or yaks, the dogs are usually grey or brown. It is assumed that herd animals are calmer about being in a presence of dogs of a similar color. In addition, the color of the dog corresponding to the color of the herd reduces the risk of accidental death of the dog if the need arises to shoot a predator (or so I've been told).
The Breeds
Of course you can look up a more definitive list via the all-telling, internet — but for the sake of this newsletter, here’s a short list of some of the breeds comprising the large group of LGDs — several of which are known by variations of these names: Akbash, Anatolian Shepherd, Kangal, Caucasian Shepherd Dog, Central Asian Shepherd Dog, Gamer, Karakachan, Kuvasz, Great Pyrenees, Maremma, Pyrenean Mastiff, and Tibetan Mastiff.
Their Role in Conservation
These amazing dogs — simply doing what they’ve been bred to do for millennia — have become instrumental in various conservation efforts around the world including wolf conservation in the US, cheetah conservation in Namibia, and penguin conservation in Australia. We’ll be exploring this in the future and introducing you to some incredible organizations and people.
