Smart LGD. Beksi, the Anatolian.

Our female Anatolian has exhibited some interesting behaviors last couple years. She tore her cruciates, (separate story). While she has gone back to work, she self regulates her outstanding work drive.
Last summer I was leash walking her near the house. She pulled me off the road towards some of the many saskatoon (service/sarvis) berry bushes. What she was looking for was the berries. She wanted not the old soft ones, or the green(ish) ones. She was selectively eating the firm ripe ones. I would pull down branches she couldn't reach, she'd nibble off only the one she liked. Maybe 60 to a 100 at any one time/bush.
Lil'B looked up saskatoons. They hold apparently one of the highest if not the highest concentrations of anti-inflammatories of all the N.American berries.  We figured they were good, like most dark berries, but really just liked them.
We have some comfrey in the yard, tough to keep out of the garden. I saw her last year eating a bit of comfrey at times. I have seen the cattle eat it on occasion.

I had a mahut in Thailand tell me they kept their work elephants in the woods near the farm, instead of pens/barns, whatever. Walk up the hill in the morning, fetch them for work, turn them back out at the end of the day. Not only were they presumably more content, he said that when they were not feeling well, they would selectively medicate with whatever jungle forage suited them.

In Nevada we have a bit of a nuisance problem with coyotes. Anatolians hate them, chase relentlessly. Somebody was poisoning the 'yotes, or trying to.
While walking distracted by Mak, I turned to find Beksi eating what looked like a part of a 'happy meal' stashed in the brush. I grabbed her, opened her mouth, but whatever it was, gone. Almost immediately she started eating globemallow, a soft Mohave desert shrub. After she threw up the first stomach full, she started again, threw that up. We took her home, figuring to call the vet, but she seemed fairly okay. She had another round of globemallow and some grass from the backyard, threw it up and got some water, settled down to rest. All well.
Prior to this we typically cleaned the weedy globemallow and grass from around the backyard xeriscape. Now, just because of this, we always keep some around. Along with some charcoal dog biscuits, which we were out of at the time.

What my wife and I have decided, is that Beksi self medicates. Anti-inflammatory berries, pain killing comfrey, globemallow for poisoning. Pretty well adapted.

My understanding is that Anatolian shepherds are a very old breed, much like Great Pyrenees. My wilson is a mix of the two, and has generally been very smart about food and seems to self medicate as well.

I would like your dog, for sure. Old breed for sure.
We had an Anatolian/Pyr mix, Norlin. Big boy, size of Mak, so pushing 150+lbs. in winter. Fearless, wolves, bears, coyotes, okay with people.  
Liked to wander, like Mak. Disappeared over the May long weekend. Wolves took him down, be my guess.

Thanks for sharing this. It’s lovely to hear about animals self-medicating with plants.

Beksi watching the lake. Coyotes very pesky, wolves back. Cows leave soon. Dogs will be at a bit of loose ends. She is, I like to suppose, waiting for the lake to freeze into a huge snow covered playground/highway.
She and her siblings will spend the winter chasing the unwelcome intruders off.

Love the photo Tommy, Ten thousand words.   LGDs are fascinating.  Growing up with cattle dogs and hunting dogs nothing prepared me for LGDs utter disregard for anything other than the animals they protect often austere, stoic, some stone-like dedication to protection.  Then when I’m out in the pastures she sneaks up behind me and paws on my shoulders gives me a lick.  I’m not sure but my Akbash Beatrix has some kind relationship with our local black bear, I see via a nocturnal camera.  She lets him eat the Oso plums and Buffalo berries but herds him away from the pasture.  And she guards the garden from the bear although pigs have a repelling effect on bears as well.  Moon last week was full and I saw the bear scooting down the road Beatrix right behind him not sure what he’s eating now? Truly a different level of agriculture thanks to Beatrix, and in a way I never would imagined.  Cheers.

She is a good looking dog, and smart as you said.

Beautiful scenery and how lucky you are.

Beautiful photo!  Ours have only a few acres to tend to, but the beavers in the adjacent river have been dam building and driving the dogs crazy all night.  A pic from last year when the youngest was still a pup.....playing on the bales after picking up straw for the winter.