WHAT MAKES A GOOD SMALL FARMSTEAD LGD?
Once
people decide to incorporate a Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGD) into their
permaculture system the next question is, “what the best breed?” This is one of those questions that people have a wide variety of opinions on and they all can be correct. I know when we asked that question we discovered that here are many different breeds of out there that can do the
job and all of them fit roughly the same description – big, gentle with livestock, and ruthless with predators. However, we needed something very particular within that broad description.
Living close to forest service land/wilderness, we were loosing critters left and right to predators so we decided to get a LGD to keep the
local predators at bay. In addition, we thought it would be fun to have a cart dog for moving loads of
hay and
wood here and there about the property. However, just any LGD wouldn’t do. We needed a dog that was a bit more trainable than the average LGD so we could use them as a cart dog, that was great with kids, social with at least our house dogs, and accepting of the people we have coming and going from our
resilient education center.
Fortunately, I have a lot of
experience with dog behavior and puppy assessment so I studied different breeds and began to look at what is available in our area. I was searching for the traits that would lead to success in our small
permaculture farmstead and education center. These included human and canine sociability, trainability, adaptability, and intelligence all wrapped up in a fluffy, well-structured package. Keeping these traits in mind, we found Nala, a ¾ Great Pyrenees/ ¼ Anatolian cross, followed by Appa, a registered Karakachan. Our LGD canine partners have made it possible for us live in harmony with our neighborhood predators without jeopardizing our relationship with our human neighbors.
The big fluffies (as we affectionately call them) are incredibly effective with predators. We live on heavily forested property where our completely free-ranging
chicken flock grew from 4 in the spring to 22 in the fall. We can take both dogs to public places without problems, they accept visiting dogs with introductions, and know to just roll the neighborhood dogs who dare the
fence instead of seriously injuring them. Both dogs have gone to major public events as part of educational displays with no issues. They have good
enough leash manners to be walked by our 2-year-old grandchild, and they greet strangers with a gentle friendliness. Further, they rarely bark for more than a few minutes, guard whatever we ask them wherever we ask them, stay inside a 4-foot field
fence and are loving members of the family. Everything we hoped for from small-farmstead LGDs.
Since these 2 LGDs so exemplified what is needed in a small-scale system, and we had people requesting pups, we decided to breed them. Watching them parent is fascinating as they still retain so much of the primal instincts of wild dogs while being such loving, nurturing canine partners. Nala is an excellent mother who has raised a fine litter of pups. Somewhere around 5 weeks she began regurgitating food for the pups and letting dad greet them. Then, at 6 weeks, he took over day-care while she went on guardian rounds but she still sleeps with them at night. In the last week she has started carrying food to them during her mealtime (even though we
feed them as well).
These deeply-rooted, primal instincts to nurture and protect are a result of eons of evolution; it can neither be taught or taken away by house time or too much attention. Like their parents, the pups are social and responsive, easy around the stock, and already showing guardian instincts. With daily handling, their natural connection to humans is being strengthened as they prepare to enter into lifetime partnerships protecting their shepherds flocks and herds. I feel privileged to be part of such a long tradition of canine-folk partnerships that has been foundational in the evolution of resilient agriculture.
Three Females Available from the Above Described Litter. Contact Delyla at caninepackpartners.com for more information.
Traits of a Good Small Farmstead Livestock Guardian Dog
- Willing to stay home with limited or no fencing.
- Avoid pups from dogs in large systems where they guard by working perimeters.
- Trainability/Good Communication Skills
- Must be able to teach proper manners, other farm jobs, and to limit barking.
- Independent Thinking
- LGDs must be able to problem solve without direction to outwit predators and manage barnyards.
- Adaptability
- Must be able to guard a wide variety of stock, including non-traditional animals such as poultry, in a wide variety of situations and
transition smoothly for field to barn to house to town to educational event and home again.
. – Discernment
- Able to discern the difference between real threats, house dogs and visiting dogs and respond accordingly limiting barking and avoiding injuries to non-threats.
- Human Sociability
- In a small farmstead where LGD’s will have daily interaction with people and family, friends, customers, and helpers are coming and going it is important for LGDs to get along with people, particularly children.
Three Females with the Above Qualities Available: Contact Delyla at caninepackpartners.com for more information.