Laurie St Thomas

Don't know if you will ever see this, but I would love to know what that looks like now.   I have a dam created about 20 years ago at the bottom junction of a Y where water naturally ran into a ravine.  My neighbors property is almost one foot away from the bottom of the dam side and the hill created by the dam.  

My pond is slowly emptying; and I can't tell if it's drought, or if it's from the easement road that hadn't been used for the previous 20 years that runs in an L shape along the corner of the property that starts the downward descent of land until it become the pond area.  Zone 6, now hard packed clay from heavy construction traffic.  

I wanted to put something along the dam for privacy but didn't want trees on it, but the bamboo sounds great - but hard to manage. It's difficult for me to envision what this would look like.  If you do see this, would it be possible to share pictures?

Thanks in advance.

Mike Turner wrote:I had a somewhat similar problem when bought my property 20 years ago.  There wasa big 10 foot wide and deep erosion hole at the end of the spillway to my pond, with the additional problem that when they subdivided the  property, the end of the spillway was on the neighboring property that I didn't have access to.  I planted a row of a deep rooted running bamboo (Semiarundinaria fastuosa) along the property line where the spillway left my property. The dense rhizome network  that this bamboo has formed has stabilized the soil and stopped the progression of the erosion.   I also planted a 10 foot high running bamboo on my earthen dam that has since spread to totally cover the dam, covering the dam with a 2 foot deep dense rhizome network.  This network has stabilized the dam, keeps tree seedlings from establishing themselves on the dam, and makes it difficult for muskrats to dig holes in the dam.  The bamboo is small enough that I can easily clear cut it from parts of the dam if I ever needed to to maintainance on in.  Unlike tree roots, bamboo rhizomes don't get thicker with age, remaining at their 1 inch thickness for their entire 15 year lifespan and are continually being replaced with new rhizomes to form an impenetrable mesh of rhizomes in the topsoil.  The one time a freak rainstorm dumped 14"of water on my property in a couple of hours, the resulting flood overwhelmed my spillway and overtopped the dam.  The myriad of bamboo stems on the dam caught and trapped debris being carried down by the floodwaters, and actually increased the mass of the dam.  This flood washed out the next dam below mine that was covered with grass.

Same questions - have you had an Anotolian before? Where are you located? Yes, he is still available.  Email me at Sensational.Solutions@zoho.com with the subject line DOG so I can see the email easily and we can connect.  

Christine Gutterman wrote:I’m not sure if you still have him, but I’m looking for an Anatolian to guard my baby goats I’m getting this spring.

Where are you located?  Have you had an Anatolian before?

Sorry it took me so long to respond; I didn't see the message until today

invisible fencing might work; but he is powerful and fast.  I can’t afford it currently.  

kansas city metro area = location

Please share this in other forums and please be on the lookout for anyone wanting a livestock dog. Thank you

I honestly have fallen in love with this sweet dog.   It breaks my heart to have to find him a more suitable home.  We have almost 4 acres, with a pond on it, but we do not have a fence tall enough.  We have the regulation size 4’ chain link; he sails over that easily.   Maybe a 5’ with electric might work.  But its also a small backyard fence right off the back porch and is really just about the same footprint as the house itself.   I would need to have it be a 5/6’ metal one that goes all the way around.  

One thing I can say for him is that we (the kids, not me) have taken him for walks around the perimeter of the property when we first brought him home every day.  The kids got kind of busy and so am I, but he seems to have a relatively good idea of what is his when he runs around.   He is a stubborn learner but plays well with our other dog and the two little ones he’s met; is learning to sit and wait to eat until I walk away from putting his food down.

While he is powerful enough to do that; I honestly think that this particular breed would probably not work for this at all.  We recently found out, per the Anatolian rescue group, that they are fairly certain he is 100% Anatolian Shepherd pup.  I am happy to give him away for free, but now that I know this, I want to make sure that he goes to a home where he and the owners can be successful together.  

He is trainable, but stubborn.  He is not quick to obey, and his main instinct is to guard his livestock.  He is a working dog, but needs at least an hour of exercise daily.  He can easily clear a 4 foot fence and as he grows I would assume a 5 ft fence as well.  He can climb chain link fences, but has learned the general outline of our property and mostly stays within it.  

He can go outside of it and far enough outside of it so far has been good with other people.  If people are close to the property, like the road outside of it, they are considered a threat and we are still training him to recognize and calm down when we have visitors.   He needs a physically strong and mentally firm owner.   I would read all about him on the Anatolian sites because every single behavior listed fits him exactly.   If you are still interested feel free to contact me at 816-409-9111

Two pictures of Caramel, more to come later.  He's slightly bigger than this now, 3 months later his head comes to the counter and he can tilt it slightly to lick the counter if he's close enough :)

Please help me spread the word!!

Need to find a good home for a 9 month old Anatolian Shepherd/Great Dane mix, male as soon as possible.
To consider adopting, you MUST know what a Guardian Livestock Dog does, and how they are different from house pets.  

Details:
To keep a puppy dropped in the country by a friend's house out of a kill shelter, I took the puppy in when my friend convinced me it was a Great Dane/Golden  mix due to the bump on his head and that he was a great indoor dog at her house who just liked laying at her feet..and she had no other options.  I didn't know that much about dogs breeds so I believed her and she believed it as well.  He was probably recovering from being dumped.  I have a feeling this dog was dropped in the country by our friend's house because they were probably living in the city with a dog that should be out on land guarding livestock.

I have posted in every missing dog forum as well as local community forums for Caramel's family; and for anyone who wanted a GLD for their farm.  We're in the KC Metro area and have had very little interest.  I contacted the Anatolian Rescue, and they are not currently taking any fosters in, but will post a courtesy link on him for people to contact me.  I submitted that earlier today, so when that is live, I will add the link here.  I will also add more information later today or tomorrow and more pics.  

After taking to the vet the dog we named Caramel has been identified as a GLD Anatolian Shepherd/Dane mix, with instincts to match.  He was 6 months old when we got him.  He has had his shots, heart worm test and been medicated for 3 months.

When he came to us, he was obviously loved as he kept trying to crawl into everyone's laps and lean against them.  But he needs a job to do.  He's a super sweet dog, but as I have researched more about the breed, I know our family is not the best place for him to live a fulfilling life.  It needs to be sooner vs later, so he can be acclimated to the types of livestock he needs to guard.