Livestock Guardian Dogs

We got our male Great Pyrenees as a pup. He was born in Jan 2022 on a farm and raised by his parents with goats and other animals.  I think we waited until April before we got him because we didn’t have our paddocks ready.

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At about the same time we added two mixed females (mixed with Anatolian Shepherd) who were also raised on a farm.  They were about a year old when they arrived and are not related to each other.

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We are not LGD or GP experts but thought it worthwhile to share our experiences and observations.  Of course, I encourage all readers to do their own research and consult with professionals to develop a strategy to add or care for LGDs in a manner which works best for them, their farm, and the animals.  With that, I hope you find the following helpful.

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We initially put all our goats (when we started) in one paddock but soon thereafter, separated the bucks from does in a second paddock.  We paired one female with the male pup and let the other female work alone.

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We haven’t done a thing to train them aside from periodic verbal reinforcement if they weren’t being nice.  I think the only issue we’ve had is that all three are very territorial around their food bowl.  They do NOT like the goats poking around their food.

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These dogs are amazing.  Absolutely amazing.

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When all together, if they sensed a threat, two would dart off into the woods (about 1 acre paddock) while the third stayed with the goats.  It’s like they game planned their strategy and then executed their roles with precision.  We watched this happen on a few occasions.

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While working alone recently, I saw one of the females coral a young goat who was about to wander off while they were in threat mode.  She wouldn’t let the kid goat leave the group.  Amazing.

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When one of our does birthed kids, the female GP wouldn’t let the other goats around the newborn for the first bit.  My wife swore she was parenting the kid.

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The instincts of these dogs are amazing.  They aren’t as loving in the same way as house dogs that I’ve had, but the females love to be pet.  They are working dogs, and I really feel they love working - protecting.

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My thoughts are to ensure, when you’re getting them, that they’ve been raised by their parents with farm animals.  I’m sure others may contend they require human training, but my experience is that their instincts simply require nurturing in their natural environment.  Who knows.  These are our first three.  Maybe we just got lucky.

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We intend to breed them and keep enough so we can keep at least two in each paddock.  We’ll alternate the breeding cycle to have each female with a litter every six months or so, maybe providing more rest than a year between litters.  To us, they’re tremendously important members of the farm and family.

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I’ve read and witnessed they work best in pairs/groups, and with the coyotes screaming I’ve heard late at night and in very close proximity, I want to ensure they have a great advantage working in pairs.

 

Reference running away, we use multiple strand hot wire.  Once, my wife let one out by accident.  The GP ran off into the woods and came back 10 minutes later.  Thankfully. That was our only experience like that.  As you can tell, I can’t brag enough about how well they do - particularly in the challenging environment in which they work.

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As an aside, too often I read Social Media posts in goat groups about tragedies which occur when there are no Livestock Guardian Dogs present.  At first, I thought the events were simply unfortunate, but over time, as I watched our GP work and read more tragic stories, I encourage goat owners to have LGDs in their paddocks to protect their herds.  If they don’t, it isn’t unlikely there will be a bad situation in the future.

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There was a story in the news last year in which a GP in Georgia killed eight coyotes when attacked by 12.  He was in bad shape afterwards - missing for a few days and then requiring $15k in vet bills.  I don’t read this story as as an anomaly.  I feel ours would do everything they could to protect their assigned herd.  Honestly.

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I have a few extra stories to share.

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Once Alaska had her litter of pups, we had to take her to the house for a few days because she had a calcium deficiency.  She recovered quickly, and we knew we needed to get her back to the farm because as she regained her strength and mobility, she was wanting to spend more time outside and not inside with the rest of the pups.  We returned her and her crew to the farm and placed them in the birthing pen which we had built inside the goat paddock for does.

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The pups did great, and as the days passed, some of the more adventurous pups would sneak out under the fencing and hang out with Zeus, their 1.5 year old male father.  He was amazing, as he quickly adopted them into his protected herd.  On one occasion, at feed time, I noticed three of the pups were missing.  Well, Zeus had taken them to explore the far edges of the one acre paddock.  I called and called, but they didn't initially return.  Then a saw a white furball here and there bouncing through the woods.  Eventually, I saw Zeus, and as he brought the pups closer, I realized what he was doing.  Instead of abandoning them to come to me, he would walk a bit, sit, look at them, and wait on them.  Once they caught up, he'd do it again.  He wouldn't leave them; he was watching them and ensuring they all returned safely.

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At about six weeks, Alaska, the mother to the pups went into heat.  Because she was wanting more time out of the breeding pen and we didn't want to expose her again to Zeus, we moved her to the buck paddock with Sparrow.  Because one of them was a bit more food protective, we added doors to the goat shed so we could separate them during feeding time.  Otherwise, that transition went smoothly.  Alaska quickly found her spot amongst the bucks.

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One night, while I was working late at the farm, a bad storm quickly rolled in before dark.  All of sudden, a bolt of lightening struck close by, almost appearing in the buck's paddock, but I'm sure it was further off.  Nonetheless, the startled animals jumped - high!  Zeus, holding true to his title as the protector immediately jumped on to the goat's feet trimming stand, looked in all directions to ensure accountability, and then hopped off to go check on a few individual straggler pups who had not yet returned to the birthing pen.

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Through the early spring, a two does gifted us with their kids, one having two bucks and the other having two does.  Of course they were hungry, and every time they were taking breaks from their kids, Zeus was close by.  Amazing.

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One or two days after one of the litters, Zeus was laying inside the woodline and appeared determined to stay there throughout the day.  At first, we thought he was just chilling.  Once or twice a doe walked nearby and he barked to run her off.  Eventually Kari went to check out the situation and quickly learned that one of our does had a third kid that didn't make it.  Laying in the dirt, Zeus was guarding the poor kid who didn't survive.  This is a bit of a sad story, but it is a farm experience which helps to define Zeus's character and maturity. 

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These GP LGDs are fantastic.  I've posted Facebook pictures which show the incredible predator population with coyotes and bobcats regularly captured on trail cameras maybe only 500 yards away.  Yet in establishing their presence and working tirelessly every night, they keep the predators at bay.