Livestock guardian animals are a must on farms. I hear so many horror stories about crippled or mutilated stock: A rogue pack of dogs attacks a neighbor’s small herd; wily coyotes look for an easy meal and injure lambs and ewes. Thus, we have a “pack” of livestock guardian dogs with unique personalities. Personality plus!
TOP DOG! BOO!
First there is Boo. Aka: Boo Boo, Boo Dog, Boo Off! Adopted from a shelter years ago, she is a true guard dog. A truck driver relinquished Boo to a no-kill shelter because in the months after acquiring her she became too big to ride shotgun. Apparently he didn’t do his research on the Pyrenees/Anatolian mixed breed. Definitely cute as a puppy. Definitely enormous as a 6-month-old youth. We want her. Boo comes home. Indeed her personality already stands out. She has a superb disposition.
Since back in the beginning I had no idea how to train a livestock dog, I wing it. Baby Boo lives in the sheep barn. Boo races around the farm. This dog eats in the sheep barn. She paws us for attention (not the smartest thing to let a large puppy do). All things considered, even with my training shortcomings, Boo Boo turns into a phenomenal livestock guardian dog (LGD). She is tough.
Good natured from the get go! Almost too bonded to her humans, Boo’s paw is always poking us. “Here I am! Pet me! Pay attention! Hello!” Then her cold nose nudges a hand. Next, a gigantic paw is scratching my arm. Walking around the barn doing chores, I trip as Boo propels her body into my leg. At last, when I put her into the lamb paddock she whines. “Here I am!” Finally, she stalks away and takes her position by the gate to watch for unwanted intruders. Pouting. Personality plus.
MAXWELL! WHAT’S HIS NATURE?
Undeniably Max, our 130-pound guard dog, has a personality of his own. He joined Boo on the farm after we did some research and found out that guard dogs work well in pairs. In spite of being a bouncy puppy, Maxwell and became Boo’s partner in crime. Unsurprisingly Max’s presence and deep bark are intimidating enough to keep predators away.
Boo likes staying in her assigned field, but Maxwell likes to roam from paddock to paddock. At an early age he learned how to crawl under our sheep fencing. That is to say he finds low dips in the ground and shimmies under the strand of barbed wire at the base of the fence to sprint towards anything he perceives as threatening to his flock. Sooner or later I think he will go out of the perimeter, but he doesn’t. Max is content to do his job within his boundaries. Personality plus!
As long as there is no imminent danger, our big dog is content to lounge in the shade of a tree. Delighted to get dog treats, Max does not seek out human companionship too often. Every day Max makes a trip to the barn to eat his supper and to get a pat on his head. Of course, when Maxwell is done, he saunters back outside to observe any action in the sheep fields.
BEST BUDDIES! TEMPER OR CHARM?
Being that our flock is growing our family decides to add additional LGDs to Rowdy Mountain Farm. Hence Shira and Laine arrive on the scene, each named after the location where we buy them from. Our family travels several hours to acquire our girl, Shira, and only journey fifteen minutes from the farm adopt Laine.
Fluffy Shira comes from a farm near Mt. Shira, Arkansas. Evidently she had a difficult time as a tyke. It is unclear if she would survive an the infestation of maggots. The owner explains that the small female might not develop into a healthy dog even after the vet removed each worm one by one. They advise us to look at the other romping pups. Her personality and looks had us hooked so we took her despite the warning. In spite of her rough start, Shira is thriving. She is an excellent choice for guarding the lambs.
OUR CELEB, SHIRA!
Shira is the dog that wants belly rubs. Rolling on her back is her signature move, legs flailing in the air. Belly fully exposed. Soft eyes begging for her belly to be caressed. Call her in for food. She ignores you. Shira loves to nestle with her sheep. Call her to say hello. She slights you. She would rather chase a flying bird away from the flock. Walk near her and this dog drops and rolls. Shira’s body language screams of scratch me now! Personality plus!
When it comes to guarding the flock Shira is the queen. She stays smack dab in the middle of her assigned group. That is to say that Shira never wanders. Just as her flock are her sheep, her paddock is her paddock. She stays put. Never wanders away. Bark, growl and snarl, she watches over her Katahdins with a keen eye.
SUPERSTAR! WOOLLY BEAR!
Laine is a woolly bear. Once in while he likes a pat on the head or a scratch under the chin, but seldom tolerates grooming. Occasionally I need to get some mats out of his unruly coat. Even though I hide the de-matting rake behind my back and slowly approach, Laine walks to the other side of the sheep barn. He must read my body language or my mind. What a personality. Personality plus. Unique from the others.
Pursuing him, I trap the “bear” in a corner and sit next to him on the ground. Eventually the rake combs through the knotted hair. A growl emerges from Laine’s throat. My first warning. I try to be gentle but, as I have said, he hates being groomed. I obviously don’t have much time to pull more clumps off the large body. He gives me a look. I’m not pushing my luck. I get up. Then I’m done.
Laine and Shira work as a team in the field, ever on guard together. While Shira stays in the middle of the sheep Laine forges ahead to meet threats head on. He climbs fences to encounter danger, face to face with any brute. If the threat is too close he will leave his field to confront whatever is putting distress on those under his care. This boy is fiercely loyal. Laine can be violently unfriendly with an aggressive disposition towards four-footed intruders. With that in mind, coyotes and rogue dogs beware.
HOT SHOT PUP!
Rambunctious, vivacious, hell-raising, uncontrollably wild. Up to the present time those are some of the words that describe Sullivan (Sully). Still a puppy at heart at two and a half years old. Personality plus! Sully can’t stop bouncing. He is at least eighty plus pounds of muscle that reminds me of the “energizer bunny.” This “puppy” keeps on going and going and going.
Sullivan drives Boo crazy. Sully chose Boo as his preferred playmate, yet Sullivan body slams her. He runs in circles just to annoy her. To illustrate his actions Sullivan gets into play stance, front end down with his butt to the sky, then pounces unmercifully on the older dog. Boo snarls, barks and bites at the peppy pup to no avail. Sullivan aggravates Boo until I call Boo to me to give her a breather.
Despite the character that he displays with the dogs, he is rather shy to two legged beings. Those that he doesn’t get introduced to he does not trust. Sullivan becomes standoffish, antisocial and aloof. He watches, but doesn’t interact. He observes, but maintains his distance. Sully is not a dog to mess around with.
TEMPERMENT OF A MANIAC!
Still, with juvenile behaviors, he is not trusted alone with the flock. In brief, this adolescent is always in play mode. In Sullivan’s mind any sheep that runs wants to play. So, every once in awhile, off he bounds after a terrified sheep. This is not acceptable at Rowdy Mountain Farm. Back to ground zero in his livestock guardian dog training. Once again a check cord is connected to his collar when he is out for his daily romps.
Oh, by the way, Max taught Sully how to go under fences…paddock to paddock…never going out of the perimeter. When left to his own, being watched of course, Sullivan tears around the pastures checking the fence lines for unwanted visitors, barking unmercifully at anything he perceives to be out of place.
THE BEST LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOGS!
It’s true. All of our barking creatures have personality plus. Each is an individual with quirks of their own. I’ll take their wacky, off-the-wall, unconventional behaviors any day. The lambs are free from danger. The rams are protected. The sheep are safe. I sleep soundly at night knowing that I have five of the finest livestock guardians in the world.
