There are many breeds of livestock guardians, but the beauty of the breeds is that they do what they do instinctively. No training is required. In fact, the less interfering you do , the better. When you get your pup, refrain from coddling it and playing with it. Put it with the livestock, where you want it to guard so it will bond.  Make sure it has a safe place to get away from the livestock and eat, but mostly you must try hard to ignore it.  This is hard, because they are so darned cute.

 

  It helps to purchase a dog from a working situation... ideally, one that was born in the barn with similar livestock to yours.   You want a dog that is bonded with livestock , not people. (unless you are wanting a dog that will guard the house and your children). Their deep voices, "barking the perimeter" at night is a comfort to the flock owner.  They are on duty while you sleep.  I have not had even ONE loss to predators  or neighboring dogs since I got a guard dog.   I am only familiar with Pyranees, Komondor x Pyr , Anatolians, and Anatolian x Pyr. , so will limit my discussion to these breeds... but there are others.   Your guard dog/s will become a valued partner on the farm.... and one without whom you will never want to work without.

 

Pyranees are more widely available and often more affordable, in general, than other breeds.  They are a large dog with a thick white coat. Sometimes they have some grey or brown spots at birth which "disappears" once their coat grows in and the dog matures.  Some shading may remain around the face. Others are pure white.  They are a gentle giant, resting most of the day and patrolling the perimeter at night. They want a fairly large territory to guard, and will go between paddocks at will.  I have never had any luck keeping them confined anywhere . They go where they think they need to go.  They are not jumpers, but will climb over  or dig under field fence or cattle panel. They do respect high tensile electric, but if there is a way, they will find a way to circumvent it.  They eat surprisingly little for such a large dog, probably due to their placid nature.   In my experience life expectancy is about 10 years. Wonderful mothering ability . They are calm around livestock and will work in partnership with another dog.  It is not unusual to see one dog bringing the herd up to the barn, while the other races out to meet a challenge. Ask anyone who has them and they will have an amazing story to tell.  I learned alot just from watching them work. They have been known to lay down and bark next to "a problem" (like a goat caught in the fence , or a newborn lamb) until you come out and deal with it.

 

   a summer/sheared Komondor x Pyranees

 

Komondor x Pyr   I have never owned a full blood Komondor but have had the pleasure of meeting a couple. Large and impressive dogs in the working situation and stunningly beautiful in the "show" arena.  A Komondor with its curly dreadlocks, lying in a herd of white angora goats, is almost indistinguishable from the goats... until you get close enough to see the teeth.  More terrier-like in personality (friendly and exuberant for the most part)... more active in the day... and longer legged than a Pyranees.  I would LOVE to  have one, but currently they are a bit pricey for me.  However, I have owned a couple of Komondor x Pyranees and they have been wonderful dogs!  White dense hair... sometimes a bit curly from the Komondor.  More active and aggressive towards perceived threats than a Pyranees, yet friendly and well mannered. Puppies can be overly playful and may require a bit of supervision at first... although they soon learn their manners in a pen of protective mother goats.  My male KomoPyr was extremely alert. He protected his herd from anything in , around or over the fields.  He would bark and chase after any bird that flew over the pen. He would chase chickens OUT of the paddock, but never harmed them. He would pick up a possum and literally remove it from the field.  NOTHING was allowed in with his charges unless it came in with ME.  Argus was also very gentlemanly. When I took him his food, he would walk up and stand in front of me. I set the bucket down. He would not touch it until I patted him on the head and encouraged him to take it. Then he would take his bucket and wander off with it , set it down, tipped it over (he would never put his head in a bucket) and ate it off the ground... ever vigilant.  He was never aggressive toward any  member of the household, but kept strangers in their cars until I could come out of the house.   I liked that.  Losing Argus last summer was such a heartbreak... but here is his replacement: 

 

 Komondor x Pyranees pup: Artemis

 

Artie is a very promising girl!  She guarded from the day she came and has grown exponentially!  She already weighs about 80 pounds at 9 months of age!  I will breed Artie in the coming year ...and will hopefully  have some pups to offer later .

 

Anatolians:  I have some friends at Little Valley Ranch cglvr@fidnet.com who some years back added an Anatolian to their guard crew.  "George" is a BIG smooth coated dog  which is probably a good choice for the humid and hot midwest summers here.  He is very active , even in the day... and aggressively guards his barnlot. There is NO WAY you would go in the lot without permission.  If you have a serious predator problem... an Anatolian would be a good choice.   The young dog may require some supervision as they are a rambunctious pup... but the effort will be worth it.   At this same farm, I have seen numerous Anatolian x Pyranees puppies out of George and they will follow the flock out to graze in the daytime and STAY with the herd.   An impressive cross: a bit calmer demeanor with the herd from the Pyr, but also more aggressive guarding from the Anatolian.  They currently have a batch of pups if you are interested.

 

A guard dog cross gives you hybrid vigor, perhaps a longer life expectancy too. They know their job. They do it without instruction from you.  As long as I have sheep and goats, I will have a guard dog team. Couldn't do it without them.  No predator  problems, no maurading dogpacks, no losses of kids to owls or hawks.... peace of mind at night or when I am gone to work. They are worth their weight in gold!