Livestock Guardian…dog, donkey…llama??

If you follow our Instagram you know we went with dogs, but we did not make that choice on a whim. To be honest, llamas were never a serious consideration for us because…well, they are llamas. Although, how cool would it be to have a llama? Not cool enough because there is not one residing here. So our real question was whether we would get a dog or a donkey. Personally, I was voting for the donkey, but Bryson did quite a bit of research before deciding on the dogs. 

When having sheep on the farm became a real and final decision, we never questioned if we would have a livestock guardian. Then we lost our two favorite sheep to dogs. So it became more urgent. All three options (dogs, donkeys, or llamas) have good qualities. So how did we decide?

One, we considered upkeep. A donkey requires very similar care to our horses, but that is a lot. Hoof trimming is not always easy, and depending on how easy the animal is to handle, can get hairy pretty quick. Also not a cheap maintenance requirement. Same goes for vaccinations. A dog is fairly easy to handle, and fairly easy to get friendly enough to handle. In hindsight, I realize feeding a donkey would have possibly been easier, as we have to put the dogs up to feed them so the sheep do not eat their food. But there is no guarantee we would not have had to do the same with a donkey. 

Two, we considered what predators we will most likely encounter. Around us coyotes are the biggest threat, but we could also have problems with neighborhood or stray dogs, bobcats and foxes. I was a little surprised about foxes, but we have heard of them attacking in our area. In our research we found that all three can defend against canines. The biggest factor in Bryson choosing a dog was the fact that donkeys will turn to self preservation before a dog will. Meaning, they will kill unwanted canines, but often because they are a threat to the donkey. Dogs will defend the sheep above all else. Dogs are also the most effective against a variety of threats, including people. But then we learned they actually work better in pairs. I cannot tell you how much we did not need to add more dogs to the farm, but we were dedicated to making sure our herd was protected.

So, the search for our new employees began. At this point we knew we were getting dogs, but there are a lot of breed options. We ended up with an Anatolian Shepherd (male) and an Anatolian x Great Pyrenees (female). The Anatolians are said to withstand heat well, so that will be a bonus in our humid North Carolina summers. The Great Pyrenees do not withstand heat, so I am praying she got more of the Anatolian coat. 

Bryson found our two and so far I am so impressed with them. They were eight weeks old when he got them and both of them came from working dog parents. I was set on naming them Johnny and June. We got June home first and she was so timid. She is still the quieter of the two, vocally and actively, and she is much more polite about asking for attention from people. Bryson got the male the next day and as soon as he set foot on the property we knew Johnny would not fit. He was already wide-set and muscular and just manly. Cash was more fitting. He has never been timid or polite, but he is a smart dog and he wants to please. 

Obviously we have never had livestock guardians before, and we were not 100% sure about acclimating them to our sheep or our sheep to them. This was one reason to get them young. Most of our ewes had recently lambed, so they were a little extra protective. It was so interesting to watch the dogs interact with the sheep. Well, June. Cash reminds me of any little boy crashing into everything in his way. June would get so submissive and let the sheep sniff her all over. She still got head-butted plenty, but she warmed the sheep over first for sure. Eventually Cash got the idea to slow down a little and now they are very much part of the herd. We locked them up at night for the first few weeks because they were so small and new. I am not sure if that was to make us feel better or them. We knew it was time to stop once it became almost impossible to wrangle them. 

They are 5 months old now and still have all the qualities of a puppy, but they stick with their herd and if you startle them, their barks make you want to turn around. June even gets a little unnerved when we are working sheep and she thinks they may be in distress. It will not be long before we will probably need to put the dogs up when we deworm or trim hooves. I hope we never have to find out how well they really do their jobs as guardians, but my confidence grows in them everyday.

The past couple of weeks have seen a lot of mowing around here with less projects, which is the way it seems to go through the summer months. More maintenance than new progress. Also a lot of thistles to cut back. I have been able to ride more horses lately which makes my heart happy. Things are winding down at school for the year and I am sad we are not going to have a normal graduation to see seniors off, but we are having a modified ceremony so at least I will get to see them! This week we will check sheep to see who needs to be dewormed, and we have a surprise for next week’s blog! Check back in to see and thank you for joining us while we homestead on the side! 

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

About Laura

Hello! My name is Laura. My husband Bryson and I live on a 30 acre farm and we are so excited to share our journey of creating our small homestead. In addition to learning about raising sheep, chickens, and gardens, my number one passion is riding my horses. I am also a huge book nerd, a personal growth and development junkie, and an avid fitness and nutrition student. I am also a full time high school agriculture teacher. Bryson is a full time stone mason, and his interest in raising sheep brought us to where we are today. He enjoys hunting and fishing in what little spare time he has. We are both excited to share our journey of homesteading on the side!

3 comments on “Livestock Guardian…dog, donkey…llama??

  1. They are so friendly and cute! It’s hard to imagine them being aggressive. The sheep are adorable too.

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