I spent the last week traveling through northeastern California talking about (and more importantly, learning about) protecting livestock from predators. Thanks to a grant we received, a number of my UC Cooperative Extension colleagues and I were able to bring some folks with experience dealing with wolves and grizzly bears in Wyoming and Montana to share their perspectives with California ranchers. During our formal workshops - and during the 700+ miles we traveled together, I learned a tremendous amount!
George Edwards is the executive director of the Montana Livestock Loss Board, a state program that compensates ranchers for losses to wolves, mountain lions, and grizzly bears. George provided invaluable insights into why a compensation program makes sense - and into the types of tools that ranchers are using in Montana to avoid these losses. He shared this outstanding video about an innovative carcass disposal program in western Montana.
I first met Cat Urbigkit nearly 10 years ago at an American Sheep Industry conference in Reno. I've since had the chance to get to know Cat as a fellow producer and friend. Her experiences using livestock guardian dogs to protect both sheep and cattle from large carnivores - including gray wolves and grizzlies - was especially enlightening.
Now that I've had a few days to reflect on what I learned, my own experiences with livestock guardian dogs have come into clearer focus. Cat emphasized that no two dogs are alike - just as no two livestock operations are alike. A dog that will work for Cat in western Wyoming may not be a good fit for me in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada; similarly, my dogs may not work well in Cat's extensive rangeland environment. In other words, a dog "trained" by someone else - that is, bonded with someone else's livestock in their environment - won't necessarily stay with my sheep. I can't outsource the critical bonding period. My dogs have to bond with my sheep.
Several years ago, a friend who happened to be the shepherd at the UC Davis sheep barn turned to me during another American Sheep Industry conference meeting and said, "Those dogs don't really work, do they?" I was incredulous then - I'm even more incredulous now (having relied on livestock guardian dogs for nearly 15 years). But I think I have a better understanding of his viewpoint. Many of us who use herding dogs will (at least when we're getting started) outsource their training. Perhaps we'll buy a "started" dog; maybe we'll take lessons from an accomplished handler. These dogs - border collies, mostly - will typically work for us. But a livestock guardian dog started by someone else - especially if that person doesn't have a similar operation - will oftentimes fail.
Livestock guardian dogs, as Cat says, are "dogs of nature." Rather than "training" them, we must give them the opportunity to fully express their own instincts. They should smell, hear, and see the livestock they'll spend their lives protecting from the earliest possible moment. I've written previously that I think this means that my dogs need to bond with my sheep and my system (electric fenced paddocks in the urban-rural interface). I think that's not quite right, however. After visiting with Cat, I think the bond between dog and my sheep is the most critical component. My dogs stay with my sheep because of their bond - not because of my fence. The dogs I used early in my shepherding career roamed because I hadn't allowed them to bond properly, I suspect. And this bonding process has to happen on my operation - a livestock guardian dog "specialist" who isn't also a rancher can't duplicate my specific conditions.
Finally, I'm coming to realize that livestock guardian dogs aren't appropriate in all situations. When I consider my most successful dogs, I can't imagine them guarding a handful of pet goats in a suburban neighborhood. A livestock guardian dog's first response to any threat (at least in my experience) is to bark. A livestock guardian dog can't be expected to do its job without barking - we shouldn't put them in the position where barking is a nuisance. That's not to say that we shouldn't use these dogs; it's up to us to explain to our neighbors why we use them and how they work.
One of the things I enjoy most about my chosen avocation - sheepherding - is the opportunity for lifelong learning. Every time I talk to someone who also raises sheep, I learn something. Every time I start a new livestock guardian dog, I learn something. Just as I couldn't outsource learning another language, I can't outsource learning how to start a livestock guardian dog.
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