Hey Reader,

I know you've been waiting with bated breath to know who the biggest pup of them all is this week!

And the winner goes to.....RED!

Seriously this girl is still holding her own, but her lead is narrowing. I'm betting over the next few weeks that she's no longer the leader or at least is tying with some of her siblings.

On to the controversy!

And that controversy is that there is not one set way to raise a livestock guardian dog.

No matter what people may scream at you on the Internet.

But don't get me wrong, there are some definite does and don'ts.

Before we got Juno I cannot tell you how many Facebook groups, blog posts, and YouTube videos I poured over to learn about LGDs.

Mostly so I didn't ruin an extremely important investment on my homestead.

Our predator load in Wyoming was heavy with a bear, coyotes, raccoons, and large raptors so LGDs were a must.

Here in Tennessee we also have coyotes, the random and rare bear, bobcats, and still, large raptors, along with the cute, but pesky, raccoons, possums, and armadillos.

With my Type A/Perfectionist personality, I wanted to make sure Juno was setup for success.

Now let me tell you how absolutely confusing it can be to know what to properly do for these amazing dogs.

Especially when all you've grown up with are companion pets, not working animals.

Everyone and their mother has an opinion and most of the time, they're all different.

Bring them inside?

-Yes, so they can bond with you and feel safe.

-No! They'll never bond with livestock if they're not with livestock 24/7.

Touch them?

-Yes! They need to bond with you.

-No, they'll never bond with livestock if you play with and touch them.

Tether them?

-Yes! If you can't supervise them, tethering can work for short durations.

-No! You must always be available to supervise them with livestock.

See what I mean?

I heard and read these conflicting opinions on the daily.

And that sure led to some stress with guiding Juno to maturity. I'm not gonna lie, there were some tears of frustration in those first six months.

But what I found with Juno is that, yes, the puppy and teenager stages can be rough, but her innate instincts shown beautifully through as she matured (most likely in spite of me and my doings).

We found significant advancements in her guardian instinct at 1 year, 1.5 years, and 2 years of age. Juno was also chicken friendly early on after just a few corrections (I'm told this is a Maremma trait).

Juno was fully trustworthy with livestock by 1.5 years and has been the most amazing peace of mind.

Our training (and this may work for you and your pup and it may not) consisted of supervision with livestock, running her in a pen next to livestock, tethering her for short periods with chickens so they could get away if need be, teaching the commands Sit, Stay, Wait, Look at Me, Come, Down, and Uh-uh (negative behavior signal).

Those basic commands and encouraging a calm demeanor around livestock are what we focused on the most.

So answering those questions from above...

• No we didn't bring her inside and that hasn't kept her from enjoying our company.
• Yes we did (and still do) show her physical affection and even played with her to help drain her of the puppy energy.
• Yes we did use short-term tethering as a tool to help train her while protecting livestock.

Now what we didn't do early on was acclimate her to car rides, which I regret. Unfortunately her only trips in the car have been to the vet which, as you can imagine, does not endear her to them.

You should also consider the time period it takes for these dogs to be trustworthy. The average time is 2 years of training and supervision, but some dogs mature sooner than then and some later. Some may seem safe with livestock and then you end up with defeathered chickens.

And on that note, having these dogs can come with dead or injured livestock at times. It's unfortunate, but as I've stated before, these puppies can't just be dumped into a field with animals and be expected to know what to do.

These dogs are bred to have a lower prey drive but that doesn't mean it's zero. And sometimes they're just playing with animals and don't understand that livestock could be fatally injured with play.

They have innate instincts but they also need a guiding hand as our ancestors, rural shepherds, would have provided day in and day out by living and moving with their flocks.

And just because a dog may have injured or killed livestock doesn't mean they are ruined forever and must be dumped. Start back at the basics and work your way back to trust.

Honestly to sum all this up, training a LGD comes down to you and your dog's temperament, how they're motivated (food vs verbal/physical praise, for example), and what your needs are for livestock protection.

I know that's not a helpful answer at all. It's basically a non-answer.

But all dogs are different. What works for one might not work for another, even for dogs from the same litter. Jove and Juno are sure different in temperament and their training needs.

My suggestions:

• Do your research but listen to your gut
• Find trustworthy sources of information (I'll share my favorites in an upcoming email)
• Find a local mentor
• Trust your dog and their innate instincts

Ciao for now!

Jamie

P.s I'd love to hear your thoughts on training LGDs! What resources did you use? Best ideas? Regrets? Email me!

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