LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOGS, THE MIGHTY PROTECTORS

Our gentle but fierce LGD “Apu” watching after his goat crew.

Goat farming, without a livestock guardian dog (LGD), can be risky. Goats, especially young ones, can fall prey to coyotes, mountain lions, bob cats and similar predators very easily. We had our fair share of heartbreaks when some of our smaller goats were taken by predators. When installing better fencing and motion lighting was not enough, our local wildlife authorities recommended adding an LGD to increase the protection of our growing herd. They were right!

Our proud Ranger, at a job site, protecting his herd.

Immediately after we bought our first LGD, goat farming became much safer. Our amazing dog Apu (his name means “Mighty” in Quechuan language) is a mix of Anatolian Shepherd and Akbash breeds. He is very gentle with his animal and human friends but watch out! Apu becomes ferocious when he senses a threat. We were told that he is strong enough to kill a lion. Well, I am sure that predators have preferred to stay away rather than testing out his potential.

Since our goat population is increasing, we had to acquire additional LGDs to help protect our goats when they are hired for land-clearing for wildfire risk reduction. Ranger and Mo are a mix of Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd mixes. Just like Apu, they are sweet and super protective of their herd.

The day when Apu and Ranger welcomed LGD puppy “Mo” to Dottie’s Goat Farm.

We love our LGDs as much as our goat crews. We appreciate the vital role they play in keeping our crews protected and giving us peace of mind. We are so happy that our customers love them too and make sure to give them the best attention while they are on their sites.