Managing Livestock Guardian Dogs

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We can’t raise goats at Kopf Canyon Ranch without livestock guardian dogs (LGDs). A solid, reliable LGD is the most valuable tool on the ranch. On the canyon, we have wolves, cougars, bears, eagles, owls, and coyotes. While all of these pose a danger, the biggest threat to goats is a domestic dog. Consequently, protection from predators must be a consideration for every goat owner, even if you don’t live in a rural area with a lot of wildlife.

As a large operation on hundreds of acres with hundreds of goats, we employ a lot of livestock guardian dogs — usually a dozen or so.

How many livestock guardian dogs does it take to be effective?

In our experience, one LGD is never enough. While the number of dogs needed depends on terrain, area size, and predator load, another important consideration is the dog’s well-being.

Just as goats are herd animals, and we know better than to keep one alone, dogs are pack animals. A house dog doesn’t miss the pack; their instincts are different, and they bond with their family. A working LGD will never see its charges or family as a pack. The pack “speaks” the same language, and works as a unit.

We find that single dogs, in general, bark a lot. They have to. They have to deter a threat before it presents itself because they aren’t as confident in their ability to confront it alone. They don’t have “down time” and can’t rest as easily as a dog that can alternate with a partner. No one has their back. If they get sick or hurt, the flock or herd is without protection. Predators are opportunists, and livestock guardian dogs know it.

Multiple predators can distract a single dog and come in from behind to maraud the herd. A dog alone is never off-duty and, as a result, may move to aggression faster than a pack. At different times of the year, our goats are separated into different areas. We can have as many as six different herd groups — and no group with less than two dogs unless it’s bordered on all sides by other groups. When we recombine the groups, we may have as many as seven dogs together. People think it must be incredibly loud on the ranch and ask how we get any sleep with that many dogs. Easily, because most of the time, it’s silent here. They don’t have to actively deter threats because they are confident in their ability to defend. Our dogs only bark when they have identified a threat. As soon as a chorus of them starts (from every group), the threat usually retreats … quickly. While we know our dogs can kill a predator, we don’t want them to need to. We don’t want anything injured or killed — dogs or predators — we only want peace and protection.

Where do we get our livestock guardian dogs?

For the most part, we raise our own. For a herd our size, with the apex predators and difficult terrain, the most successful livestock guardian dogs are born in our pack and raised by the pack. This is all they know. We have done LGD rehab since 2006 and still take one in from time to time. Most of the dogs that come to us as rehabs were placed in situations as puppies with no mentor dogs to teach them, and because of that, they developed dangerous habits. Many are abused as a result of their puppy indiscretions.

Rehabs and rescues require a lot of work and are an extreme liability. They require skilled and strict mentors. Some are outstanding dogs, but others have killed or injured stock in the process of retraining. One took a full two years before he was effective at all — and still required more training. One was killed by predators because he just didn’t understand how to work with a team. Some have such an extreme distrust of people, they can’t be handled. We have this situation with one of our current rehabs.

Mentoring matters for both new owners and dogs.

As a new LGD owner, you can set yourself — and the dog — up for better success by buying an older pup (preferably 12 weeks, if not older) from a breeder who will also offer to mentor you as an LGD owner. There are so many different answers to a first-time LGD owner’s questions, it can get confusing and overwhelming. The breeder knows the temperament of their lines and should be a good resource. If they aren’t, keep looking. Granted, adopting a 40-pound puppy isn’t as cute as a mini-marshmallow, but if the outcome is a working dog, cute isn’t valuable currency.

Without a dog mentor, a young pup is vulnerable in the herd and can become very defensive, which can later translate into aggressiveness. During playful moments, the pup will seek to engage the herd in the absence of another dog.

The play stage is critical to establishing hierarchy and trust. Training is ineffective if there is fear. When a puppy is afraid, it doesn’t think — it reacts. The best — and most expensive — way to start with an LGD is to buy an experienced LGD and have that LGD mentor its future partner.

Valuable LGD skills needed when confronting a predator are not learned without a second LGD. They practice holds, takedowns, escapes, chasing, boundary setting, and a myriad of other dynamics we don’t see. They keep each other fit and agile. The solo LGD will never get a break or have backup at a critical moment.

Do we have problems with siblings working together?

We don’t have problems with siblings in particular; we have a lot of siblings working together. Some dogs just don’t pair well with other dogs. We find that most “Littermate Syndrome” stems from two puppies being placed without an adult mentor — whether it be another LGD or a very hands-on owner.

Resource guarding is good if they’re guarding the right thing. It’s part of the livestock guardian dog’s instinct to protect what is theirs. The boundaries get blurry when they define what’s theirs as something that should be shared with the herd (water, shelter).

Overcorrecting this behavior can “break” an LGD. Their food must be theirs, not the goats,’ and the herd must be theirs, and they shouldn’t allow intruders. It’s very important for the dogs to know “mine,” “not mine,” and “ours.” Everything the dogs have is shared between us and them — but we can take it. The dogs are ours, meaning we can handle them and give them commands. Belly rubs aren’t just cute but critical for us. In raising LGDs, there are many schools of thought, from a hands-off approach so they don’t become pets to any version of hands-on. We don’t make pets of our livestock guardian dogs but are very deliberate about our interaction with them.

Belly rubs, paw holding, and looking in their mouths are part of desensitization, submission, and learning that handlers and touch are “safe.” At one point or another, an LGD will need handling, whether to trim dewclaws, groom, vaccinate, treat an injury, or pull quills. An LGD that hasn’t been socialized or desensitized can be very dangerous.

How do we feed our LGDs?

We fenceline-feed each day to interact with the dogs, monitor their interactions with each other, take a census, and do a well-being check. Multiple dogs in each pasture can be challenging as they define their space and roles. A dog that does not play well with others or keeps others from eating can be a liability. To curb this, we’ve taught our dogs from puppyhood to eat “family style.” We do have a bowl for each pup, but from time to time, we’ll start them with a shared bowl. This is especially important if multiple dogs use a single feeder in a jump gate situation. Dogs can and will keep others from eating.

We’ve found self-feeding stations impractical for our operation. One of our rehabs could guard five bowls and starve out her pack mates if she was unmonitored. We work with our rehabs to curb food aggression — they aren’t allowed to eat when we’re filling their bowls; they have to wait until they’re cued. Depending on the climate of the pack, we fill bowls and allow them to determine the order and place where they eat or assign each dog’s station and rank.

How do we decide which livestock guardian dogs to assign to which pens?

It’s no easy task. They all have different strengths, weaknesses, and temperaments. Some dogs are excellent in a kidding pasture, others are not, and age isn’t necessarily the determining factor. We’ve found our females to be most aggressive within the pack, both towards other females — even if they’re both spayed — and males. The most flexible pairings are with neutered males.

If you run multiple dogs, they’ll fight. If they’re well-matched, it’s rare, but it still happens. There’s a hierarchy in the “pack,” and each one has a role to play. If one feels threatened, or one threatens, they’ll fight to establish order. There are times when it’s appropriate to break up fights and times when it’s not. If food is involved, there’s an intervention and reprimand. Food aggression to the level of a fight isn’t tolerated.  

Sometimes, two dogs aren’t compatible. Dogs that aren’t compatible can and will fight to the death. Removing one dog changes the pack dynamic. Even without the aggressor, there’s no guarantee the group will continue without conflict. We try to rotate pairings as much as possible, beginning in puppyhood, to keep assignments fluid and the pack flexible as members age out and new members are introduced.

Effective livestock guardian dogs are an investment in resources, management, and time, but what they offer as a return for your investment is immeasurable. We’re absolutely in awe of their steadfastness and loyalty to their calling. We believe capitalizing on mentorship has increased their skill sets from generation to generation and optimized their performance for our ranch.

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KAREN KOPF and her husband Dale own Kopf Canyon Ranch in Troy, Idaho. They primarily raise Kiko goats. They enjoy “goating” together and helping others goat. You can learn more about them at Kopf Canyon Ranch on Facebook or KikoGoats.org