Two months ago I decided that I was going to move ahead with getting sheep, and if I had sheep, regardless of my fencing, I wanted a dog to protect my sheep from predators. When people think of guard dogs they usually think of German Shepherds and Rottweilers, but they have their drawbacks when it comes to protecting livestock.
German Shepherds and Rottweilers were initially bred to move livestock. This means that they have prey drive that has been redirected to moving stock rather than eating it. This is good. This also has to be trained to keep the dog from taking their inbred prey drive to it's logical conclusion. Additionally, they have been bred to bond strongly to humans and take direction from them, again, this helps redirect that all-important prey drive.
I wanted a more independent breed. I wanted a dog that could live outside and comfortably without human guidance and 24/7 human companionship. I also need a dog that won't eat my stock, because in spite of what they were initially bred for both breeds mentioned above have largely lost much of their normal prey inhibition and have been bred for bite-work and police work, making a poor choice for livestock protection even worse!!
So, I began researching, and what I found was a whole group of dogs specifically bred to do exactly what I needed. Large, independent (in fact, largely difficult to train beyond the basics!) dogs with almost zero prey drive! This group of dogs, probably most recognizable to folks in the Great Pyrenees, is large, hardy, fluffy, and oftentimes white.
So, I began researching in earnest, calling friends who had the breeds most commonly seen in the US, and crosses of them. When I looked into them, the breed I most wanted, at first blush, was an anatolian, large, grey, with a dark mask and shorter hair than many of the other dogs, they seemed to be the best bet, and in Arizona, at least they are often mixed with Great Pyrenees (Pyr) or other white fluffy LGDs.
I spoke to a friend who had owned a Pyr that she totally loved, a great dog I had met numerous times, and had since taken in a few other large fluffys. She did not like the Pyr x Anatolian at all, finding the intensity of the anatolian to be too much. It wanted to eat any dog she brought in for weeks and sometimes months, rather than settling into a new norm.
Others I spoke with had also found the anatolian and anatolian x to be too intense and too drivey. These dogs are probably great on huge open range places, or with the right owners, but, just starting off I did not need the additional challenge of a breed that might need even more work!
I found that 1/4 or less anatolian seemed the ideal cross (since crosses are more common here for unknown reasons).
I began to look.
I found a litter of 1/4 Pyr, 1/4 anatolian, 1/2 akbash (yes I had to look it up!) x. They were with stock (poultry) now (very important for bonding even at youngest puppyhood), and from working parents. However, the fly in the ointment was that these dogs were not with sheep. And I still have no sheep, and I won't for some time, meaning that bonding to sheep in the first critical months would be delayed. I elected to hold off.
Here's the rub however; it takes up to two years for an LGD to grow out of silly puppyhood and totally step into the mantle of trustworthy guardian dog. Until that time they are prone to be goofy, wander off if not penned (this habit continues throughout their lives - with some breeds being worse than others), and even kill livestock through adolescent silliness and rough play.
The sooner I got a dog, the sooner I could begin running off the coyotes who have grown complacent to my 30 pound border collies and the intermittent senile barking of my deaf German Shepherd.
Additionally, the livestock I do own, poultry, is the hardest for LGDs to bond to, and many may never bond with them, so I need time to get to work getting the stock I do own protected.
Then, I found a bunch of much younger (and therefore further from weaning and arriving at my place, and closer to the hoped-for arrival of my sheep) maremmas (yes, I also had to look these up!). These pups, in addition to being younger, are also currently with sheep, chickens, horses, cattle, and goats, so pretty much every conceivable type of stock. And even in the short weeks that they are with their mom, they will learn valuable things about how these other animals in their environment act and more importantly, how to act around them. Instead of an eight month gap between the puppy's arrival and the arrival of my stock, and no prior contact with said stock, these puppies will have a 3-4 month gap in-between their exposures to sheep (less if I can help it!!)
Lastly, my continuing research showed that this breed, once bonded with their stock are less likely to wander, and more apt to stay glued to their flock. These dogs (LGDs) wander not aimlessly like house dogs do, but to create predator-free buffers around their stock. So the behavior is bred into many of these dogs, and can create issues with fence jumping and multiple escape attempts. If I can get away with fewer of these unsavory behaviors, all the better.
Lastly, I need this dog to be wary of strangers (which it is bred for) but not so stand-offish that it makes friendly visitors uneasy.
Even though the breeders of these pups came highly recommended by a friend who also owned maremmas, I needed to meet the parents and ensure their temperaments would work in my situation. So off I trekked on a 12 hour round trip drive up to northern Arizona to meet the pups and the parents. The pups were only three weeks old, and so beyond being white, fluffy, and cute, there was really no value to meeting them. Their parents, however were the important ones! Dad (Elvis) was out protecting his stock in the field. I met him when I stopped to photograph his sheep. He charged the car from a respectful distance, barked once or twice, and then seemed more baffled and curious than alarmed. He was never aggressive. I did not linger, not wanting to upset him. I was a stranger in his pasture after all.
Mom, who was obviously outside with her pups, was beautiful and friendly. She had no issues with me approaching her (with her owners of course!) and handing her snoozing pups. I was so busy petting her and talking to her owners and watching the sleeping pups, and pushing away mooching calves that I totally failed to get photos of her!!
Anyway, I was more than satisfied with the mental health of the parents, and so, in 5-7 weeks I will again trek north to pick up my new puppy!!
