... you will need these!

7 Pups born 10-13-06 Koci x Tina

( 7th pup's ear is in front of blue bucket)

We kept 3 for replacements. The rest were sold to working farms. These Tatra x Spanish Mastiff dogs are proving to be excellent guardians. At 6 mos old they are doing a superb job during our recent lambing.

The return of the gray wolf to farming areas in Minnesota has changed the threat of depredation considerably. Guard dogs allow us to continue pasture based sheep production while keeping depredation at levels we can (usually) live with. Besides the gray wolf, we also have coyotes, black bear, red fox and the occasional cougar to contend with. We have found 6-8 guard dogs minimum, are necessary to keep our flock safe.

Why does it take so many guard dogs? Because we have an uncontrolled population of gray wolves in this area. A single guard dog alone is vulnerable to being killed by a pack of wolves. There fore it is necessary to have more dogs than there are wolves in the neighborhood. The gray wolf population here is forever changing. Sometimes we just have one, other times a pack of 3, 4 or 5. In 1998 we had a pack of 23 nearby which resulted in devastating losses because we were uninformed about the risk, unprepared, and under dogged.

The dilemma of how to prepare for all possible situations is a big problem because the wolf population usually changes faster than we can change the dog population. (When a pack moves in nearby we jump from 0 wolves to 5 or10 overnight). Generally adult working dogs are not available for sale, and it is costly to keep extra dogs on hand 'just in case'.

Gray wolf track by pasture.

Guard dogs are a serious part of our sheep business. I have tried a number of breeds to find which dogs are most suitable to our particular circumstances. Our job description for a guard dogs includes 1) Attentive, must bond tightly to sheep and be with them at all times. 2) Trustworthy, must not harass or cause harm to sheep. 3) Protective, must have a strong desire to protect the sheep from harm, without being a liability. Our farm is wedged between two highways, and we lease small pastures around the neighborhood, so a close working style (attentiveness) is a high priority.

No dog or breed is perfect but each breed has something to contribute. Our most successful dogs have been hybrids utilizing breeds that offer the features we need. Most of our hybrids contain some amount of Maremma, which we find makes a very attentive dog. Recently we have been including the Owczarek Podhalanski or Polish Tatra which is also a very close working dog that has imparted trustworthiness and a more assertive attitude toward predators. Both the Maremma and Tatra also gather up the sheep and move them away from harms way. This is very strong in the Tatra and can sometimes be a bit annoying such as when the guard dog will not allow the sheep through a gate because he does not want them to go near the visitor who is there to purchase some lambs. Usually with time young dogs learn when to use this skill, and when it is not welcomed.

Como in training below.

Mocha in training below.

Below is Tiger (Koci x Juanita) rapidly becoming Tamarack's "Top Dog"

Tiger is pup on right of photo. (Tatra x Spanish Mastiff)

Tiger on duty below.

Nikki below, saw plenty of wolf action during her time. Nikki was featured in the Animal Planet's "K-9 to Five" series about working dogs. Sadly Nikki passed away in the winter of 2002 at the age of 11 years, to cancer.

Nikki

 Jake

janet@tamaracksheep.com

Return to Tamarack's Home Page