How do you train dogs to protect livestock?
When farmers have outside dogs that protect all their livestock how do they do this? I cant see a farmer that lives in a rural area going to training lessons. Or do they buy an adult dog already trained?
Guardian dogs are often purchased very carefully from breeders whose dogs are also working guardians. From the time the pups are small, they are kept solely with the livestock (usually sheep), and handled by their owners mostly only at feeding times.
Livestock guardian dogs usually need very little training, as their guarding behaviors are instinctual-the only training they usually need is corrective (biting the sheep, chasing other animals, wandering from the flock, etc.), along with obdience training (they are not known for their willingness to please their owners, like a sporting dog would-they need to be taught this from a young age)….these dogs also need “training” to stay with the flock-they are often penned up with lambs in an unescapable pen to allow them to bond with the sheep-bonding overly with humans is discouraged. Guardian dogs should consider themselves a member of the flock, and instinctively ward of predators.
Obedience training usually consists of just the basics: come, sit, stay, no, and walking on a leash. Basic socialization of the dog with herding dogs it’s expected to work with and with family members is necessary, but too much human-dog bonding can create a danger to the sheep (if the dog prefers the human company and leaves the sheep to return to the home), which is why they are largely left on their own with the sheep. These dogs are usually loved and respected by their owners, but they are considered a tool, a necessary piece of farm equipment, by their owners, and are expected to work.
If you’re considering a guardian dog as a pet, remember that these instincts are quite strong and that intense training and socialization is necessary to make them a good pet. These dogs aren’t so fond of people as many other breeds are…they may love their family more than anything, but visitors and strangers are often viewed as the enemy. It takes hard work, in some cases, to overcome this.
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