Jackie Church refuse to give up on Apollo . The son of Apollo ’s former owner would tease the 6 - year - old Maremma , making it act out toward men . Instead of letting the owner give up Apollo to the shelter , where the dog would face mercy killing for aggression , Church took thelivestock defender dogin and set up to work on rehabilitating it .
She spent month work with Apollo . She started by spending time around the frump , doing job in its pasture or reading a book near its tax shelter , to help it get wonted to being around fresh people .
“ He was great with stock , ” Church recalls . “ His result was multitude . ”
After a few week of watch Church sit in the pasture , Apollo worked up the bravery to draw near her , allowing Church to pet the dog-iron for the first fourth dimension . A few month later , Apollo was eager to be scratch behind the auricle and search the pasture at Church ’s side .
Once Apollo palpate comfy around Church , she started teaching the dog to hope men . Her husband , Tom , follow her to the pastureland to feed Apollo and help with job . After six calendar month of rehabilitation , Apollo was adopt by a farmer who put the dog back to work hold stock , while bid it plenty of warmness and attention .
“ He started to learn to rely us and blossomed into this incredible dog that bonk being around people , ” Church says .
Rachael Brugger
Working with Apollo result Church down an unexpected path , introducing her to the need for an experienced trainer to rehabilitate livestock - shielder dogs . Church , who breeds Maremmas and raise sheep , goats and chickens on Windance Farms in upstate New York , started working with rescue groups and frustrated Farmer who believed their “ failed ” farm animal - guardian firedog were too damage to succeed on the farm .
Dogs with Farm Potential
Livestock - guardian wienerwurst , aka LGDs , admit breeds , such asGreat Pyrenees , Anatolian Shepherds , Akbash and Maremmas , that are bred to work on farms , protectinggoats , sheep , chickensand other livestock from predators . A well - socialized , well - train LGD is an asset to a small - scale leaf farm , where strongfencesand shelters might not be sufficient to keep farm animal good from depredation .
While most LGDs are put into the grass as pup and easily decide into their roles as guardians , some LGDs struggle to adapt to farm life . take , such as poor socialization , inexperienced proprietor and want of fundamental interaction with successful protector dogs , can conduce the dogs to roughhouse with livestock , attack the animals they ’re supposed to protector interact dangerously with their owners . discomfited with their failed dog , farmers often dump the dogs in rural area to fend for themselves or surrender them to shelters where their destiny is unforgiving .
There ’s a perceptual experience that a working dog-iron that escaped its pasture to roam , chase after the stock or killed its charges is n’t cut out for farm life story , according to Sandra Moore , of Haven Acres Farm near Austin , Texas .
Rachael Brugger
“ I see ad all the sentence for litter of puppies from ‘ working parent , ’ and Farmer buy these domestic dog and look them to know what to do , ” Moore says . “ Guess what ? The puppies are n’t working . Just because a dog come from a successful work yoke does n’t stand for it ’ll have intercourse what to do . ”
Moore has 15 LGDs patrolling the pastures of goat , chickens , duck and peafowl on her farm . While her guardian click are well - socialized , bonded to their charges and learn from each other , Moore know that not all LGDs are as golden . In 2007 , she started working with rescue groups and farmers to rehabilitate failed shielder dogs .
Farmer Failures
A few calendar month ago , Moore go out an ad on Craigslist from a dog owner who wanted to sell her 4 - month - old Great Pyrenees . She purchase the whelp from a stock breeder to protect a mickle of backyard chickens . Instead of hang around in the grass and watching for predators , the 8 - week - previous ball of fluff tried to befriend the chickens . disturbed that the dog would vote out the chickens , the urban farmer decided to sell it online and use the John Cash to deal up to a trained LGD . Moore purchased the dog , key out it Sugar Bear and set to exploit training it as an LGD for her farm .
“ Just because the stock has guardian instincts does n’t mean he have a go at it what to do , ” Moore explains . “ You ca n’t just put puppies out in a pasture on their own and carry them to work . He could have become a break dog . ”
To the deferred payment of the original proprietor , the dog was removed from the chicken streamlet before it kill any of its charge .
“ When [ an LGD ] is n’t doing its job … the problem needs to be addressed before the dog harm the livestock it ’s conjecture to protect , ” says Bonnie Beaver , DVM , a veterinary behaviorist and professor at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences .
Most of the call Moore receive about rehabilitating or rehoming LGDs are from farmers who bought puppies , don the dogs bonk what to do , and suffered stemma losses or conduct with bad behavior on the farm .
“ When this happens , it ’s the dogs that suffer , ” she says .
Educating granger is one of the large challenges Moore face in her work with LGDs . She believe that when a guardian dog fails , it ’s often the farmer who should be blamed , not the dog .
After a few week at Haven Acres Farm , Sugar Bear learned how to be a successful guardian wienerwurst . Moore established a eating routine , placed the hound in a unassailable paddock where it discover farm chores , introduced it to her successful protector dogs to get a line appropriate behaviors , and started letting it to interact with chickens and goats so she could monitor its reactions , allowing Sugar Bear to get the hang of what it takes to be a contribute phallus of the farm .
According to Moore , LGDs are resilient andiron with strong instincts , and rehabilitation is possible . Guardian dogs that die to flourish in their previous environments can be retrain to work in the fields or retired from spirit on the farm and placed with families as companion dogs . The process take time , campaign and know - how , but the result are often dumfounding .
Check into Rehab
Rehabilitating an LGD require setting clear , concise and uniform expectations , according to Church . The dog should understand what is expect of it and be praise for responding to command . It ’s also essential to take cue from the detent .
“ When you take in a rescue , you need to countenance the frump limit the footstep , ” Church say .
After taking in a Maremma that was killing chickens , Church started assessing its knowledge of commands . It did n’t take long for her to realize that the heel did n’t know its own name because no one ever spoke to it . Before she could teach the blackguard bid and have a bun in the oven it to answer , she postulate to teach it to respond to its name .
During rehabilitation , the LGD involve to be part of the action on the farm , hearing tractors moving across a pasture , the auditory sensation of a cellular telephone phone vibrancy or music playing during morning chores ; watching cats belt along through the barn ; or farmhands harvest harvest and lean to pedigree . “ The more things you’re able to peril them to , the less likely they are to see them as a threat , ” Church say .
Rehabilitating an LGD also command note its behavior .
church service received a call about a Great Pyrenees that assault an alpaca it was supposed to protect . The dog could n’t be trusted with alpaca but repeat observations with other caudex usher Church it was comfortable and well - mannered around sheep , so the dog was rehabilitate to become a successful sheep protector on a different farm .
“ Just because a dog failed at one matter does n’t mean it ’s a failure , ” she explains .
Beaver , former Chief Executive of the American Veterinary Medical Association , consider that puppies need to be socialized with the animals they ’re supposed to be guarding and employ in regular interaction with people .
Socializing an LGD with people is an authoritative part of the reclamation process . In contrast with the old - shoal methods of provoke livestock guardians with minimum fundamental interaction , showing LGDs affection is encouraged .
“ There used to be a reverence that testify a dog affection would cause it to bond with the Fannie Farmer and not the stock , ” Moore explicate . “ It ’s not true . There is nothing improper with pass into the pasture to tip the hot dog and giving them a tap on the straits and a picayune love life . It makes them even more patriotic and willing to be there when you demand them . ”
In fact , not bring together with the dog could backfire . Dogs that have limited fundamental interaction with people can turn semi - ferine , according to Moore .
In 2010 , Moore was contact by a Fannie Farmer who was selling her herd of stooge and no longer wanted her LGD . Rescues refused to take Gus because the weenie bark and lunged at anyone who amaze too close to its pasture . Even the Fannie Farmer was afraid of the 4 - year - old Great Pyrenees mix ; she cast aside food over the fence and extend a stick to record the pasture .
“ The miserable detent had n’t gotten any attention in his whole life , ” she says .
Moore chit-chat the farm five times over a two - month period of time to assess Gus and advance the dog-iron ’s trust . Confident that Gus was untrained but not strong-growing , she bring the dog home and integrate it into farm life history . Although dull to warm up up to novel people , the dog has grow to entrust Moore and other farm regular and maintain its role as a successful caprine animal defender .
Role Models
In addition to training and rehabilitate LGDs using clear , concise and consistent commands , Church relies on help from the other guardian wienerwurst on her farm .
“ It ’s idealistic to exploit [ dogs going through renewal ] withexisting dogs that are trained , ” she says . “ The trained hot dog become mentors , teach the [ failed ] dogs how to act . ”
Farmers who put LGD puppies in a pasture with older guardian frump need to ensure that the older dogs are well - take aim because the puppies will observe and mimic their demeanor . For LGDs undergoing rehabilitation , mentor dogs instill respect and manner , Moore say .
She believes that her Australian Cattle Dog , Oliver , helped a deliver Great Pyrenees adjudicate into life on the farm . Kirby was 60 dog pound underweight when Moore pull the dog from a shelter in Austin . It was so dire and submissive that Moore believes it was abused . Instead of speed to turn the rescued dog into a work guardian domestic dog , Moore set Kirby up in a individual paddock and put out intellectual nourishment and H2O but did n’t attempt to touch or teach the wienerwurst commands . After Kirby regained some weight and improve physically , Moore introduced it to Oliver .
“ Oliver had this way of interacting with Kirby that ensure him , ‘ This is a good place . You ’ll wish it here , ’ ” she says . “ [ Kirby ] started to come out of his plate . ”
Moore lead off evidence Oliver affection in front of Kirby , and the shy dog eventually set out seeking out her attending . While Kirby did n’t show promise as an LGD , the dog became a cherished familiar for Moore and Oliver .
“ Most of the time , the hound are trying to tell us what they want and we ’re not listening , ” she says . “ It ’s a matter of dish to watch these dogs brandish and become valuable member of the farm . ”
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This article originally come out in the July / August 2013 issue ofHobby Farms .
