Bonding LGDs to Livestock
By Texas A&M AgriLife
Bonding guardian dogs to livestock research shows that social bonding between dogs and small ruminants depends on imprinting the puppies when they are roughly four to sixteen weeks old. This developmental stage will “set” the dog’s adult behavior. In other words, imprinting changes the dog forever. During this time, the pup has the greatest capacity to learn particular social skills. This is when dominance hierarchies are formed and dogs learn and practice their submissive behaviors. Some people say that the dog thinks it is a sheep, but that is wrong. It knows it is a dog, the social behaviors it directs toward the sheep are typical of dogs, not sheep. Old world shepherd dogs typically spend their first sixteen weeks with one or two littermates, a few adult dogs including their mother, a few hundred sheep or goats, and a shepherd. After sixteen weeks, the dog has been behaviorally molded in such a way that it prefers to spend the rest of its life with the group.
Since most sheep in Texas are not herded, a human is most often absent from the flock social structure. During the bonding phase, modifications must be made to allow the young guardian dogs to bond with small ruminants without constant human supervision. Guardian dogs are usually trained on the rancher’s property with the livestock they will be guarding. Training these dogs is not difficult and is even easier when you understand some basic concepts. Animals respond and learn more quickly when rewarded than when punished. It is more important to stop inappropriate behaviors than to punish them. Air horns, such as the ones typically used in boats, are a great training aid. These horns are handy and a short blast or two can usually stop unwanted behavior at a considerable distance. When you disrupt and stop certain behaviors, dogs should ultimately abandon them.
There are a few simple guidelines to follow when bonding a dog to livestock.
● Start them young. The ideal time to begin bonding guardian dogs to livestock is from four to eight weeks of age, while they are still nursing. Research indicates that dogs might not properly bond with livestock if the bonding phase is started after the dog is 16 weeks old.
● Use small bonding pens. Place one or two LGD puppies in small pens (150 square feet) with three to six livestock animals (see photo). Livestock used for bonding should have previously been socialized with dogs and not be aggressive toward them.
Dams and their offspring that have been socialized to guard dogs are excellent candidates. However, you can use dams that do not have experience with dogs as long as you are vigilant and remove animals that are aggressive toward the LGD. Socialized dams and their offspring will provide companionship to the dogs while not tolerating inappropriate behavior from the pup. If possible, puppies should be socialized with hair and wool sheep and lambs, and meat and angora goats. Although you may have only one class of livestock, your neighbors may have different animals. If your dogs have not been socialized broadly, it increases the possibility that they may be blamed for injury to neighboring livestock. The LGD puppies should have an area in the pen where livestock are excluded at feeding time. At around 16 weeks, these LGDs-in-training can be released with their bonded livestock into larger pens or small pastures. They should be monitored closely for the following couple of weeks.
A bonding pen for a young livestock guardian dog and an ewe with lambs. The area in the background is blocked off for the guard dog and its feeding station. Photo provided by John Walker
● Teach respect for the boundary fence. This is the most important lesson that a guardian dog can learn. Research shows that only 52 percent of guardian dogs live to be six years old and that 57 percent of their fatalities occur when they leave the property. The next highest loss is due to culling because of poor behavior, which includes escaping. The saying “good fences make good neighbors” also applies to livestock and guard dogs. However, on many properties this is not possible and some dogs will find a new hole in the fence each time another is patched. If you observe this behavior during the bonding period, and this is when it usually happens, the dog should be culled. A triangular PVC collar can be used as a training aid to prevent dogs from breaching fences. Some producers also use electric fence to keep livestock and LGD within pastures or bonding pens.
● Teach basic commands. The LGD puppies should be taught a “come” command. You can do this when feeding the puppies and the livestock. When feeding or checking on the LGDs in training, mild acts of affection such as petting on the head or scratching their belly, is encouraged to reinforce a “come” command. However, these should be brief to avoid excessive bonding between owner and dog. LGDs should also be taught a “no” command. Air horns can be very effective for stopping unwanted behaviors. It is common for LGDs to bite or chew on livestock during the bonding phase and it is not necessarily a sign that they will be an ineffective guardian. Correct this behavior immediately. In larger enclosures and five to ten month old dogs may chase the animals with which they are bonding. You can use a dangle chain with an object such as a short length of 2 X 4 attached to slow the dog and stop this chasing behavior. Livestock that are being chewed on are often the weakest and should be removed from the flock used for the bonding process.Write your text here...
The proceeding is an excerpt from Livestock Guardian Dogs, a publication from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, written by R. Reid Redden Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Sheep and Goat Specialist John, M. Tomeček Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Wildlife Specialist and John W. Walker Texas A&M AgriLife Research Resident Director of Research – San Angelo The Texas A&M University System
Reprinted with permission.