Livestock Guardian Dogs Vs. Predators: How LGDs Protect Their Charges
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I first became interested in livestock guardian dogs when faced with the familiar dilemma of wanting my chickens to be free range, but also wanting them to be safe. As an animal lover, I also hated the idea of shooting coyotes (one of my husband’s solutions) or harming animals in any other way. For me, livestock guardian dogs were the perfect solution.
How do livestock guardian dogs protect against predators? Livestock guardian dogs have several methods for protecting their charges from predators, including perimeter patrols, marking, barking, posturing, chasing, and attacking. Multiple livestock guardian dogs are typically needed for protection against larger predators, like bears and packs of wolves or coyotes.
What Predators Do Livestock Guardian Dogs Defend Against?
Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) defend against both small and large terrestrial predators as well as birds of prey. The types of predators will depend on the stock they are guarding as well as the geographical area in which they are situated. Smaller predators and birds of prey will typically go for poultry and for baby livestock, whereas the larger animals are capable of taking down adults as well.
Below is a list of the most common predators livestock guardian dogs face:
How Do Livestock Guardian Dogs Defend Against Predators?
Livestock guardian dogs have many physical characteristics that make them highly capable of fighting predators. Their immense size, for one, is an immediate deterrent for a lot of predators. The potential cost for the predator outweighs the potential benefit and therefore many (especially smaller predators) will often leave LGDs and their charges alone.
Livestock guardian dogs also have a lot of fur (many have double layered coats), which is quite a bit more than the average house dog. This protects them from predators’ bites and makes them a lot more difficult to injure.
LGDs also have a menacing set of teeth – with bite forces of up to 700 psi (this is the bite force of the Kangal breed). To put this in perspective, 700 psi is three times the bite force of the average sized American Pitbull!
Livestock guardian dogs have incredible endurance, agility and strength and have a lower level of fear compared to other dogs. They have also been bred to think independently and act decisively with confidence.
Some livestock guardian dog breeds (like the Akbash, Turkish Kangal, and Anatolian Shepherds) protect against predators through the use of roaming techniques, whereas others (like the Spanish Mastiff, Pyrenean Mastiff, Maremma, and Polish Tatra Sheepdog) guard the livestock or homestead in closer quarters. For more on roaming and close-guarding dogs, check out my article, Livestock Guardian Dogs and Roaming.
Here are some of the most common livestock guardian dog tactics to protect charges from predators:
Perimeter Patrols - LGDs do perimeter patrols to “keep tabs” on their territory and the surrounding areas. They may be marking their territory but may also be hunting down predators they have sensed are nearby. LGDs will roam as far as they can see or hear threats, depending on how far they believe their territory stretches.
Territorial Marking – By marking the area and perimeter of their territory with urine, they are sending a chemical communication that the area is theirs and it is off limits to other animals.
Barking – This is often the LGDs primary defense mechanism. Barking intimidates nearby predators and tells them that the territory is protected. If there’s only one LGD, he will often bark in multiple pitches and tones to imitate the sound of a pack. For more on barking, see my article, Livestock Guardian Dogs and Barking.
Posturing – LGDs will put themselves in intimidating postures. They may try to make themselves look larger and may take a defensive stance – letting the predators know they are ready to attack.
Chasing – If predators are not deterred by territorial marking, barking, and posturing, then a chase may ensue. Chasing predators does put LGDs in potentially life-threatening situations. However, most LGDs are smart enough to assess the risk involved and will only chase when necessary. If you have more than one LGD, there’s strength in numbers. A few may go on the chase and a couple may hang back to make sure the livestock are kept safe in the other LGDs’ absences.
Attack – Most of the time, LGDs will attack as a last resort. Most dogs work by scaring the predators away (by barking, posturing, and chasing them off), rather than killing or injuring them. However, if necessary, LGDs will not hesitate to attack and put themselves between their charges and the predator(s).
Often times, the tactic used will be dependent upon how close the predator is, not necessarily just to the property perimeter, but to the livestock themselves. If there is a predator close to the territory boundary, the LGDs will put themselves between the perceived threat and their charges, but may decide this does not elicit a larger response unless the predator comes closer.
Research has shown that LGDs employ this type of decision-making process to reduce both their livestocks’ and owners’ stress levels. LGDs use a variety of techniques, but are smart enough to decide when each tactic is preferable.
Below is an interesting video showing a Great Pyrenees and Akbash scaring away a bear (warning: the video does contain strong language):
How Many Livestock Guardian Dogs Are Needed to Defend Against Predators?
The number of dogs you need will depend on the types of predators in your area, how many predators your dogs are defending against at one time, how spread out your livestock is, and how many livestock you have.
Typically, if only small predators are in the area (not common) and your property is small, you may get by with only one LGD. One dog will also usually be able to take down a lone wolf or coyote, but may be killed by packs. One dog certainly cannot take on a larger predator. See the YouTube video below of a single Great Pyrenees challenging a bull moose. Although the dog was not harmed in this case, he very easily could have been. I realize that the bull moose is more of an adversary than a predator, but the same thing could happen with a bear or pack of wolves.
Also keep in mind that dogs are pack animals and thrive on companionship. For this reason alone, I don’t recommend having only one LGD.
Another thing to consider is how large your ranch is and how much your livestock spreads out. If livestock are spread out over a large area, you’ll need more dogs to protect them as there is more land to cover and guard at one time.
For more on this topic, see my article, How Many Livestock Guardian Dogs Do You Need?
Overall, LGDs are a great choice to provide non-lethal predator control to protect the livestock and homestead.
Obedience Training and Livestock Guardian Dog Safety from Predators
Before leaving you, I want to bring up one more thing. In both of the videos above, the livestock guardian dogs didn’t listen well to their owners. At the end of the first video (the LGDs vs. the bear), the dogs do finally listen. The man says, “Let him go. I want him out of here,” and his second dog finally left, but for most of the video, both dogs ignored his commands. In the second video (the LGD vs. the Moose), the dog ignored all commands from multiple people.
This will surprise some who have heard the oft-stated myth that livestock guardian dogs are “stubborn” and “not trainable,” but LGDs not only are trainable, but actually require, at the very least, some basic obedience training. Yes, this may take a lot of time and patience, but consider that the dog in the second video could easily have been killed. If your dogs get in a situation like that while you are around, basic obedience training could save their lives.
I am working on posting loads of material on LGD training, but for basic obedience training I highly recommend the program Brain Training for Dogs (affiliate link) with Adrienne Farricelli, a CPDT-KA certified dog trainer who ran an incredibly successful cage-less boarding and training company. She is the queen of positive training methods for dogs.
Brain Training for Dogs includes a myriad of resources that will provide you with all the information you need to train your livestock guardian dogs to listen to simple, life-saving commands. Your dogs need to respond to basic commands if you want to be able to keep them safe. This program has provided amazing results for our English Shepherd, Sage, in her training in herding cattle, and I will be using it again when my Spanish Mastiff guardian dog puppies arrive later this year!
For a full review of the Brain Training for Dogs program, see my article here.
You May Also Be Interested in:
Brain Training for Dogs: The Best Online Obedience Training Program for Livestock Guardian Dogs
The Great “Escape Artist” Pyrenees: How to Keep Your Pyr in the Yard or Pasture
Livestock Guardian Dogs and Barking: Some Breeds Bark Less Than Others
Male or Female Livestock Guardian Dogs: Which Is Better for Your Needs