Re: [blackbelly] livestock guardian dogs

[Elaine]

Warning to anyone contemplating introducing a prospective guard dog into a sheep herd with an established guard donkey:   Your donkey may regard your prospective guard dog as a predator, and your dog may not escape with his life.    We have a small herd of blackbellies under the watchful eye of Chester, our guard donkey, who protects them against coyotes and feral dogs.  We also have two German Shepherds (one male, one female) who are perfectly accustomed to interacting with horses.  (We raise Arabian horses.)  Our dogs are pets, primarily.   Only once (one at a time, and by accident) have our dogs ventured into the sheep pasture.  Chester took off after them, jaws snapping.  Both times I called frantically to the dog as I stood by the gate, praying that I could let the dog out in time to block the donkey.  He/She made it out of the gate just in time to escape certain death.   To Chester the dogs are wolves.  I think there is no conceivable incentive that would suffice to entice either dog into the sheep pasture ever again.  I expect the same would be true of any coyote or stray dog who might find a way into the sheep pasture.   I can testify from my own experience how effective a good guard donkey is!        To be an effective guard, there can be only one donkey.  If there are two, they bond with one another and don't care about the sheep.  It is equally important that the donkey not be a pet to the point that he/she bonds with the  human owner rather than with the sheep.  Chester is extremely loving and affectionate with us, but he has never been trained for any work other than guarding sheep, and we do not interact with him in any way outside of the sheep pasture.    Another advantage of a donkey over a dog:  A dog is a carnivore and therefore may, at some point, be tempted to "sample the wares."  That might happen if, for any reason, he/she tastes blood of an injured sheep or lamb or, perhaps, the afterbirth of lambing.  When that happens, the dog may discover that sheep are food and can never again be trusted with sheep.  A donkey, being an equine, will not eat flesh of any kind and therefore will not be ruined as a guard animal by any such exposure.   Remember that donkeys are equines.  Though possibly more resiliant than horses to parasites and needing little or no feed besides the grass and hay the sheep eat, donkeys are basically horses.  They get the same parasites that horses get, and  must walk on their feet all day every day even though they are never ridden or harnessed.  They must be wormed periodically, their hooves must receive attention from a farrier as needed, and they must be vaccinated annually against diseases and infections common to horses.  Sheep and goat feeds usually contain medications toxic to equines.  If you give your sheep grain, it is wise to give the donkey a token amount of horse grain at the same time to keep him or her away from the sheep feed until the sheep have eaten.  We confine Chester in his pen until the sheep have eaten, because they prefer his food to theirs and won't let him eat.   Elaine Bigelow, Fredericksburg, Texas                                     ----- Original Message ----- From: RBMuller To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 10:50 AM Subject: Re: [blackbelly] livestock guardian dogs Are you still interested in Livestock Guardian Pups? Rhonda   [EMAIL PROTECTED]   ----- Original Message ----- From: Bode, Linda W Ms DPW (PKI) To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 7:50 AM Subject: RE: [blackbelly] livestock guardian dogs Hi! Rhonda...Just saw your posting.  I am interested in the Guard dogs.  We have a donkey, which has been effective so far.  But we are looking at expanding the herd and we may need more than the donkey.  As you said, there are a few stray dogs and coyotes in the area.    We also live in central Texas so it would be easy to find you.  However, we are North of Austin and South of Waco.   How much are these dogs selling for?  And how big are they?  Thanks for any info you can give me on them.   The web site has been such a big help and I'm getting educated in every aspect of raising Blackbelly's.  It's just really interesting to see all the comments and expert advice.  Thank you.     Linda     -----Original Message----- From: RBMuller [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 9:46 AM To: Blackbelly barbado Subject: [blackbelly] livestock guardian dogs   Hi!  This is my first post on this site.  Thank you for allowing me in. I have some blackbelly barbado ewes and a scurred red ram.  I was completely unaware that the real blackbelly rams have no horns.  The ranch is located in Central Texas just west of Austin in the great Hill Country!  We also raise cattle, spanish goats, and hair sheep.  We protect all these critters with Livestock Guardian Dogs.  And just so happens we have some pups for sale. The pups were born May 19, 2004 are Sarplaninac / Maremma crosses.  There are 7 black puppies available.  I haven't seen any posts about Livestock Guardian Dogs on the site and was wondering if anyone has any predator or stray dog problems.  If it wasn't for the guard dogs we would have only cattle as mostly stray dogs, and a few coyotes, like eating lamb and kid. I have found your blackbelly barb site quite informative. Thank you, Rhonda