The guard dogs really don't need much upkeep.  And besides you don't want
your guard dog to be quite that friendly.  Friendly enough to stand for
brushing, etc. means you have a pet.  We are lucky if we can pull briars out
of the tails!
We also have house - yard dogs.  We let them have a common fence to get to
know the yard dogs but prevent the yard dogs from going around the sheep.
Due diligence is the key to any successful use of guard dogs.  Our guards
don't want to be around strangers and they will make sure the yard dogs
don't want to be around them.
We had a succesful lambing season and are kidding now.  The guards love
eating the afterbirth if the goats will let them get that close.  We have a
Maremma Sheepdog Flockguard that is scheduled to whelp later in March.  She
eats all the afterbirth she can find.
I hope that anyone that is interested in any type of guard animal does their
homework.
It is a lot of work to successfully grow the guard animal to what you need.
There are no shortcuts.
Good luck,
Rhonda

 I'm not sure how I'd handle it if the predators got into my flock.
>
> What does one do for upkeep on the heavy coat of a Pyr as a guard dog?
> What about the giant schnauzer housepet that is not allowed near the
> sheep?  What are the conflicts between having pet dogs and guard dogs?
>
> Regards,
> Barb Lee, with the first ewe ready to pop any minute.
>
>
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