Let’s talk about dogs. A lot of people have dogs or want a livestock guardian dog (LGD). First piece of advice I can give is never trust a dog! After 29 years of working with cats, dogs, horses and plenty of other random critters through out the years of my life and career as a breeder, rescuer, vet tech, groomer, trainer and farmer I can honestly say that’s my best advice on dogs. I’ve had dogs tons of dogs the breed doesn’t matter age doesn’t matter if you raise them as a pup around livestock it doesn’t matter a dog is going to do what a dog is going to do. To find a dog that can be 100% trusted is pure luck. It has to be the right dog. Mostly they will surprise you, usually when your not looking by chasing livestock, attacking and sometimes even killing livestock. Even the nicest dogs that act so well behaved and are bred, raised and trained to do the job. At the end of the day they have instincts all of them and some will resist the impulse to act on that instincts but most will not. For instance Great Pyrenees are a favorite LGD breed however what most people fail to realize until it’s too late is they have a high prey drive for birds. Domestic Chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese are all easy targets. Unfortunately I see people giving them away all the time for this reason. A second favorite breed is an Anatolian Shepherd, however these dogs tend to roam around great distances which can cause some issues if you don’t own your own hundred acres. Your neighbors especially may be unhappy with your dog visiting their home or farm. I have found that a cross between these two breeds are generally an extremely good and successful LGD breed. Less intent to kill birds and less desire to wander the country side. However as I said no breed is a shoe in for the job. I’ve had great LGDs for years that have done great and then one day I catch them in the act doing something I never thought they’d do. I have set up a way for all my dogs to guard my animals and homestead without them needing to actually be in with the animals which in my opinion and experience is the best and safest way to operate my homestead. It is also costing more in fencing and taking more time to finish my homestead but is well worth it to me to make it work. Always research breeds before you buy as well as talking to people who own the breed and always more than one owner to get a full story on the breed and how they interact on the farm. No 2 dogs are alike. Breeds don’t breed true always. Dogs are never trustworthy.