Tag: guard

Farm Crew, farm life, goats, karakachan, kidding season, LGD, Nigerian Dwarf, Uncategorized

Keeping Up with the Karakachans – Episode III

thetuckerfarm

At 6 months old, the puppies were awkward and gangly. Petra and Boris tripped over their own legs and couldn’t keep an ounce of fat on them as they grew. As naughty as this duo was (like all puppies), they always remained sweet with me and my family. In fact, I never had to teach Petra and Boris not to jump up on humans. I don’t know if it was because they already had their mental and physical needs met, but I’m not complaining. Their manners were excellent.

As gentle and considerate as the puppies were with me and my family, that wasn’t always the case with the goats.

Let me start by saying, goats are not always the smartest animals. There is a reason goats are not herded like sheep. Goats can be spastic, spooky, and just plain crazy at times. You know what that looks like to a huge puppy? FUN! FUN! FUN!

Luckily, Petra and Boris had each other to play with and tuckered themselves out. That said, sometimes, especially on rainy days, the duo would get bored… and boredom was often cured by chasing and harassing a few goats. While the mischievous pups were having a blast, I was not amused. These dogs were supposed to bond and protect my goats, not terrify them!

I reminded myself it was just a phase and they would grow out of the puppy stage. But when?! I watched them interact with the goats as often as possible. If I saw Petra and Boris wanting to play or chase a goat they were issued a firm verbal warning. Luckily, this pair was sensitive to my assertive attitude and they would heed my warnings. When I wasn’t available to watch Petra and Boris, they were put in pastures separate from the goats. They could still see the goats, but they could not not use them as play toys.

The puppies kept growing and maturing – mentally and physically. Soon I was able to trust them for longer periods of time alone with the goats. I knew things were getting better when one afternoon I caught the goats snuggling with the dogs. The goats were finally starting to trust their big, furry protectors.

Unfortunately, that image didn’t last for long. We had an excessive rainy season when Petra and Boris were not yet mature. The goats rarely left the barn and the dogs were usually with them as well. I happened to be in the barn one day, when I heard a loud thud against wall, followed by several more. I went to investigate and found the dogs rough-housing with an adult goat who was cornered. Sigh. Back to square one.

I’m not the most patient person, so I’ll admit I was losing my tolerance with these “lions.” Kidding season was approaching and the puppies were close to their first Birthday. I needed Petra and Boris to work!

Stay tuned . . . I promise it’s a happy ending.

Chickens, farm life, goats, karakachan, LGD, Nigerian Dwarf, Uncategorized

Keeping up with the Karakachans – Episode II

thetuckerfarm

Boris and Petra became fast friends. I wish I could say the same for the goats. You see, our goats had never lived with dogs before. Suddenly, I’ve thrown these little furry creatures into their territory. Right away I realized that was a mistake. 

A dominant doe rammed Boris as hard as she could, warning the fluffy furball he was not welcome. Boris shook it off, but his feelings were definitely hurt. He was confused as to why his “family” didn’t accept him. Luckily, Uncle Huppy was there to help and loved having new playmates at the barn. 

I quickly realized, I needed to keep the puppies away from the older does for their own safety. Luckily, the younger goats were much kinder to their new guardians, allowing them to be around the very animals they were learning to protect. With livestock guardian dogs it’s best for them to grow up around the animals they will eventually guard. In our case, it was goats and chickens… more on the chickens later. 

The puppies were so easy at this age. They were gentle and respectful of all the other species. Livestock guardian dogs are meant to have no prey drive, while also being very territorial. Of course, at their young ages, the pups were far from protectors. In order to keep them safe from the nearby predators, mainly coyotes, we kept them locked up in the barn. They were only allowed out while I was present. 

The dynamic duo grew like weeds. My little “lions” were gaining in size and in confidence. They each started to develop unique personalities. This is when the fun really began. The puppies were bigger and needed more freedom. I’ve never kept dogs outside, so, the unsupervised part terrified me. Would they get out of the fence? Would someone steal them? Would they get hurt? I adored them and I was full of worry. 

Well, nothing prepared me for what was to come… mud dogs!

They were huge puppies who got to live outside. It was party time for this duo. They didn’t care about the goats or chickens, instead they just wanted to roll in mud all day long. As a dog groomer, this made me want to pull my hair out! But then I reminded myself, these giant puppies are dogs and this was fun to them! It was the last time Boris ever showed his white coat. 

I made sure we had excellent perimeter fencing and even lined it with an invisible fence for extra security, in order to teach the pups to respect the fence. When I couldn’t find Boris, I would just look for clay areas where he was camouflaged. They were always having a blast, but when would they start to guard? 

Around 5 months of age is when things changed. They finally cared about the animals more than mud! They cared so much, they “played” with a chicken until it died. I remember being SO upset with them and shocked. How could my livestock guardians hurt what they are protecting? It must have been a fluke. Nope, it happened two more times. Feeling defeated and sad again, I locked the chickens up for their safety. 

I even complained to other farmers and their breeders about my “killer” puppies. They all reminded me Boris and Petra were still puppies and that it’s hard to resist a squawking toy running away from you. I knew I had to be patient and keep them a safe distance from the chickens, for now. When they weren’t playing with Uncle Huppy, they needed to be “working”…. or so I thought. I put them with the goats more often. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn’t.

Episode III coming soon! More about Karakachans, here.