The original purpose of the Anatolian, Kommondor, Kuvasz, Maremma, Pyr and
similar breeds was to protect livestock from predators. The Livestock
Guardian Dogs (LGDs) share some common traits: they are about the same size
and color as the livestock they were bred to guard; they exhibit the traits of
"Responsibility" (the tendency to remain with the livestock) and
"Reportability" (regular checking-in with the human caretaker of the flock.)
There are many more similarities among the LGD breeds than there are
differences between them. Some breeds, like Pyrs, were developed for
tractability around people; others, like Tibetan Mastiffs, were developed for
hostility toward those not of their camp - most LGDs fall somewhere in the
middle.

For thousands of years, the economies of Europe and Asia alike were
agricultural/pastoral. The LGDs were an essential part of the economy and
dogs, like people, were judged solely on their ability to work. Then, 150
years ago, the Industrial Revolution began to change that; two World Wars and
fifty years of "me-first" consumerism continued to change the face of the
world inalterably.

With the exception of Australia and New Zealand, sheep populations world-wide
have declined dramatically. It is no longer necessary for every family to own
enough sheep to produce the wool for mother to spin and weave into clothing
for the family. Cities have replaced farms, houses have replaced yurts and
huts and the only predator that threatens the livelihood of most people is
two-legged. In the United States, sheep production has been steadily
declining since the 1940's; there are now fewer that 10 million sheep in the
entire country. Ninety percent of those are in the hands of 10% of the
growers; the remaining one million sheep are found in backyard and family farm
flocks of 50 or less. The situation is similar throughout Europe and Eurasia.
In short, just as our own jobs are now different from that of our ancestors,
and the skills needed for those jobs are different, so do our dogs have
different jobs, requiring different skills than did their ancestors in the Old
World.

In France, it was acceptable for the Great Pyrenees to wander the village
during the winter when her sheep were stabled in the farm yard. When spring
came she would follow her sheep to the mountains. The tendency to travel
great distances that was originally a positive trait is a now liability in a
country crossed with highways and heavy traffic. In Tibet, a stranger in the
camp was usually up to no good and a Tibetan Mastiff that could pull down a
man on horseback was highly valued. Such aggression in our society today
would lead quickly to lawsuits and the destruction of the dog.

So, the question of "transferrable skills" arises today as much for our dogs
as for ourselves. An LGD needs "reliability" and "reportability" as much in
his job as family watchdog as he does as a livestock guardian. What differs
is his reaction to stimuli. The barking behavior that warns predators that
something larger has staked a claim to territory becomes "problem" behavior
when indulged on a city lot. The Mark-Warn-Chase-Attack sequence that serves
to keep livestock safe from wolves must be truncated after the Warning
behavior if the dog's owners are to remain safe from charges of harboring a
vicious dog. The sharp temperament that indicated a good working dog in the
high mountains finds little place in a family whose members freely bring
strangers to trespass the dog's territory.

There are those in the business of raising LGDs who advocate "going back to
nature", "doing it like the Old Country" or "breeding only for `working
ability'". The reality is that we live in the time and the place that we do
and few of our dogs will spend their lives wandering the unfenced range with
their sheep. Even those of us who breed specifically for "working dogs" -i.e.
dogs who will spend their entire life with the livestock, not interacting with
families - recognize that, just as there are few "100% successful show"
litters, so there are few "100% successful working" litters. I was once
asked, during a Congressional hearing, whether I culled my guardian-dog
litters, and what I did with the culls. Tongue-in-cheek, I replied, "I sell
them as show dogs."

Even if every commercial sheep producer were to use LGDs, there would still be
a surplus of dogs - dogs that don't exhibit responsibility, dogs that have the
"wrong" disposition for the circumstances. There would still be people who
may have never seen a live sheep, but want to own a LGD for reasons of their
own. (Witness the number of people who don't hunt, but own Golden
Retrievers.) So it becomes our responsibility, as owners and breeders of a
large guardian breed, to recognize that behaviors that once were useful may
now be liabilities. If we are considering breeding, we must ask ourselves the
big "WHY" - Why am I breeding? What do I hope to produce? Have I studied
enough individuals of this breed to really understand their behavior? Is it
possible for me to spend enough time educating would-be buyers about those
behaviors - and turn down those that I don't feel really need this breed?

Rather than sidetrack ourselves into specious arguments - type-vs-soundness,
show-vs-working, inbreeding-vs-outcrossing - we need to take an unbiased look
at the realities presented in our society. We need to pay attention to the
anti-dog legislation making its way into our communities, and start to educate
ourselves as well as the public about the responsibilities of dog ownership in
general and LGD ownership in particular. If we don't, we have only ourselves
to blame when we find our beautiful guardians legislated out of existence.


Biography of Catherine de la Cruz:
I have owned and bred Great Pyrenees dogs for over 30 years; I also
raise sheep (in fenced pastures.) My present show dog is of my own breeding;
he has five generations of OFA-clear dogs behind him; he and his entire litter
cleared OFA Good or Excellent. He spent his first three years in the pasture,
taking responsibility for a large band of purebred sheep. I bathe him on
Friday night, bring him into the house (which he respects as "my" territory,
so doesn't raise a leg to mark it), show him on the weekend, then return him
to his sheep Sunday evening. He is protective in the field, friendly at the
shows. He is an example of what I consider to be a Livestock Guardian Dog for
today's times.)


Livestock Guardian Dogs