Livestock Guardian Dogs It might appear that Bill Costanzo, Texas A&M AgriLife Research livestock guardian dog specialist, is doing just that each day at the office. However, Costanzo is actually preparing puppies for futures protecting livestock– all while researching the factors that might contribute to that success. The AgriLife Research Center in San Angelo is conducting a study on what types of bonding pen experiences produce a better livestock guardian dog, or LGD. Bonding pens are fenced pastures where dogs bond with the species of their future charges. The current class of dogs are Moe, Larry, Curly, Thor, Goliath and Hulk. The puppies will spend approximately three months in the bonding pen process in San Angelo. Each bonding pen is an acre in size and, once the bonding process is complete, the dogs will graduate to much larger pastures where they will guard flocks or herds. They will continue to have their behavior monitored until they are approximately 18 months old.
Dogs as predator deterrents
These dogs serve as deterrents to predators such as coyotes, eagles, feral hogs and mountain lions– anything threatening goats, sheep and their young. “Bonding of LGDs starts at birth with these animals,” said Costanzo. “ It is believed that if puppies are not properly bonded by 16 weeks of age, the imprinting in the
dog’s brain to guard its charges is not firmly set.” Improper imprinting could result in dogs who wander and do not stay with their charges. Costanzo thinks bonding from birth to 16 weeks of age is probably the single most important thing to do to establish a strong foundation for future success as a livestock guardian dog. The class of six puppies are in four bonding pens at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo. The dogs are all male and come from two different litters of livestock guardian dogs with proven genetics. Three puppies are Maremma guardian dogs. The other trio is what’s known as a Texas LGD mix of Akbash, Anatolian Shepherd and Great Pyrenees bloodlines.
Studying siblings vs. solo
For this first study there are four bonding pens total, and Costanzo is studying whether these dogs will become better livestock guardian dogs when raised in bonding pens with a sibling or solo. Each trio of brothers is divided up so that one dog is alone in a pen while his two siblings are together in a different bonding pen. Costanzo is also studying whether anti-digging deterrents actually prevent dogs from getting out of fenced areas later in life. These dogs are not pets, but they are cared for and trained for real-world situations. They are walked on leash-
18 - The Boer Goat
