Livestock

Guard Dog

Case Study

LewisRanch,ValVerdeCountyDr.ReidReddenExtensionSheep&GoatSpecialistTexasA&MAgriLifeExtension

Dr.JohnTomecekExtensionWildlifeSpecialistTexasA&MAgriLifeExtension

Dr.JohnWalkerResidentDirectorofResearchTexasA&MAgriLifeResearch

Mr.HoustonDobbinsValVerdeCountyAgentTexasA&MAgriLifeExtension

ThisresearchwaspartiallyfundedbytheNationalSheepIndustryImprovementCenter.

7887 U.S. Highway 87 North San Angelo, TX 76901 http://sanangelo.tamu.edu

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Livestock Guard Dog Case Study LewisRanch,ValVerdeCounty

Scenario ________________________________________________________

AranchnearDelRio,Texas,wasusedinthisproject.Theranchconsistsoftwodozenlargepasturesthatareallwithinacontiguousarea.Thepasturesaremoderatelyroughwithheavybrushdensity.Inrecentyears,predatorshavebeenanincreasingproblem.Dogswereplacedinaperimeterpasturethathadpredationproblemsthepreviousyear.

Overall Management Plan ________________________________________

Theewesjuststartedlambingbeforethestartoftheproject.Adozenewesandafewlambsweregatheredinawaterlot(2.5acres).Fourbondedlivestockguardiandogs(5RStockDogs,BillingsMT)wereplacedwiththeewesandlambs.Threeofthedogswerereleasedintothe~800acrepasturethenextdaywith250ewes.Twodogshadtoberemoved.Onedogremainedinthispasturewithewesandlambsuntilweaningtime.Theotherdogrelocatedtoanotherpasture.TwomoredogswereplacedattheranchinMay.Theywerekeptinasmalltrapforacoupleweeks.Oneofthedogswasthenplacedwithagroupof600finewoolewesandtheotherwasplacedwithasmallgroupofblack‐facedewes.

General Observations ____________________________________________

Thesheepanddogswerecheckedeverycoupledaysorwhenpossible.Duetodensityofbrushandterrain,itwasimpossibletoviewallsheepanddogs.Onedogstayedintheoriginalpasturewiththesheepandwasnotreportedtoleavethearea.Thisdogwasrelativelyfriendlyandeasytocatch;however,isnotwellbondedwiththesheep.Duringtheday,itstaysattheranchheadquartersandatnightitroamsthepasture.Theseconddogthatremainedfromtheoriginalplacementfledtheoriginalpastureandwasplacedwithagroupofewelambs.Itthenlefttheewelambsandbondedwithagroupofeweslambinginanearbypasture.OneofthedogsthatwereplacedinMaybondedtoagroupofewesandisnormallyseenthepasturewiththem.Thisdog’smovementsweretrackedwithaGPScollar.TheseconddogplacedinMayisnotseenwithsheepveryoften.Itisoftenseenatasecondranchheadquartersite.

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Figure1.ThemapcontainsthehourlyGPSlocationsofonedogduringa45dayperiodinlatefall.Theredlinesarethepasturefencelines,thegreenstarsarelocationsofdogfeeders,andthebluelineisapavedFarm‐to‐Marketroad.Thepastureinthecenterofthemapwiththeguarddogfeedersis741acres.

Guard Dog Movement ___________________________________________

Atminimum,theLGDtravelledanaverageof3.3milesperday.Thiswasdeterminedbymeasuringthedistancebetweenpointstakeneveryhour.Theirhomerangewascalculatedtobe909acres.Homerangewasdeterminedbyassessingwhere95%oftheGPSpointswerelocated.

Predation _______________________________________________________

Twolambswerekilledbyoneofthelivestockguardiandogsinthewaterlot.Acouplemorenewbornlambswerefounddeadinthepastureandhadbeenscavengedbythetwoofthedogs.CaraCarawerepresentintheareaandwerelikelykillingnewbornlambs,thereforeitisunknownwhatkilledthelambs.Multiplecoyotesweretrappedontheranchandneighboringranchesduring2016.Itisagrowingproblemforthisranch.

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Camera Trapping ________________________________________________

Twogamecameraswereputoutforonemonthquarterlyduringtheyear.Theywerecheckedweekly.Locationswereselectedthatwerelikelytocatchpredatormovement,alongroads,nearwatersources,etc.Afewknownpredatorswerecaughtoncamerainthespring.

Table1.Predatorsdetectedwithgamecamerasurvey. Winter Spring Summer FallCoyote 0 2 0 0Bobcat 0 1 0 0RedFox 0 0 0 0GreyFox 0 2 0 0FeralSwine 0 0 0 0Problems ________________________________________________________

Withinafewhoursofplacingthedogswiththesheep,twoofthelambswerekilledbythedogs.Theyhadeatentheumbilicalcordandopeneduptheabdominalcavity.Dogswereseparatedfromthesheepfortheremainderoftheday.Thedogsuspectedofkillingthelambswasremoved.Thefollowingmorningtheremainingthreedogswerereturnedwiththeewesthatdidnothavenewbornlambs.Theystayedwiththesheepformostoftheday.Priortonightfall,thedogsandsheepwereturnedouttoa~1,000acrepasturewiththerestofsheep.Notlongafter,twoofthedogswereaccusedofkillinglambs.Thedogswereveryafraidofpeopleandtheycouldnotbecaughtorgatheredintoapen.Oneofthedogswascapturedbyrunningitdownonhorsebackandcorneringitinverythickbrush.(Asasidenote,thisdogwasrelocatedtoanewranchandhasturnedouttobeaveryeffectiveguardiandog).Theseconddogfledthepasture.Itwasspottedinvariouspasturesoverthenextmonth.Itdidbondwithagroupofsheepandwasworkingwell.However,itwentmissinginlatespringandhasnotbeenseenagain.Thedogthatremainedintheoriginalpasturewasveryprotectiveofthedogfeedingstation.Itwouldnotletsheepdrinkfromthewatertroughbecauseitthoughttheyweretryingtogetintothedogfeedingstation.Thedogfeedingstationwasmovedawayfromthewatersource,whichremediedtheproblem.Raccoonsarethoughttohavebecomeaproblemandareconsumingdogfood.

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Lamb Crop ______________________________________________________

Inbothpasturesthathadalivestockguarddogpresentduringthelambingseason,nolambswerelostfrommarking(February)toshearing(April).Onaverage,otherpasturesthatdidnothaveaguarddogpresentreported10%lamblossfrommarkingtoshearing.WeaningoccurredinMay.However,multiplepastureswerecombined,makingitimpossibletodetermineweaningrateswithineachpasture.

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Question and Answer

Whatwerethemostpositivebenefitsoftheprogram?

Wesawadefinitepositiveimpactonlambcropfromtheguarddogs.Increasinglambcropisthegoalandhasthemostimpactonourbottom‐line.Welearnedthatdogshavedifferentpersonalitiesandunderstandthatwehavetomanagearoundthis.

Whatwasthegreatestchallengewiththeprogram?

Westartedtheprogramattheworsttime.Keepingthedogsfedwasachallengeandvarmintsarestartingtobeaproblemwiththefeedingstations.Trackingthedogsandknowingwheretheyarewasamajorproblem.

Whatareyourplansforthefuturerelatedtoguarddogs?

WegotsomeLlamastoseehowtheywouldworkinoursituationandhowtheywillworkwiththeguardiandogs.Weareinterestedingettinganotherdogortwointhespring.Butwearewaitingtoseehowthislambingseasongoeswiththedogsthatwehave.

Whatwouldyouhavedonedifferently?

Wewould’vestartedtheprograminMaytoallowsixmonthstoacclimatethedogstotheranch,plusallowtimeforustogettoknowandtrustthedogsbeforelambing.Thiswouldalsoenableustoleavethedogsinasmallareaforalongerperiodoftimebeforereleasingtothepasture.