We’ve had several beloved collies over time. They utterly live to work the sheep. Unfortunately, they aren’t needed often enough. One consequence of not working regularly is their tendency to think they know rather better than the shepherd what is required. They are not, unfortunately, candidates for sheep-dog-trial-precision work. Belle is our present worker. This picture is my favorite of one of our former dogs, Sam, after a particularly pleasing sheep drive. He’s cooling his tummy in a mud puddle, and grinning.

We have tried a variety of breeds of guardian dogs, to protect the flock from coyotes and other predators. We’ve found the best breed for our circumstances are Akbash (Turkish), though we’ve had two Komondores (Hungarian) and several Maremmas (Italian) – one was half Great Pyrenees.

We want the dogs to be attached to the sheep more than people.

They must also be willing to be handled by the two-legged help. We want their instincts to be more defensive than aggressive, so that people cycling past the flock on the road are not threatened. They must be hardy and quite comfortable living outside year ’round with the sheep.

This picture of ‘Peter Guarding the Flock’ shows his skill in grouping his girls behind him in a tight bunch while he faces the intruder. (When they work in pairs, one will stay back with the flock while the other moves towards the threat, barking loudly.) The coyotes are getting larger, working more in packs, and becoming even more wily. Our dogs try to meet the challenge.

Here’s a photo of Trixie’s first litter of puppies bred on our farm. We’ve decided, cute as they are, to leave dog breeding and initial rearing work to others. One of these pups, Blackie, is still with the farm. Others have been purchased by sheep farmers elsewhere.

The final photo shows Christopher with several of the dogs, getting treats in the evening. The dogs are rarely grouped together in such numbers. We were experiencing severe coyote predation, and were moving the sheep to the barnyard every evening for protection.

The guardian dogs are always with the sheep; caring protective companions.