#livestock dog

[learningfromlosing]

Can we start giving Australian Shepherds more credit? Yes yes I know so fluffy so sweet yes. But like, you do know that theyre bred specifically to protect large quantities of livestock? To use lethal force to protect them from predators? To literally be killing things like foxes and wolves? They have high prey drive, while yes it makes them great show dogs to fetch and stuff, but that also means they have instincts to see, assess, and attack anything that moves. They will automatically see it and assess if it's a threat or not. It has to be taught out of them to not automatically attack or chase after anything that is moving in front of them. And yeah they're very loving and sweet, but that's because they're very loyal to their owners and take off their emotions. If they think you're an aggressive entity, if their person is afraid, if they feel they need to protect their herd they're going to use lethal force to protect the owner they love so much. I've had my Australian Shepherd, who is well trained and well taught, get into a fight with an aggressive pitbull that wasn't leashed and leave them bleeding because he was protecting me while I, an agoraphobic outside walking him, was terrified; and him being unscathed because of his fur protecting him, while coming right back to me after calling him after getting into a safe area. He came right back and stopped after I called him, even though the pitbull was still around. He was more attentive to being around me and protecting me than attacking the dog. He stopped mid fight to make sure I was okay and stayed with me to make sure I had protection. He's exactly the guard dog that I need as a disabled woman who needs to walk him while being alone most of the day. Australian Shepherds may be very cute, sweet, and loving. But that's because they have someone to love. Don't make them think you don't have the same respect for their person or you could get seriously hurt. And if you're someone who needs protection with also a lot of love, mental and psychical exercise, and a very fluffy emotionally intelligent dog, this is the one to get.

[petportraitsbyheatherlovelace]

A commissioned portrait of their Bernese Mountain Dog named Eclaire. Polychromos and Luminance colored pencils used on 11"X14" Strathmore paper.

[theheathergreen]

(via Watercolor Great Pyrenees Dog Graphic by WatercolorByKr · Creative Fabrica)

[ace-kage-from-wetland-woods]

And I just realized that my friends used to call me Kolie (like bordel collie - is that how you write it?)

you call it "being the mom of the friend group" i call it "livestock dog behavior"

[creekfiend]

what's my biggest pet peeve well it's when someone makes a text post on tumblr dot com in which they are trying to romanticize the notion of the livestock guardian dog but they don't know the distinction between a livestock guardian dog and a herding dog and also they've never met a livestock guardian dog and do not realize what their attitudes towards the sheep that they protect actually are

[mypositiveoutlooks]

Brave guard dog fights off a pack of 11 coyotes, kills 8 of them to save a flock of sheep : 'Underdog'

Brave guard dog fights off a pack of 11 coyotes, kills 8 of them to save a flock of sheep : ‘Underdog’

A pack of hungry coyotes invaded a farm in Decatur, Georgia. Their target: a flock of sheep in the pasture next to the owner’s home. What the coyotes did not know was there was a brave livestock dog that guards and protects them. After a bloody fight, the guard dog was seriously injured but hailed victorious, leaving 8 coyotes dead. On the evening of November 3, around 9 p.m., a pack of coyotes…

[mischievousdog]

New OC just dropped

[slugmorelz]

red nose Central Asian Shepherds from Tajikistan - Sagi Dahmarda. © Latif and Alikhon Latifi

[claypigeonpottery]

a collection of directional background carving

all sold

[petportraitsbyheatherlovelace]

A commissioned portrait of their Bernese Mountain Dog named Elliott. Polychromos and Luminance colored pencils used on 9"X12" Strathmore paper.

[atlas-and-the-time]

Watchdog

[akiacia]

gummies

[canisalbus]

Bread man made me wonder: Do you have any Saint Bernard characters? His coloration almost made me think of one, but I'm guessing he's not. They're my fave, so I'm personally curious!

The bread man is supposed to be vaguely st. bernardesque! His face was darker initially, but it didn't really jibe with the color palette and composition so I kept lightening it :'> In the end he turned out looking almost like a maremmano-abruzzese sheepdog or great pyrenees.

Saint Bernards were originally bred by monks in the Great St Bernard Hospice, situated in the Alps right at the border between Switzerland and Italy. So they would fit into the Vaschete/monastery setting pretty well I think.

[0-megaregolith]

"You look an awful lot like one of the herd, now, don't you?"

[losech]

Just saw yet another post (softly) demanding that breeders breed out the utilitarian qualities of their breeds "because pets". All dogs should have the same basic temperament with a different look.

Nah, that's not it.

How about don't get a serious LGD if you live in an apartment? That seems like a better idea than telling the people who use LGDs on their farms for stock protection that their dogs don't have jobs anymore because people own pets. (Their example was a guardian in an apartment complex.) Working dogs are still a thing even if you don't see them. They are not irrelevant because the majority of people where you live own pets. This viewpoint is very Eurocentric and is usually held by Americans, and there's a general lack of education about dogs in this country that is for some reason, shoved onto breeders to fix.

If I wanted a generic Good Boy pet dog, I wouldn't own West Siberian Laika. But I value what makes this breed what it is, and it's a lot more than looks. I've said it many times and I'll say it again, even if I didn't hunt, which I didn't when I got Flint, I would still want this breed as-is with all it's spicy bullshit intact. That's what I like in a dog, and I am under no obligation to conform my preferences to what you believe dogs should be.

[matuska]

livestock guardian