My New Guard Dog

Meet Chivo, my Mother's Day surprise! Chivo is a Pyreneese, Anatola cross Guard Dog. We are hoping that once he is grown, he will give us a little freedom from the goats. It was really hard leaving him at the goat pen the first few nights we had him, but he has to bond with goats - not humans, if he is going to do his job properly! Already after just a month, we are seeing very promising signs that he will work out nicely. He will continue to stay in the pen with the weanlings for another couple of months before we let him roam the ranch with the nannies. We have to make sure he is bonded - and big enough to fight off predators. We don't want him to get hurt! Guard dogs are bred to care for their charges. They have to work and think independently. This means that they aren't overly obedient. I am teaching Chivo to lead, come, and lay down. I also do exercises with him to help him understand that I am his boss! I don't want him thinking that I am harming the baby goats when we work them and mistakenly attack me! Chivo is adorable right now, but in a few months he will be big - about 120 lbs. He will be well equipped to fight off coyotes and other animals that might eat the kids. Last year we lost roughly half the baby goat crop to predators, hopefully this year the #'s will be much better!