Livestock Guardians (Working)
As explained in Livestock Guardian Dogs History, these dogs live and blend permanently with the flock, bonding with the animals as their social companions. These dogs are usually much larger than predators, which are often foxes. The sheer size of Livestock Guardian Dogs makes it easy for them to bluff and displace the predator.
In this way these dogs instinctively learn to protect the sheep from anything they see as a threat, independently of any commands from a Shepherd. That can make them frustratingly difficult to train because historically, these Livestock Guardian Dogs were often the sole protectors of the flock which makes them fearless and free thinking if provoked. However, they are usually calm, placid and instinctively trustworthy with sheep or any other species in their charge.
Livestock Guardians in Australia
Several different pure breeds of Livestock Guardian Dogs exist throughout the world today, originating in different countries with each pure breed having different individual breed characteristics. Because Australia’s white civilization only dates back a couple of hundred years, the traditional use of large Livestock Guardian Dogs is rare compared to their general use in Europe where they are among the oldest of the working breeds. Only 3 breeds of Livestock Guardian Dogs are recognized in the Working Group in Australia, the Kuvasz and Komondor originating in Hungary, and the Maremma Sheepdog originating in Italy.
Please follow these links to the 6 other Livestock Guardian breeds which are recognized in the Utility Group in Australia.
These are:
- the Anatolian Shepherd Dog originating in Turkey
- the Pyrenean Mastiff originating in Spain
- the Spanish Mastiff also originating in Spain
- the Pyrenean Mountain Dog originating in France
- the Central Asian Shepherd Dog originating in Russia
- the Tibetan Mastiff originating in Tibet (China).