Livestock Guardian Dogs

In the early 1990s, my family began using livestock guardian dogs to slow the relentless predation issues we were dealing with. The first dog we tried did not work out. It was more pet than guardian dog. Luckily, a friend-of-a-friend had some puppies and we tried again.

Two freshly weaned guardian dog puppies were put with a few young sheep and goats in a pen behind the hunters’ cabin, which was a half-mile from the house. We (my mother and siblings) were given clear instructions to not pet or show any affection to the dogs. The dogs were supposed to stay in the pen for 6 months but they escaped from the pen after about 6 weeks. I don’t recall if I let them out or not, but I did have a reputation for not properly closing gates, so odds are it was my fault.

The dogs and livestock that escaped from the pen joined up with another group of animals in a nearby pasture. Because things were going well, we did not bother to put them back in the pen, plus we couldn’t catch them. After a couple months, lambing and kidding started, but the ewes and nannies were not in the same pasture. Fortunately for us, the two dogs split up and provided protection for both groups of newborns.

These two dogs lived long and productive lives. At first they were wild and difficult to catch. But over the years they became quite friendly. They were the most important part of the sheep and goat operation because without them, predation would have prevented us from staying in business.

Looking back we were very fortunate, because things don’t always work out that well. This experience had a major impact on me. It made me 100 percent convinced that livestock guardian dogs are very effective at deterring predation.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service in San Angelo have made a commitment to improve the industry’s knowledge of how livestock guardian dogs work and how to manage them. Plus, we are working to better our understanding of how they work with research and demonstration projects. Some of these projects are on our website: https://sanangelo.tamu.edu

We are hosting a Livestock Guardian Dog Workshop on March 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center on U.S. Highway 87 north of San Angelo. This workshop will focus on raising a successful livestock guardian dog; covering the basics needed to get through the first year. For more information and to register, call 325-653-4576.

To provide feedback on this article or request topics for future articles, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.

Sheep Shearing School

 

In January, we hosted our 3^rd annual Texas A&M AgriLife Sheep Shearing School. Sixteen students participated in the 3-day event. Students who completed the school are able to shear a sheep and/or goat from start to finish without assistance. Yet, it will require many more months of work before they are able to shear large flocks of sheep out on their own.

 

This school is one of my favorite events of the year. I did not learn to shear professionally until I was in graduate school at Montana State University. To be honest, until I had completed my undergraduate degree, it had never crossed my mind to learn. But, learning to shear has been one of the most rewarding things, I have ever done.

 

I know that it seems odd to want to shear sheep. From the outside looking in, it appears to be back breaking work. It is hard work but once you have learned to shear properly, it is not as bad as it looks. The aspiration to shear the next sheep better than the last sheep is addicting.

 

Shearing is a refined method and it requires about 50 strokes to shear an adult finewool sheep from start to finish. For each stroke, the sheep shearer must learn to hold the animal in the exact position and maneuver the clippers in a precise motion. Oddly enough, professionals liken sheep shearing to an artful dance. Each artist has a similar but unique shearing pattern.

 

Not only do I have a passion for sheep shearing but I also enjoy teaching others this skill. It is very rewarding to get to work with the same people for 9 hours each day for 3 days. We get to know the individuals, their backgrounds, and interests. I have no doubt that many of our student will continue this trade and provide shearing services to sheep and goat raisers for many, many years to come. This trade will provide opportunities for these students to travel all over the US and the world.

 

I could not do this without the dedicated staff at the San Angelo center. Jake Thorne and Kraig Chandler are passionate and dedicated shearing instructors who work at the center. We try to have no more than 3 students per instructors, so we have to bring in other professional shearers to help instruct. A good friend of mine, Ryan Keyes, came down from Livingston Montana to help us this year. Ronald Pope and Faron Pfeiffer help with wool education and demonstration on proper handling and packaging of wool and mohair. Plus, many more people on our staff attend to the needs of the students and the staff. The event is highlighted with a lamb lunch each day!

 

I encourage you to stop by the school in future years to see it first hand and provide encouragement to our students.

 

To provide feedback on this article or request topics for future articles, contact me at reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu or 325-653-4576.