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Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs, Donkeys, and Llamas to Protect Your Herd (Storey's Working Animals)
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The number of hobby farmers in the United States is steadily rising. At the same time, predators are increasing in number and range. These predators pose a serious threat to both farm animals and the financial well-being of the farmers who raise them. Fortunately, there's a solution that is low cost, nonviolent, and highly effective: livestock guardian animals.
Livestock Guardians, by Jan Dohner, is a comprehensive guide for farmers struggling to reduce predation of sheep, goats, and other livestock. Dohner, who has more than 26 years of experience with guardian animals, helps owners understand the keys to effective livestock protection: careful selection of the right guardian animal, proper guardian livestock bonding, dedicated training, and ongoing problem-solving.
Three chapters address the use of guardian dogs; collectively, these chapters explain how to evaluate, train, understand, and socialize these hardworking canines. A separate chapter provides detailed information on many guardian breeds from around the world. Additional chapters on livestock guardian donkeys and llamas help readers select and train these animals as well. The thorough coverage of livestock guardians includes health care information; breed profiles; case studies of real farmers effectively using guard animals; an appendix with resources, organizations, and Web sites; and a 16-page color photographic insert of guardian breeds.
Using Dohner's comprehensive, practical advice, farmers will be able to reduce predation, decrease the need for corralling be better aware of disturbances in flocks, effectively protect their family and property, and use pastures more efficiently.
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Customer Reviews:
Very informative
Not knowing anything about livestock guardians, I found this book very informative. It appears a lot of research went into it. Covers all the breeds of dogs, their origins, temperment, pros and cons. Also the care for each species.
If you have sheep or goats, you NEED this book!
We keep sheep and goats and also have a livestock guardian dog, a donkey, and two llamas on our farm, so we're familiar with the ground Ms. Dohner covers in her book. Her advice is spot on!
If you're considering a livestock guardian for your farm, read this book before you choose one.
As a former donkey breeder and author of The Donkey Companion (Storey; 2008), I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!
great book!
The book starts out talking about the problem of predation, describing the range and hunting habits of predators. There are sections on lethal and non lethal methods of control, including a section on effective fencing. The book then goes on to talk about guardian animals, predominantly dogs. There is a section that describes 31 different breeds of livestock guardian dogs, giving some history, appearance, and character/temperament info on each breed. Each section talks about selection, training and management of guard animals, the pros and cons of the animals and solving problems with the animals (such as aggression towards the family pets). Interspersed throughout the book are reports by shepherds on what has worked for them. I found this book to be very useful, and recommend it to anyone considering a livestock protection animal.
The number of hobby farmers in the United States is steadily rising. At the same time, predators are increasing in number and range. These predators pose a serious threat to both farm animals and the financial well-being of the farmers who raise them. Fortunately, there's a solution that is low cost, nonviolent, and highly effective: livestock guardian animals.
Livestock Guardians, by Jan Dohner, is a comprehensive guide for farmers struggling to reduce predation of sheep, goats, and other livestock. Dohner, who has more than 26 years of experience with guardian animals, helps owners understand the keys to effective livestock protection: careful selection of the right guardian animal, proper guardian livestock bonding, dedicated training, and ongoing problem-solving.
Three chapters address the use of guardian dogs; collectively, these chapters explain how to evaluate, train, understand, and socialize these hardworking canines. A separate chapter provides detailed information on many guardian breeds from around the world. Additional chapters on livestock guardian donkeys and llamas help readers select and train these animals as well. The thorough coverage of livestock guardians includes health care information; breed profiles; case studies of real farmers effectively using guard animals; an appendix with resources, organizations, and Web sites; and a 16-page color photographic insert of guardian breeds.
Using Dohner's comprehensive, practical advice, farmers will be able to reduce predation, decrease the need for corralling be better aware of disturbances in flocks, effectively protect their family and property, and use pastures more efficiently.
Related Products:
Livestock Protection Dogs: Selection, Care, and Training
Great Pyrenees (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)
How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches, Barns, Sheds, Pens, Nestboxes, Feeders, Stanchions, and Much More
Natural Goat Care
The Donkey Companion: Selecting, Training, Breeding, Enjoying & Caring for Donkeys
Customer Reviews:
Very informativeNot knowing anything about livestock guardians, I found this book very informative. It appears a lot of research went into it. Covers all the breeds of dogs, their origins, temperment, pros and cons. Also the care for each species.
If you have sheep or goats, you NEED this book!We keep sheep and goats and also have a livestock guardian dog, a donkey, and two llamas on our farm, so we're familiar with the ground Ms. Dohner covers in her book. Her advice is spot on!
If you're considering a livestock guardian for your farm, read this book before you choose one.
As a former donkey breeder and author of The Donkey Companion (Storey; 2008), I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!
great book!The book starts out talking about the problem of predation, describing the range and hunting habits of predators. There are sections on lethal and non lethal methods of control, including a section on effective fencing. The book then goes on to talk about guardian animals, predominantly dogs. There is a section that describes 31 different breeds of livestock guardian dogs, giving some history, appearance, and character/temperament info on each breed. Each section talks about selection, training and management of guard animals, the pros and cons of the animals and solving problems with the animals (such as aggression towards the family pets). Interspersed throughout the book are reports by shepherds on what has worked for them. I found this book to be very useful, and recommend it to anyone considering a livestock protection animal.