Find the LGD that meets YOUR needs


“My search led me to the Karakachan dogs of Bulgaria”


By D. Phillip Sponenberg Dr. Sponenberg


After more than a decade of using and ap- preciating livestock guardian dogs for my goat herd, my older dogs were succumbing to the ravages of time. So, in the early 2000s I went on a search for a breed that would closely fit my re- quirements for an ideal dog. At least for me, this is the list (and note well that I am not suggesting that this is, or should be, everyone’s list!):


• Moderate size (I


am tired of huge dogs that live relatively short lives).


aggressive).


• Non-roaming (we have 100 acres, subdivided and dogs need to stay put where I want them).


distance).


• Multicolored (not a huge issue, but I like to tell ’em apart at a • Not an incessant barker!


For me, the nonaggression is a main important issue. I searched around, asking breeders of various breeds what they had and what they were shooting for in their breeding programs. Many breeders of livestock guardian dog breeds are not themselves users of the dogs –


Karakachan guardians Pitch and Reign keep quiet, confident guard over their herd.


• Short hair (I am too busy in the spring to shear dogs and prefer that they shed on their own). • Nonaggressive (good LGDs work by being there, not by being


and they insist that an aggressive dog is the way to go. I disagree with this — I cannot have a questionably aggressive dog around due to liability concerns. Much of the work on livestock guardians suggests that their mere presence is enough – they do not need to be dangerously aggressive to do a good job, at least in most situations, including mine.


Moderate size kicks in as an important issue when overall soundness and life expectancy are considered. While it is true that some very, very large dogs do indeed live to a ripe old age, it is also true that most do not.


I also prefer working dogs in teams of two because they seem happier and more effective. A dog with moderate size is fully capable of dealing with the threats my herd faces: coyotes, bobcats, the oc- casional black bear, the occasional stray dog.


If I had trouble with mountain lions, grizzlies or wolves, I might well reconsider the size issue as well as the aggression issue, but I live in the East and don’t have those larger, tougher predators. And, if I did, I still wonder if two or three moderate-sized dogs would not be as effective as a single large one as a deterrant to predation. Short hair is more of an issue of convenience than it is anything else. Dogs that are quickly and easily self-shedding are simply easier for me to maintain. So, all things being equal, shortish hair is better for me than long, soft, matted hair.


Our winters are severe enough to have tested reasonably short- haired crossbreds that we have had – and those dogs had no trouble maintaining warmth and being comfortable. While the crossbreds passed the “short haired” test, they flunked the nonaggression/pre- dictability test, so the search went on. Non-roaming is self explanatory. Dogs should stay where I put them and should be perfectly content to do so. I don’t need dogs roam- ing off the farm and guarding the entire neighborhood. And, I prefer that they stay put in the pasture I put them into while on the farm. Many people like “on the farm wandering” from field to field, but I prefer that they not do this. We do have high-tensile electric fencing and that certainly helps with the non-roaming part, but this is still a characteristic that I value.


8 Goat Rancher | December 2025


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