As they grow and mature, training involves more supervision than actually training to guard. Guarding is a natural instinct that is exceptionally strong in this breed. More so, it is a matter of supervising the growing pups to make sure they are showing correct guardian tendancies, and curbing improper actions immediately, such as chasing, playing or mouthing livestock. Until mature, pups will vary in how much correction they need. Some naturally take to their jobs with little or no correction needed, while some take more efforts. However, the time taken to get your dog started with livestock is a valuable investment and pays off with an extremly loyal dog that will excel in his job and enjoy doing it.

There is no reason that you cannot simultaneously work with your dog to be a livestock guardian, along with teaching basic commands and manners, and bonding with you as the owner. As much as you can expose your dog to, such as riding in vehicles, different pets and animals, or things that are routine in your environment, will make for a confident dog, and help immensely at times when you have to make a trip to the vet, or similar circumstances. Our dogs are very bonded to us and interact with us daily, without affecting their working ability. Even our dogs that are highly socialized and taken to dog shows return to the farm and perform their job effectively.

Below are some articles with photos that I put together, one showing how we raise our puppies and the other showing the interaction of a working dog with the birth of newborn livestock. Hopefully it will help you to better understand the relationship between Livestock Guardian Dogs and their charges.

Training Puppies with Livestock

Anatolian assisting with birth of Livestock