Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
SHEPHERD STORY REVISITED
Dogs on Duty
F
OR IAN BALSILLIE AND KAREN BEAN,
the idea of keep-
ing sheep and goats was appealing when they fi rst purchased 20 acres of
logged land in Washington state, but they knew there was no way they could
do it without some help. “Our twenty acres is in the foothills, on the west side
of the Cascade Mountains,” Ian told me, “and the land around us still sup-
ports a full range of predators. The day we picked up our fi rst sheep, we also
picked up our fi rst guardian dog.”
The couple became involved in the “Predator-Friendly” movement,
because there are abundant bears (there have been confi rmed sightings of
grizzlies in the Cascades), coyotes, cougars, and other wild predators around
their mountain home. Yet, thanks to the help of their guardian dogs, they
never lost a sheep or goat — nor honey from their beehives. At one point Ian
and Karen had over 70 head of fi ber sheep and goats, but after more than a
decade of hand shearing, Karen told me, her back couldn't take it any longer:
“We still have a few goat does that are in retirement, and a few pack-goat
wethers [castrated males], but we had to cut back on the physical work when
we got into our fi fties.”
Ian stressed that working with guardian dogs can be challenging — espe-
cially at fi rst. “When they're young, they're sort of like teenagers; they can be
obstinate. They try to tunnel out of fences or wander off. But usually by about
eighteen months old they understand their job.”
Ian also said that breeding and training can be rewarding but also hard
work: “Breeding and training guardian dogs isn't easy money. We mainly bred
in the fi rst place so we could keep back our own additions, but you can't keep
a whole litter of pups.”
The number of dogs required to protect the fl ock varies with circum-
stances, but Ian and Karen found that during the years when their fl ock was
at its peak number, three dogs were ideal. Three dogs can split up; one or two
dogs can chase off the predator while the other stays with the fl ock to guard
its fl ank. But, Ian mentioned, a good guardian doesn't chase the predator too
far and risk her own life.
“The dogs are absolutely indispensable,” Karen told me. “Just this morn-
ing I heard Primo [a Pyrenees-Maremma cross] down by the creek. I could
tell it was his 'bear bark.' Sure enough, the bear trotted back up the hill. We
couldn't have had all these animals over the years if we hadn't had our dogs.”
