Livestock Guardians: Using Dogs, Donkeys, and Llamas to Protect Your Herd (Storey's Working Animals)

Livestock Guardians is a comprehensive guide for farmers struggling to reduce predation of sheep, goats, and other livestock. Jan 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; a list of useful resources and references; and a 16-page color insert showing photos of guardian breeds.