What is a Landrace Dog Breed?
To begin with, what is a dog breed? We often answer this question with a list of breeds recognized by an organization such as the AKC. ...
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Jan Dohner
Blog Posts and Articles
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The Challenges of an LGD Breed as a Companion Dog
I often see folks suggesting one of the livestock guardian dog breeds or LGDs to people who want a companion dog for their suburban...
Preserving the Essential Traits and Behaviors of Livestock Guardian Dogs
Kangal Dogs belong to the larger group of LGDs or livestock guardian dogs. As long time owners and board officers of the Kangal Dog Club...
The Alaskan Huskies of Denali National Park
Although the sled dog breeds were not included in Farm Dogs, they are most definitely true working dogs. On a recent trip to Alaska, we...
From Almost-Doomed to Domesticated: Restoring the Alaskan Musk Ox
In mid September, after the rush of summer visitors was over, we visited the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. The green pastures looked...
Extremely Cold Weather and Working Livestock Guardian Dogs.
As an important tool for coexistence, the use of livestock guardian dogs can be essential to a farm’s protection of its stock from...
How to React to a Working Livestock Guardian Dog
Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) are one of the most effective means of predator control. This very old method of protecting sheep, goats,...
The Encyclopedia of Animal Predators
Our first interactions with wild predators began in 1977, when we moved to our small farm in Michigan, and bought a box of chicks at the...
Raising Livestock Guardian Puppies
It is common to receive conflicting advice on how to raise a full time working LGD. There are slightly different ways to introduce a LGD...
Talking with Animals
Last week I spoke with Duncan Strauss from the NPR radio program Talking Animals about my new book The Encyclopedia of Animal Predators....
The Bears and the Bees: Protecting Backyard Hives
You don’t have to study today’s headlines for long to notice an uptick in the number of encounters between humans and animal predators....
What is a Farm Dog? Making the Best Choices for Working Partners on the Farm or Ranch.
Quick answer – a dog that lives on a farm. A more complete answer would describe the breeds that traditionally worked on farms or ranches...
The Swedish Vallhund - Farm Worker and Family Friend
With so many breeds to include, unfortunately one of my favorite breeds was left out of Farm Dogs. From time to time, I hope to profile...
Winter Care for Working Farm Dogs
Winter is coming and with it lots of well-meaning folks saying that all dogs need to come inside. However, many hardworking farm or ranch...
What's Old is New Again
The Farm Dogs project was very personal to me, the result of a lifetime of both loving dogs and reading books about dogs. My childhood...
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