Notes on heartache: lessons from livestock guardian dogs

This is the time of year when I see an abundance of LGD puppies being marketed to prospective homes as future guardians. The truth is a lot of people end up with a dog that isn’t the right fit for their operation and they might not even be a farm that should have a LGD. I’m no exception to ending up with a dog that isn’t a match for my situation. I haven’t shared much about my heartache and journey with Kelso, but finally sat down and penned some thoughts in the hopes they might help another farmer and show another side of the operation.

I’ve learned you cannot be a farmer without learning to let go to your attachment to outcome and taking time to grieve the losses and sadness that is inherent in farming. Kelso’s time here has been very difficult for me. He is not suited to being a livestock guardian dog and can’t be trusted with the stock. He killed one of our geriatric sheep and chases lambs. It was completely devastating for me and I grieved because I I felt like I had somehow failed this dog in his journey and caused another animal harm by not keeping her safe. In farming the heartache can be particularly brutal because farmers feel an element of blame and responsibility.

The harsh truth is some working dogs don’t succeed at their jobs and have to be reassigned. Even service dogs are removed from their programs after thousands of hours and dollars in training because they can’t perform their tasks the way they need to. I’m learning to view the working dogs as dogs with jobs and know that I can’t keep every drop out at the farm. Kelso’s circumstances are particularly challenging because he was raised in a pack and has spent his life outdoors on farms and can’t just move into the house. We spent a lot of time training him, even taking him to a trainer who specializes in behavioral issues and e collar training. Kelso is a good guard dog and incredibly loyal to me in particular. I have no doubt Kelso would lay down his life for me if he thought I was in danger. He likes being with me at the farm and will follow me inside, but he hasn’t learned to settle unless he is outdoors. Some of the the other dogs don’t really like him. Pete never trusted him and I should have listened to Pete rather than thinking I know better than the dog I have entrusted with protecting my flock.

Getting into livestock guardian dogs is not for the faint of heart. They take a lot of training and sometimes they don’t work out. Then you as the farmer need to decide what you’re going to do. The world and internet is full of livestock guardians who need homes, either because they truly aren’t suited to the task, or weren’t set up for success by their owners. You cannot chuck a livestock guardian dog puppy in with a bunch of sheep and hope for the best. They take a lot of training and supervision. Kelso is an absolute goofball and fluffer nutter around me and Chelsea, but not so much other people. He also knows this farm as his home and if he went to another farm might hurt another farm animal. I do think Kelso’s ideal situation could be living on the porch of one of those cottagecore women I see on tiktok living in the middle of the woods renovating cabins by themselves. But, by bringing Kelso to this farm I made commitment to care for him no matter what. I view my arrangement with animals at this farm as a social contract—in exchange for care, nourishment and a happy life they give us food, or in a LGD’s case, a service. Kelso, despite not being the dog I wanted him to be, can still be a farm dog and live a good life.

We will keep training him, working on his confidence, his manners, and maybe when it’s 100 degrees out he will decide laying on the cool tile in the farmhouse AC is actually nice. He might also be able to be retrained to guard poultry which would be a great farm job for him. I’m certainly willing to try him with birds and see if he can guard our flock knowing he might not be able to do that either. Unless the perfect situation manifests for Kelso (hit me up cottagecore tiktok ladies who go days and miles without seeing anyone), I will be allowing myself this one fluffy flunk out farm dog. Chalk it up to lessons learned.