Garden Dog

There are a large number of breeds of these dogs, mostly from eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In contrast most of our livestock herding breeds come from western Europe and the British Isles. That Drover's dogs are part of the Western European Heritage while Livestock Guardian Dogs are part of a heritage of Eastern Europe and the Middle East has led to a good deal of confusion over what a "sheepdog" is in the minds of many Americans. Livestock Guardian Dogs are retained in areas where predators are a danger to livestock. Wolves have been extinct in the British Isles for several hundred years. This is not the case in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Russia.
It has only been recently due greatly to the work of Dr Raymond Coppinger that the utility of Livestock Guardian Dogs has been brought to the attention of North American ranchers. Livestock Guardian Dogs are variously placed in the Working and Herding groups by the AKC. Most of them are included in Sheepdog subdivision of the FCI Herding Dog group.

Below is listed a sampling of these breeds.

Livestock Guarding Dogs - Sheepdogs
Maremmano (Italian) (FCI)
Komondor (AKC & FCI)
Kuvasz (AKC & FCI)
Mudi (FCI)
Pumi (FCI)
Ioujnorousskaia Ovtcharka (Russian) (FCI)
Physically these tend to be large (70 lbs 90lbs, 20 to 25 inches at the shoulder) relatively heavy bodied dogs with broad heads and muzzles. They have drop ears and a rather puppy like appearance despite their size. Physically they grade into the Mastiff type on the upper end of size and into the general drop eared chunky bodied 'dog' type on the lower end of size.
However their specialized behavior towards their herd or flock is what truely distinguishes them. The ideal behavior of these breeds is to bond to the flock or herd of livestock that they protect, bark an alarm at the approach of strangers but to show no predatory behavior toward the flock. In this way they are very much the opposite of livestock herding dogs.

These dogs have a fairly low energy level and are tolerant of young animals that are part of their flock. This means that they are generally fine with the children and other animals of their own household but may challenge strange dogs and children.

They can be protective of property against strangers. The massive bodies seem to show a predisposition for bone and joint diseases. There is a tendency for show fanciers to exaggerate size and massiveness when breeding these dogs. Breeders who produce animals to work as actual livestock guardians tend towards more modest sized animals. Dogs that are successful flock guardians are generally intorduced to life in the flock at 8 weeks of age. They are not brought into the owner's house or socialized on the family.

In the house these dogs may need a good deal of personal room due to their large size. They do not need large yards however since they are relatively low energy. Their tendency towards protectiveness needs to be recognized and channeled with obedience training. The loose flews (lips) mean that the dog can be prone to slobber, something that must be considered by a fastidious potential owner.

Because of their great effectiveness as flock guardians there is active research being done on the behavioral genetics and biology of these dogs. Pre-eminant in this research is Dr Raymond Coppinger of Hampshire College. He has published a number of excellent popular articles on them as well as technical papers.

Because of the intensity of their protective drive they are not a good choice for a novice owner, especially a person who lacks time and skill in training a large, powerful dog.

Dogs that are not reared with flocks often do not turn out to be successful flock guardians. Due to genetic variation not all individuals may have the strong suppression of the predatory behaviors needed to produce a trustworthy flock guardian, so anyone looking to get one as a flock guardian should consult with an person experienced in this use of the dogs and knowledgable about the working ability of particular lineages.