Attentiveness of Guarding Dogs for Reducing Predation on Domestic Sheep

Abstract

Dogs used to protect domestic sheep from predators are expected to be attentive to the animals they guard. However, 40% of the sheep producers cooperating in our experimental program to assess the potential of Old World dogs to deter predation in the United States have expressed dissatisfaction with their dog's attentiveness. In contrast, European shepherds appear satisfied with their dogs. In order to find the causes of this apparent difference, a series of measured observations was made in Italy, and data on 4 different strains of imported guarding dogs working in the U.S. were analyzed. The results indicate that the 4 strains are significantly different in attentiveness, although overall it was remarkably similar to the actual attentiveness of Italian dogs. The attentiveness of livestock guarding dogs can be maximized for U.S. sheep producers by (1) selecting strains for superior attentive behavior and (2) adjusting management systems slightly to take advantage of the dogs' capabilities.