Erick Conard's Lucky Hit Ranch
Anatolian Guardian Behavior
"Guardians at Lucky Hit Ranch"
An Article printed in the Anatolian Times in 1998
demonstrating Anatolian emotional control
Lucky Hit Tawny Shadow on alert
Lucky Hit Tawny Shadow on alert and guarding her flock

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The following short article was published in the Anatolian Times in Volume 3 in 1999. Pictures of both Shadow and Autumn, my two working female guardians, appear in that Volume. Autumn made the cover and is shown guarding goats. Shadow, who is also guarding goats, is on page 19, where the article appears.

The article describes Shadow's reaction to having her goats handled by someone other than me when she was eight months old. I believe this example illustrates the emotional control seen in good working Anatolians. Although Shadow initially seemed out of control with anger when she was moving Matt out of the pasture, the fact that she stopped barking and returned to the goats the moment he was out the gate clearly shows that Shadow used the force necessary to achieve her objective but was in complete emotional control of her actions. Regular dogs and guardians with poor emotional control (hopefully neutered), once stirred up, tend to continue barking out of control even though the preceived danger is past.

"Guardians at Lucky Hit Ranch"
By Erick Conard
Lucky Hit Ranch
This is about Shadow and Autumn, Tawny's pups. As you know, only Shadow and Autumn of the ten pups Tawny carried survived. They are absolutely wonderful females. Not only are they conformationally correct, they are amazing guardian dogs. They are fiercely protective; they don't allow anyone except me to touch my goats and they are uncomfortable if other people are on my ranch.

The other day I asked a friend, Matt, to help me load up some goats for sale. Shadow (who was eight months old) watched Matt like a hawk, following us closely while we walked around the goats. I pointed out a goat I wanted to sell and Matt grabbed it by the horns. The goat bleated and Shadow leaped toward Matt's face, furiously snarling/barking, snapping her sharp white teeth in his face. Using the weight of her 100 pound body, she hit his arms with her chest, breaking his hold on the goats horns. She whipped around behind him, snapping her teeth, snarling and barking, and quickly moved him to the gate. Once he was outside the goat area, Shadow moved back to the goats, quietly sitting between us and the goats.

I like a dog that is strong and protective without being dangerous... Shadow fits that bill perfectly!



I hope you found this information about WORKING Anatolian Shepherd Guardian Dogs interesting and useful and gave you further insight into the temperament of good working Anatolian Shepherd Guardians. If you are having working problems with your dog, please feel free to contact me for assistance.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:

The most important factor when purchasing and raising an Anatolian to guard livestock is to select your pup from two proven and superior working Anatolians.

Good or bad working behaviors are inherited, just like good or bad hips, good or bad teeth, etc. Your pup has the greatest likelihood of having superior working ability if he/she comes from two superior and proven working parents. Before purchasing a pup you should visit the ranch and carefully observe the parents to verify that both sire and dam live and work 24/7 with sheep and/or goats in a predator rich environment. Check out the parent's behaviors for excellent and desirable interactions with their sheep and/or goats. If you don't like the parent's behaviors you might not like the puppy's behaviors!

Breeders who tell you "all Anatolians have good working ability" are probably just trying to sell their pups, since there is a wide variation in working ability depending on the working genetics of the parents! My experience is that when a breeder has failed to focus on superior working ability as their top breeding requirement, it is possible that the pups they are producing may not have the high level of working ability that you require!

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