Farm Dog

According to Wikipedia, a network effect is the phenomenon by which the value or utility a user derives from a good or service depends on the number of users of compatible products. I don't know much about that, but what I do know is hearing from and being around lots of stockdog people is much better than fewer. Welcome to Farm Dog . Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and hosted by its &nb...

What makes one breed of stockdog a better fit for someone than another breed? Is it a personality match between human and dog? Is it the kind of stock or the size of the herd? How about the terrain, vegetation, and climate? If you ask Trey Rutherford, it's all of those things and more that make the Australian Kelpie the right breed for him. Welcome to Farm Dog . Farm Dog is presented by Goats On T...

When you're just setting out into a new, intimidating landscape, sometimes it's nice to step in the tracks of someone who's just a few paces ahead of you. The stockdog world is no different, and fellow Iowan Zeb Gray is kind enough -- and humble enough -- to break trail for me today, sharing his lessons learned as a novice stockdog handler. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On Th...

Are livestock guardian dogs for the birds? With thousands of acres, 10 species of pastured livestock, and furred and feathered predators to contend with, there's no better place to find out than at White Oak Pastures in Georgia. Jenni Harris is here to give us her thoughts on dogs for protecting, and defending against, birds. Welcome to Farm Dog . Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and host...

If the English Shepherd was a baseball player, it would be a utility infielder -- steady, reliable, and able to shift between a variety of jobs on a moment's notice. Even though specialists may be able to perform a narrow range of tasks with greater style, the English Shepherd could be the ideal stockdog for diverse, small farms. Welcome to Farm Dog . Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and...

Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. Whenever you want to learn  something new, you've got to start with the basics to do it right. And,  putting a herding dog to work on your farm is no exception. Fortunately, the author of the book "Stockdog Savvy" is here to give us a lesson on the foundational concepts and vocabulary of stockdogs. Welcome to Farm Dog . Farm Dog is presented by G...

Can a livestock guardian dog be trusted to stay with its herd even if it's enjoyed some moments on the porch in the past? Must it show suspicion and aggression toward every unfamiliar thing it encounters? Is it capable of discernment? The Colorado Mountain Dog might just challenge some of our assumptions about what LGD's are capable of. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go...

When you raise sheep on pasture surrounded by the largest carnivore in North America, mountain lions, and a local pack of wolves, you'd better have your act together when it comes to predator protection. For Steve Skelton of Bynum, Montana, that means his sheep live with a security detail of at least 10 livestock guardian dogs representing four or more different breeds. Welcome to Farm Dog ....

The Australian Cattle Dog (ACD), obviously, was bred for cattle work. But today's farmers and ranchers don't often demand much from the breed, and its appeal to pet owners is strong even though some of its cattle dog instincts are undesirable for domestic life. With pressure to change coming from all sides, who's going to bat for the working genetics of the ACD? Welcome to Farm Dog . Farm Dog is p...

Suppose your farm or ranch had unlimited access to the entire catalogue of products sold by Premier 1 Supplies. Would you still need working dogs? That farm actually exists, and its livestock manager says even the best farm equipment can't replace her livestock guardian dogs and Border Collies. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and hosted by its founder, Aaron Steele....

Craig Koshyk grew up among farm dogs and traveled the world observing and writing about hunting dogs. After diving into the cultures, languages, and practices that produced both types, he found out they're not all that different. Craig will walk us through the common beginnings and shared instincts of hunting breeds and our canine farm hands. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On...

Pressure and release, covering your stock, stockdog training for personal growth, trialing as recruitment tool, and...could the growth of small and sustainable farms and homesteading be the savior of the working Australian Shepherd? All topics covered in this part two of our interview with Jacque Tinker. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and hosted by its founder, Aaro...

Jacqueline Tinker is a trainer and breeder of working Australian Shepherd stockdogs. She wants to see intelligence, independent thinking, loyalty, and a willingness to please in her dogs that allows them to adapt to all kinds of stock. Going to complete mush over babies, however, is optional. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and hosted by its founder, Aaron Steele. Ja...

When it comes to livestock guardian dogs, it's easy to find plenty of oft-repeated advice about breeds, working styles, training, socializing. But how much do we actually know? Bill Costanzo, a livestock guardian dog researcher, is helping us all know more about the dogs our farms, ranches, and homesteads rely on. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented by Goats On The Go® and hosted by its fou...

Gary Williams is a cowboy, an author, and a horse and stock dog trainer,  but he's not a geneticist. So when he went looking for pure McNab dogs  to be the foundation of his breeding program, he kept an eye out for a single characteristic that told the dogs' genetic histories as accurately as  any DNA test -- the unique McNab working style. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm Dog is presented...

To Randal Walker, a rancher and stock dog trainer out of Toppenish, Washington, “cow dogs” are border collies, not all border collies are cow dogs, a fearful dog is certainly not a cow dog, and while it might tell you something about its character, a cow dog is not necessarily required to gather cattle from the Pacific Ocean. Confused? Randal will explain it all for us. Welcome to Farm Dog. Farm D...

So you think you’ve got predator problems on your farm or ranch? Liesl and Cody Lockhart from Saskatchewan, Canada raise sheep and cattle among coyotes, mountain lions, bears, and wolves. Liesl’s here to tell us how her livestock guardian dogs won the battle against them all, but then proved helpless against another unexpected predator that fundamentally changed their sheep operation. Welcome to F...

What does it take to be Farm Bureau's Farm Dog of the Year? Flint, the Australian shepherd, knows that it takes loyalty, raw talent, drive, being at your best when the cows get out on Sunday morning, and owners smart enough to recognize your brilliance. Welcome to Farm Dog. Flint's Farm Bureau Dog of the Year video Lor A Australian Shepherds 2022 Farm Bureau Dog of the Year contest Farm Dog is pre...

When it comes to farm dog breeds, Janet Vorwald Dohner literally wrote the book on the subject. She catalogued 93 breeds of guardians, herders, terriers and other canine working partners for the farm from all over the world, and she's here to share her knowledge with us. Welcome to Farm Dog.  Jan Dohner's website (buy her books!): https://www.jandohner.com/ Jan Dohner's webinars: https://www....

Have you heard of the McNab Dog or the Colorado Mountain Dog? Probably not, they're pretty rare. But Harmony Davies works with both on a daily basis. In fact, in just five short years harmOny has been assisted by more working farm dogs - and a greater variety of farm dogs - than most of us will experience in a lifetime. Welcome to Farm Dog. Creative Commons Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.com

Greg Christiansen is the owner of Grandview Livestock , a Kansas sheep and goat operation that utilizes dozens of livestock guardian dogs (LGD's) and a couple of herding dogs to provide a living for himself and his family. He is also the author of Raising Meat Goats in a Commercial Operation . In this first episode of Farm Dog we discuss LGD breeds that Greg has put to work on his farm (Anatolian...