#squeezedoutofmiracles

Commission for @squeezedoutofmiracles ‘s half orc sorcerer and her familiar, Davidoff Luncheon

Thanks for asking, @squeezedoutofmiracles ! To expand on a previous post, 

LGDs can be moved to another paddock or temporarily tied up while the herding dogs are working, but it’s more to keep them out of the way or give them a break than because the herding dogs are at risk. LGDs and herding dogs are expensive and time-consuming to train, and so you want them to get along. You rely on these dogs, so why would you want them to be a risk to each other?

Because dogs are capable of recognizing individuals, LGDs know which herding dogs are their “coworkers” and are okay with them. You want your herding and LGD dogs to know which other animals and humans belong around their sheep, and which to be suspicious of or keep an eye on. The LGDs know that not all stress is bad - the sheep aren’t terribly happy to have their feet checked or get checked for pregnancy, either, but the dog learns what sort of things are ok and what sort of things should be stopped.  

A lot of this is because of human training but also it’s one reason LGDs and herding dogs take a lot of time and effort to train.  Using an older dog to train a younger one, which is common, also helps - dogs take social cues from each other.  If the older dog isn’t upset about something, and neither is the boss human, then the younger dog learns that what’s happening isn’t something to worry about.  This sort of model-rival technique for training dogs is a vital part of training LGDs and herding dogs. 

Getting a bit more speculative here, as I only have observations to go on, but the dogs can and do socialize during “work time” as needed, as well - to use my colleague Dan’s dogs as an example, his LGDs clearly recognize that the collies are there to do a job, too. Bodie (the floof above) clearly recognized Mae (one of Dan’s collies) as ok to be around the sheep at a recent workshop, for example, and he was tied up under a shady tree but clearly not under any stress (I think he slept most of the workshop! He knew he was off duty).  

Usually the LGD is penned or chained up for a bit while the herding dogs are being worked with, or follow the sheep, depending on what’s going on - so they can be used together but not in a tag-team sort of way, more like the LGD guards one band while the collies work another. But LGDs are also capable of getting that ‘if Boss says this person/dog is ok, they’re ok’ - which is another important part of training a good LGD!  

This is also why you NEVER approach a LGD without permission and an intro from their human.  They’re trained against two-legged coyotes as well. But if you’re introduced, they can be pretty chill because if their human is chill with you, you are an ok person (this applies to a lot of dog types honestly).  Just be careful and let the human do the leading, and be prepared to back off if needed.

For more on livestock guardian dogs, check out the blog run by my colleague, Dan Macon, who just got a new puppy and is blogging about the training experience! http://ucanr.edu/blogs/ranchinginthefoothills/index.cfm?tagname=livestock%20guardian%20dogs

@squeezedoutofmiracles

The Office is really good and easy to watch, theres some LGBT characters and no offensive humor that I can remember! And I think the episodes are shortish too