MEET THE

Livestock Guardian Dogs

Dixie

We have 3  livestock guardian dogs on our farm that are absolutely essential. While coyotes and stray dogs tend to be the biggest threat to livestock, we knew living in black bear country that having extra eyes and ears patrolling the pastures was needed. It's been incredible witnessing the natural instinct and bond these dogs have had with their charges. They truly love these goats and the goats respect and trust them. When a dog barks, the goats go on alert and get behind the dogs or head back to the safety of the barn. They are also fiercely loyal to their people. We adore them!

Dixie came to us as a 13 week old puppy from Mississippi in 2022. She is 1/4 Great Pyrenees, the rest Anatolian Shepherd. When I found her ad I wasn't looking for a dog, but the minute I saw her, it was like God himself said" hey, girl--that's your dog!" I inquired immediately and she was the best decision I ever made for our herd. Dixie comes from a long line of dogs that were raised in the barn with goats and sheep, and she absolutely has such instinct to do exactly what she was bred for. She is fiercely bold and protective, but also so incredibly gentle with my son and especially newborn goats. She even let one of our bottle babies "nurse" on her while she was drying off her own puppies. We jokingly call her the maternity ward nurse because when its kidding season, she will jump the gate and put herself with the babies to care for them like her own. No one else but us are allowed to mess with her baby goats and their dams--especially not the other dogs. 

"In a world full of sheep and wolves, be the shepherd dog." --Unknown

Bear

Bear came to us as a 12 week old puppy from a sheep farm, south of Nashville.  He is full blooded Anatolian Shepherd and he also comes from a long line of working livestock dogs. Bear has to be one of the most relaxed and chill dogs I've ever owned. He's quiet and calm, but make no mistake, he jumps to action when he needs to and is my most active patroller. 

Koda

While we don't claim to be "dog breeders,'' we did let Dixie and Bear have a litter of puppies. We had so many close neighbors and friends reaching out begging for us to have a litter, especially after seeing our dogs in action--We also wanted another one for ourselves. Dixie had a small litter and we decided to keep the only primarily white male. Koda was born in December of 2024 and while still a puppy, he is extremely smart and has been a joy with very minimal training needed. Koda is a huge boy and already larger than both parents! We are so happy all of our puppies are on active, working farms and doing fantastic with their sheep and goats.