When we began raising goats in 1995 we found no need for Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGD's) until one dreadful Sunday morning in December 2006. While feeding the goats we found a doe lying under a tree with the majority of her thigh missing. How she escaped her attacker we'll never know. We took her down to the barn and started a treatment program which lasted about 3 months. After a lot of medication and TLC we were able to save the doe and to this day you would never know she had been injured.
On that day in December our search for LGD's began. Although we were able to locate several puppies we could not find a mature dog that was ready to go to work. Thanks to the generosity of Terri Lenoci at Raven's Rest Farm we got Katie who has been a true blessing. Katie was 10 months old and extremely protective of her charges. She has grown into an outstanding LGD who loves people.
We also purchased a 10 week old puppy who Katie immediately took under her wing and trained. Katie and Spencer became the best of friends and were amazing to watch as they patroled the pastures and protected our goats.
As time went on Katie and Spencer worked well as a team to make certain all the goats on our farm were safe. They both grew in size and have become excellent guard dogs.
On November 18, 2007 Katie and Spencer gave birth to their first litter of 5 puppies. We're not sure if it was Katie's inexperience or ours but the den she dug to birth her pups was too small and Katie accidently layed on 3 of the pups and suffocated them. The remaining 2 puppies (male and female) were precious. We enjoyed watching Katie train her pups and at an early age could tell they would soon be just as amazing at their job as Mom and Dad. Our farm will never be without LGD's.
Meet Max and Mattie
January 4, 2008 February 9, 2008
May 2, 2008
At 5 months of age Max and Mattie showed excellent growth. They each had their own herd of goats to guard and took their duties very serious.
Max Mattie
