© Copyright 2017 Brenda M. Negri
Another Cinco Deseos Ranch Livestock Guardian Dog success story!
A client who is a commercial goat rancher that contracts out on big weed and brush control jobs in Northern California contacted me today with a huge "saved the day" story about my LGDs. She owns seven LGDs from me: two purebred Spanish Mastiffs, one purebred Pyrenean Mastiff, and several crosses (1/2 Spanish Mastiff 1/4 Maremma 1/4 Anatolian). Three of the dogs were re-homed to her from another client in Texas who had to move and could no longer keep her livestock. The dogs fit right in and, as she writes below, are doing fabulous.
Here's her story on how her LGDs alerted she and her husband to a huge rattler in her goat kidding pens. It could have struck and killed any of her goats!
Brenda:
We have just finished kidding and have 3 bottle babies. Not bad out of 118. I am just glad it is over and we can get on with brush clearing.
I have a great lgd story to tell you that involves these pictures (taken with a cheap crappy cell phone).
My X bred girls and 1 mastiff are in a large pasture with pens and huts that the moms and babies are in. The pens are 5 x 10 with mom and babies in each. It is about 10 AM Ginger (Spanish Mastiff) is having a fit, barking and running from gate to pens. Sage and Jazz (SM crossbred girls) are snarling in the corner by the pens but can’t see from the gate only hear hair raising growling. My husband grabs his rifle (assuming it is a large mammal trying to eat goats) hunter must have big gun. He goes down by the pens and sees Sage engaging this snake. It is inside the pen less than 5 ft. from 2 baby goats. She has it striking at her trying to get it out but it will not leave the corner of the pen. JR reaches the rifle barrel in the pen and shoots the snake. He goes to the shop and gets a hoe, bucket, and biscuits. Emergency over. This snake has 12 buttons on it, is almost as big as my forearm and is 53” long. I doubt it could eat a baby goat but it sure could have killed it with a bite. How do they know all this stuff? To distract that snake or even realize it was a threat. Hell it is hard to see in those pictures and I know it is there. I guess they could probably smell it. What good girls.
My Texas dogs are all doing good. It took some time to re-adjust to their new home. Angel (Pyrenean Mastiff) has turned out to be the best dog. She has a large pen of yearlings to look after. I have not had any trouble with her getting out of fences and she seems to genuinely enjoy her job. So sweet and always happy and bouncing. The boys (Spanish Mastiff, Maremma, Anatolian) got the big snip and things are much quieter. I have not put them together but they have had a common fence. They will play run up and down and seem glad to see each other. My vet had to use a horse stall because they did not fit in her kennel. Each weighs 160# with nothing but muscle. They are intimidating with their size but the girls are the ones I would not want to cross. They are always thinking.
Hope things are good with you. I am still trying to get some dog pictures but I never seem to have a camera when I need one.
Take care,
Roberta in Sonora
Two of Roberta's "snake charmers"below; the day they went home with them to California.
Cinco Deseos Ranch "B" Litter, Xanto Tornado Erben x Crisa de Abelgas
World record matching 16 puppy litter
