On the Little Farm we have lost 8 cats over the past year to coyotes. Cats are essential on the farm as they keep the mice and rats away. They also scare off squirrels – all vermin that dig into our wonderful organic produce and fruit! So we did some research and came up with the breed of dog that protects livestock against coyotes. The Central Asian Shepherd is a HUGE dog – we named ours Smokey – here she is – 72 lbs at 5 months! She is the smartest dog I have ever met. Within one day she had learned to walk beside the goats as they arrived for milking then to lay down and wait while milking happened then stand up again and walk them back to the pen. She ‘works’ all day at chores on the farm alongside our farm manager – and then at lunch time she plays with our other rescue dog, Goldie. Of course she is still a puppy so she lays down every hour or so to take a short dog-nap – and then off she goes again. She has learned ( in two days) not to jump, not to come inside the house and not to cry in her pen at night. She has to stay penned up for a few more months at night so that she is fully grown when coyotes come and she chases them away. How lucky we are to find her! Welcome Smokey!
