Livestock Guard Dog Presentation

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Ranchers look to livestock guard dogs to protect livestock from predators.

By Trina Jo Bradley

Vice President, Marias River Livestock Association

As grizzlies, wolves and coyotes continue to be more of an issue for livestock producers in Montana, many ranchers are searching for better ways to protect their livestock.

Livestock Guard Dogs are an excellent way to protect your herd – be it sheep, cows, goats or chickens.

Steve and Billie Skelton own a ranch 13 miles west of Bynum, smack dab in the middle of prime bear country. The Skeltons have discovered a way to keep their sheep safe AND sleep at night – a combination that is hard to imagine when they're seeing grizzlies every day from their front door. 

“Do grizzles and sheep mix? No! But that doesn't mean that you can't raise sheep in our heavily populated predator region,” Steve said. “We have been successful with a 'layering of dogs' technique that has been proven in northern Canada. LGDs are an effective means of coexisting in our grizzly and wolf infested environment that can protect all types of livestock, family and farmyards.”

Marias River Livestock Association has teamed up with Steve and Billie to offer an informational presentation on Livestock Guard Dogs and how they have learned to use them in the most efficient and effective way. Steve and Billie will also bring some of their LGDs to the meeting so everyone can see just how tough and friendly they are, as well as differentiate between the breeds that they will be discussing.

“Currently, we are running four different breeds for a 'layered' effect,” Steve said. “We are bringing in a fifth breed to try out, and possibly more breeds in the future to implement the best dogs for this region. We have found working guardian dogs to be unique in their intelligence and independence.”
“In these trying times when property rights are being challenged, LGDs are one of the only legal means of livestock and family protection,” Steve said. “We have found our LGDs to be very effective against the predators located along the Rocky Mountain Front.”

Please join us Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Dupuyer Community Hall in Dupuyer, or Tuesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. at the Stage Stop Inn in Choteau for this informational presentation.

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