Around the world, large dogs work to protect domesticated livestock from predators. New research documents that three breeds currently underutilized in the U.S. — Turkish Kangal, Bulgarian Karakachan, and Portuguese Cão de Gado Transmontano — may protect livestock more than other breeds.

A USDA Wildlife Services and Utah State University study tested these breeds to evaluate how they protect livestock from larger carnivores.

“We compared the kangals, karakachans and transmontanos to the ‘white dogs,’” explains Julie Young, a Wildlife Services research biologist. “For the study, we classified the commonly crossbred Great Pyrenees, Akbash Orvcharka and Maremma dogs under one group as ‘white dogs.’ Because a lot of the guardian dogs (in the U.S.) are crossbred now.”

Wildlife Services and Utah State partnered with 54 sheep producers in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. For the study, producers were selected for the open range environment where they grazed sheep and previous large carnivore conflict with livestock.

Dave and Kay Neves of Emblem, Wyoming participated from the Cowboy State. Their 7K Ranch utilizes livestock guardian dogs, Akbash orvcharkas, to protect their sheep bands. The 7K sheep graze U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service leases across sagebrush country to the Bighorn Mountains.

Study parameters

For the 4-year study, researchers selected larger breeds, over 100 pounds, under the theory that canine body mass intimidates wolves. Within each breed type researchers picked working dog lineages geared toward large carnivores.

“Some dogs are specifically bred to be just as violent and aggressive toward people as they are toward large carnivores,” said Daniel Kinka, a Utah State University researcher. “We avoided those breeds. They didn’t seem like an acceptable tool for multiple-use public lands here in the U.S.”

Based on these parameters, the Turkish kangal, Bulgarian karakachan, and Portuguese cão de gado transmontano breeds were selected. Each of the 54 producers hosted a trio of dogs from a single breed. The Neves received three kangal dogs.

Predator-dog interactions

In the study, all three of the imported breeds were found to guard sheep in a manner that exceeds the white dogs.

“The white dogs absolutely work, but not as well as the study’s focus breeds,” Young explained. “For instance, on one ranch a white dog had been beat up by wolves, previous to our study. The ranchers had one white dog killed, too. When we set up our fake wolf to observe reactions among the dogs, the white dog that had been beat up acted like he just couldn’t see the wolf. This is totally anecdotal, but it was like he thought, ‘I’m not doing that again.’

“One of the study’s imported dogs got pretty beat up by, we think, wolves. It survived and was able to continue as a successful guard dog, so that was good. I think the kangals, karakachans, and transmontanos have more drive. They can get beat up and still do OK.”

Researchers employed dummy animals to record how each dog behaved.

“We used a deer dummy to make sure that the dogs actually responded to the wolf dummy as a wolf,” Young explains, “and not just a weird object that somebody put out there. Most dogs would look at the deer and be like, ‘Oh, never mind,’ and walk away. Then when the dogs barked at, or charged, the wolf dummy, we knew they actually responded to it as a wolf and a threat.”

The dog breeds responded differently to the predator simulations. The karakachan dogs seemed to move about the flock more than white dogs and preferred guarding at a distance.

“The karakachans want to herd the sheep away from the threat, before they confront the threat,” Young said. “Some ranchers view that as doing a good job guarding, others see it as harassing the sheep.” The kangals were significantly more likely to investigate a decoy than white dogs, which may imply a higher willingness for physical engagement. The transmontano dogs were more able to decipher a threatening from non-threatening situation as determined by the wolf and deer decoys.

Proximity and mortality

GPS collars were placed on both sheep and dogs to map their activity and spatial contact. All of the breeds maintained closer proximity to sheep in the early morning hours — the peak activity of many carnivores. The Neves observed activity differences between their kangal dogs and white dogs. The white dogs often stay within the center of the band, and the kangals prefer to reside on the edge. When the sheep move, the white dogs remain in the center and the kangals in front of the path of travel.

“There are limited [research] results to suggest that guard dogs can be tending types or roaming types,” Kinka said. “We do think that breeds hold certain proclivities for behaviors. Within the same breed, dogs’ personalities or roles, vary. The kangal dog tends to have a larger range. That didn't actually show up when we looked at the area of land they used, but it does seem, behaviorally, that they do more pursuing and perimeter checking.”

Sheep mortality on the range was tracked for the study. Overall, the three focus breeds reduced sheep depredation relative to white dogs by 61-to-95 percent. The measured predator-specific effectiveness shows that the kangal decreased depredations from cougars, black bears, and coyotes. The karakachan were most effective toward coyotes. The presence of all dog breeds displaced wolves from the studied areas.

Only sheep producers were involved in the study, but the researchers are curious how the dog breeds could protect cattle. “If cattle were managed to enable guard dogs to work for them,” Kinka says, “it would solve a very big problem both for large carnivore conservation and livestock producers’ economic interests.” In 2018, in Wyoming alone, the WGFD confirmed an economic loss of over $786,000 in sheep and cattle injured or killed by wolves and bears.

Kinka sees more collaboration potential between scientific research and ranchers in ecology. “We [ecological researchers and livestock producers] can be mutually beneficial to each other,” he says. Guard dogs, nonlethal control for large carnivores and reducers of ranchers’ predation economic loss, are the common ground of the open range.

[Melissa Hemken writes from Lander, Wyo.]