How a Yampa Valley family farm is helping bring livestock guardian dogs to Colorado farmers.

As Colorado reintroduces wolves to the wild, tensions between ranchers and the state continue to rise. Try to limit conflict with predators.

While many conflict mitigation techniques have been around for some time, there is renewed energy as a state—through conversations, investment, and education—on non-lethal methods such as fladry, ranger riders, electric fencing, and livestock guardian dogs. keeps bringing the wolves.

In 2020 and 2021, the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, in partnership with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, received $1.38 million in funding to launch a nonlethal animal protection research program. Yes implemented Equestrian, fladry, electric fencing and guard dog projects in 13 states, including Colorado.

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This project is in Colorado placed livestock guardian dogs with sheep and cattle farmers in areas where wolves, black bears, mountain lions, and coyotes pose threats to livestock.

Although Wildlife Services provides other nonlethal tools in Colorado, the decision to focus investment and efforts on guard dogs was based on conversations with farmers, discussions with neighboring states and previous research, said Tanya Espinosa, a public affairs specialist at the federal agency. dog related agency.

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“We thought this would be a great opportunity to explore and expand the practical use of livestock protection dog breeds across many landscapes in Colorado,” Espinosa said.

Through the program, producers receive two free foster puppies, medical expenses for the first year are covered, and training support is provided.

These dogs were bred and trained to adhere to and defend animal herds; This gives farmers an extra eye and protection against predators.

In April, the agency began working with Colorado-based breeders of these dogs to “match specific breeds (livestock protection dogs) with the breeder, their handling, needs, training comfort, and specific characteristics of the dogs.” “said Espinoza.

Raising Turkish Gray Shepherds in the Yampa Valley

This year Jan and Pat Stanko became one of the suppliers for the USDA program. They sent Turkish Gray Shepherd puppies to Yampa, Glenwood Springs, Walden, Morrison and Craig.

The Stankos run Pat’s family farm in Steamboat Springs. Emerald Mtn. Farm It has been in business for over 100 years and five generations if his sons ever take over the business. Today, in addition to livestock guardian dogs, they also raise cattle, poultry and sheep.

Jan and Pat Stanko began owning and breeding livestock protection dogs, naturally, about 15 years ago.

While living on the Front Range, the couple experienced some thefts and a predator was eating their chickens. After searching for ways to help, they found Beau, a Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd foster dog.

When they returned to take over operations of the Steamboat farm, they brought Beau with them.

“But the hunters here were very different,” Jan said. “He was missing three bears a night, and then we were running into larger coyotes coming up to the fence line and packs trying to take him out, so we figured we probably needed another one.”

So came Kiba, a mix of Maremma and Great Pyrenees.

From there, Jan began doing more research on various dog breeds suitable for the job and found one called Turkish Gray Shepherd Dogs.

“That’s what we ended up with and never looked back,” he said.

As its name suggests, the breed originates from Türkiye and is Gray. translation “to the great, strong fighting man”. Fully grown males can weigh between 120 and 190 pounds, while females can weigh between 100 and 170 pounds. With a large, muscular body type and webbed paws suitable for snow, dogs are large enough to intimidate predators, but they are also fast and agile. Jan said.

The breed is also temperamentally very suitable as a guard dog. Jan referred to the Boz as independent thinkers, problem solvers, good with people — something he said was especially important to them in a resort where there was a lot of off-road fun and a drive with less prey.

While it may seem counterintuitive, Jan said the latter was important to her in terms of having Boz take a lookout position, assess what’s there and not engage unless something physically enters the property, reducing the threat to the dogs. .

“They’re always watching,” he said.

Although they share many characteristics, the Grizzly differs slightly from Turkish Kangals, a popular guard dog breed that is also part of the USDA’s non-lethal program in Colorado.

Espinosa said Kangals were included because they can easily investigate potential threats, stay alert, distinguish threats from non-threats and are friendly with people.

“The Kangal is more of an environmental dog, so they usually go farther…probably a little faster,” Jan said. “Then if something were to happen, Boz would be more of a backup if they had to eliminate something… they are the force behind it. Each breed is a little different.

Training dogs for work

While many of their protective traits are innate, Jan spends a lot of time helping train dogs for specific traits that farm owners may need.

This includes exposing puppies to things like bubble wrap to get them used to gunfire, training them to understand electric fences, and introducing them to a variety of animals such as cats, poultry, sheep, and cattle. be around or protect.

While Jan does most of the training, some of it falls to the older dogs. The longer puppies have them, the more they learn how to protect themselves, where they fit in the pack pattern, and how to “bite inhibit” or control the force of their bite.

While the USDA program releases puppies to farm owners at about 8 to 10 weeks of age, Jan prefers to keep them for a few more weeks to get a better idea of ​​the dogs’ personalities and what kind of family and work they would be good for. .

Even if the dogs leave Emerald Mtn. Ranch will continue their training.

“It takes about two years for them to become more powerful as a deterrent, especially if you’re dealing with larger predators,” Jan said.

“You’ll need to do some training on this with your dog and your animals and get them used to each other, you can’t just throw the dog out there,” Pat added.

We are fighting a new predator in Colorado: Wolves

Although Colorado farmers have always dealt with conflict from predators, each faces unique challenges.

“Each predator will be different in how it hunts and what it does,” Pat said.

How many guard dogs you need depends on the predator burden more than the farm’s acreage, Jan added.

An example is that because wolves hunt in packs, it is necessary to have a pack of dogs to protect livestock.

“Sometimes having dogs can actually bring wolves in, so if that’s going to be a problem then you want to make sure your pack is large enough that the risk versus reward for the predator isn’t worth it,” Jan said.

Espinosa said the success of animal protection dogs depends more on how the “team” works together.

“(Livestock Protection Dogs) are bred from birth for a specific purpose, but they work as a team with their handlers, on their own land, with others (livestock protection dogs) and in different situations,” Espinosa said.

Colorado has changed the landscape for farmers when it introduced gray wolves to the state through restoration efforts, Stankos said.

Espinosa said the USDA has seen “consistent interest” from farmers in using livestock guard dogs throughout the wolf reintroduction process.

When the wolf reintroduction began, Stankos attended several meetings around the state with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, other ranchers and wildlife advocates.

“We went to wolf meetings, talked to other farmers and other people and what they were into,” Jan said. “There’s a lot of stress out there, so if there’s anything we can do to help both sides, I feel like we’re in a unique situation to be able to help others and try to keep the doors open, especially with farmers. We’re on the verge of shutting down.”

Jan said he felt his niche as a breeder was their integration into the local community as well as the sheep and cattle industries.

“What I’m trying to do is something completely different and I really just want to help people,” he said. “We’re trying to provide information about these dogs and we’re trying to help people and educate them.”

Jan said livestock protection dogs can be helpful against predators such as wolves because every situation is different, but they are not a silver bullet.

“Livestock guardian dogs, they are another tool,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of trying to figure out how to incorporate (livestock guard dogs) into your operation. And one operation is not the same as the next operation, so what looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’s actually applicable to everyone,” Pat added.

When matching farmers and ranchers, Espinosa said they always want farmers to be aware of the benefits of using a variety of nonlethal tools, including using multiple tools together.

“The real magic happens when you match the right qualities of a pair of dogs so they work together as a team, when you match that pair of dogs with the personality of a producer and have a producer who is committed to training and success. Because dogs are dedicated to protecting their pack, so are their dogs,” he said.

Like most non-lethal tools, guardian dogs are more effective as a proactive approach.

“I don’t want people who are already in crisis and saying, ‘I should have a dog,’ because then you’ll have trouble with that as well, because they’re businesses and it’s an investment.” Jan said.

Especially when it comes to wolves, he said it’s important to have dogs in place before a wolf pack claims territory.

“Then you’re not trying to remove the wolves from an area that they already say is theirs,” Jan added. “And you also have the trauma (of livestock) from having wolves there.”

More puppies, more connections

Looking ahead, the Stankos are preparing to have more puppies in late winter and early spring, continuing to improve their training and placement as they move forward with the USDA program.

Espinosa said the Wildlife Services program is working to establish an educational support network among breeders and farmers to ensure success in the use of these guard dogs in Colorado.

“In Colorado, we have learned that proper bonding and training of young dogs is important, as well as building a community and network of (livestock protection dog) breeders and owners,” he said. “It takes generations to build a wealth of knowledge about (livestock protection dogs) and their use in different livestock operations in various regions, and we just need to be willing to listen, learn and adapt our behavior to ensure these dogs have a good foundation to build on.”