Choosing the Right Working Dog Breed for Farm Life

A good farm dog is not something tacked onto a country way of life. It is an operating tool as important as a good tractor or fence. However, while a fence will conform to your farming system, a dog possesses energy levels, personality and instincts that will either complement your farming system or constantly resist it, every day. Choosing the wrong type of dog means you will not only be disappointed as a dog owner, but you will also end up with a frustrated and bored dog that may begin to exhibit destructive behavior or be inept at the task for which you purchased the dog.

So how should this decision be made?

Start With the Job, Not the Look

It’s tempting to choose a breed because it photographs well against a red barn. Resist that. Ask what you actually need the dog to do:

• Herding livestock (sheep, cattle, goats, poultry)
• Guarding livestock from predators
• Guarding property and deterring trespassers
• Pest control (rats, groundhogs, snakes in outbuildings)
• General companionship with light farm duties

These are different jobs requiring different temperaments, and some breeds are built for one and terrible at another.

Herding Breeds

A herding dog does not herds guard but stock. They are bred to make quick decisions, have great focus and be constantly busy.

• Border Collie – the champion of cattle and sheep herding. Very smart, however if they are not given enough work they will create their own. Underused Border Collies tend to herd children or the family cat.
• Australian Shepherd – a bit more suited to family life than a Border Collie, but still requires a good amount of daily work.
• Welsh Corgi (Pembroke or Cardigan) – smaller herding dogs traditionally used for cattle work. These dogs tend to be low to the ground to avoid being kicked.

Herding breeds do best with an ample amount of livestock and acres to herd them. They do not do well as pure decorative farm dogs.

Livestock Guardian Breeds

These are dogs that live with the flock, not around it. These dogs are bred to bond with animals, not herds.

• Great Pyrenees – Calm and independent, forms a strong bond to either sheep or goats, and will readily defend against predators.
• Anatolian Shepherd – Very territorial, well suited to large open pastures, and less tolerant of strangers.
• Maremma Sheepdog – Shares the protective nature but is slightly more friendly towards people.

Guardian breeds are not obedience dogs. These dogs are independent and will make their own decisions (such as defending against a coyote) at 3 a.m. These independent traits may be misinterpreted as stubbornness within a suburban dog training environment.

Property and All-Purpose Farm Dogs

Some breeds split the difference — alert without being singularly bred for herding or guarding livestock.

• Australian Cattle Dog (Heeler) — tough, loyal, works stock and doubles as a property watchdog.
• German Shepherd — versatile, trainable, good all-around presence.
• Airedale Terrier — historically used for vermin control and general farm utility.

Matching Energy to Your Actual Life

Be honest about your situation. A Border Collie on five acres without sheep will be a neurotic fence-jumper. A Great Pyrenees in a small yard without a herd to watch will bark at everything, because that’s all they have to watch. Match the intended use of the breed to what you can actually provide for them, rather than some idealized notion of what a “farm dog” should be.

If You’re Considering Breeding

Eventually, some working dog owners transition to breeding working lines. Often, the goal is to produce more working dogs that are well-suited to a particular piece of land, climate or livestock. If this is an option for you, there are a few points which should be given more thought than may initially appear:

• Health testing should be performed prior to breeding. Reputable breeding begins with health screening of both parents for elbow, hip, and breed specific disease. Simply finding a convenient male nearby is not enough.
• Select a stud dog which complements the weaknesses in your female, structurally and temperamentally. Simply using the closest male available is not ideal. Working line breeders will often travel long distances or utilize shipped semen to find a stud with a known working lineage.
• Obtain a written contract and understand the stud fee. Stud fees can vary greatly according to the working title and reputation of the breed. Understand the terms of the contract including the possibility of a small litter or failure in breeding.
• Use a stud based on ability rather than papers. On a working ranch, ability is more important than show titles and papers. A stud with actual experience in herding, guarding or working should be given preference over a stud with only show experience.

Breeding requires a significant amount of time, money (veterinary, whelping, etc.) and should be given the respect it deserves as a task in and of itself, rather than something done after acquiring a good working dog.

The Bottom Line

There is no single ‘right’ working dog breed. There is however, a breed best suited to the job at hand. For herding dogs, stock must be moved. For guard dogs, a strong protective instinct is required. However, for all working dogs, the individual must be prepared to put the dog into work, and not simply use the dog for a garden.