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Breed comparisons and characteristics of use of livestock guarding dogs
Author
Green, J. S.
Woodruff, R. A.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1988-05-01
Body

Research has shown that dogs can protect livestock from coyotes (Canis latrans), but information is lacking on comparative effectiveness of dog breeds and on how successfully dogs are being used by livestock producers. We mailed questionnaires to 948 livestock producers in the U.S. and Canada who were likely to be users of livestock guarding dogs. Three hundred ninety-nine written responses were received reporting data on 763 dogs, almost all recognized guarding breeds. Respondents were livestock producers from 47 states and 7 provinces. Producers rated their dogs as very effective (71%), somewhat effective (21%), or not effective (8%) in deterring predation; the majority (82%) said dogs were an economic asset. No particular breed was rated more highly, and the rate of success between males and females was not different. Fifty nonrespondents were telephoned, and although fewer of them had dogs than respondents, their rating of the dogs they used was not significantly different from that of respondents. The data indicate that, when used by producers, livestock guarding dogs are an effective method to manage predation. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/3899178
Additional Information
Green, J. S., & Woodruff, R. A. (1988). Breed comparisons and characteristics of use of livestock guarding dogs. Journal of Range Management, 41(3), 249-251.
ISSN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/645138
Journal Volume
41
Journal Number
3
Journal Pages
249-251
Collection
Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM)
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
sheep farming
wild animals
questionnaires
coyotes
predator control
livestock production
guard dogs
efficiency
breed differences
range management