Hey Reader,

Dang. Puppies are cute.

But I'm sure you already knew that.

While the bank account can't support 9 dogs (nor do we have the predator load necessary for them), it'll still be so tough letting these cute little pups go to their new homes.

They're becoming more and more adorable as the days go by.

And the cacophony! Let me tell you, I've never heard such as a fuss as 7 puppies wanting to be fed all at once.

Poor Juno 😂

The puppies are also getting weighed weekly now that I switched methods on how to properly differentiate them from each other. Juno didn't seem to like the non-toxic pet paint I used to mark them and promptly cleaned them up. Oh well.

Would you like to meet the pack? I shared a video of all 7 pup's and their colors on Instagram this week.

So far, Red is pulling ahead with weekly weigh-ins and, with Red's help, the girls are beating the boys' average group weight.

I'm going to keep tracking this information because it's interesting, is data I would have liked to have seen to guide myself with these pups, and it's a great reason to play around in Excel.

But I digress...

What do donkeys, llamas, and geese have in common?

These are 3 animals that people sometimes use as livestock guardians.

Donkeys and llamas will curb stomp a coyote and geese (and guineas) will sound alarms.

Can this setup work? Sure, until it doesn't.

Now I'm not a seasoned homesteader so don't come for me if you've had great success with prey animals acting as livestock guardians.

I just don't see how it logically works and I know I'd be constantly worrying about my livestock without my dogs.

I'm in way too many livestock and LGD groups on Facebook so I've seen countless stories of donkeys and llamas protecting themselves, but not other livestock.

As prey animals, their first instinct is to save themselves and run away from danger. Geese and guineas don't have any means to protect themselves and others besides being loud alarm systems and flying away leaving others to die in their stead.

Dogs are a whole different story as they are predators. Now this can make those ~2 years of training tough until they learn that livestock are friends, not food, but it works out in the long run.

Dogs have their bark, bite, and scent to keep other predators at bay. And these dogs are bred with thousands of years of ancestral instinct to bond with and protect their livestock.

Now I don't know about you, but I feel much more confident in a dog than a donkey protecting my chickens and goats.

Ciao for now!

Jamie

P.s. Do you have a successful livestock guardian that isn't a dog? Shoot me an email and tell me how I'm wrong!

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