We are proud to say that eight young dogs from the first “project” litter of livestock guarding dogs (nine males and two females, born in December 2016) joined new owners. They will be gradually integrated into a new livestock herd and raised into working livestock guarding dogs. We will regularly monitor the education and integration of these pups in the new environments, as the first two years are crucial for the development of characteristics of a successful guardian against large carnivores. The breeders included in the project will have the role of advisors, due to their experience with using livestock guarding dogs. They will constantly be available to new dog owners for advice. Besides, they will collaborate with cynology experts and members of the project, who will monitor the activities in the field.

Farmers expressed a great deal of interest in protecting their livestock with guarding dogs and we also noticed a very good response from the media. In Slovenia, two TV broadcasts reported on our work (LINK 1, LINK 2, in Slovenian).