Livestock Guarding Dogs Today: Possible Solutions To Perceived Limitations

Abstract

Exchanging experience and finding solutions to problems facing the use of livestock guarding dogs (LGDs) in modern societies were among the goals of a meeting organized in Portugal from 20th to 21st October 2015 within the scope of the LIFE MedWolf Project (www.medwolf.eu). The meeting was attended by 16 specialists from around Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Slovakia and Bulgaria), as well as from Australia and the USA. In this article we outline constraints on the use of LGDs identified during the meeting and summarize the main solutions proposed. We have grouped the issues into 10 main topics ranging from a lack of quality dogs to personal, social, cultural, economic, time, management, technical, legal and political constraints. Guidelines on the proper raising and caring of LGDs are not the focus of this article, since a great deal of information is already available, including on specific solutions to common problems. Show more