12/1/15, by Karl Puckett, Great Falls Tribune How do you keep a wolf away from your sheep? The right dog A study of the effectiveness of guard dogs in deterring predators from killing livestock that began in Montana has been expanded to four additional states, and two additional breeds from Portugal and Bulgaria are now being tested along with dogs from Turkey. The aim is to discover a dog breed that’s the most effective in reducing sheep depredation by wolves and grizzly bears, or another “nonlethal” tool for protecting sheep, as opposed to killing predators that attack livestock. Guard dogs are used by 40 percent of sheep operations…But little is known about how carnivores respond to them… |
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