Llamas instead of guard dogs

**kato** · Jul 8, 2013, 11:40

We use donkeys instead of llamas, but I have friends who have llamas. I think they work pretty well, but suspect that much like with donkeys, not all llamas are created equal.

One advantage over dogs is that they are a lot cheaper to feed, and right now they are really cheap to buy.

Personally, I find them difficult to "read", so don't like turning my back on them. I guess once you've had one for a while you get over that. LOL

**Bez** · Jul 10, 2013, 10:22

Not all donkies and Llamas are created equal - you get a good one - well, great. If you have a bad one - tough luck.

Personally I like dogs. They bark. They bite. And they are smarter than anything that eats grass.

Work them in pairs. Lots of good breeds out there. Do not buy from a breeder that shows - usually they have bred the brains out of them. Buy from someone who actually uses them. Go and look at Mom and Dad and see how they look and act with animals and strangers.

Never pet someone's guard dogs. Do it here and I will tell you to stop. You might get bit - which in truth is your own fault. But I do not want my dogs liking strangers - I want them to dislike them as well as anything other than cows, horses and other sheep - plus the Border Collies - which are on top of the "dog food chain".

Guard dog on the home place attacks my BC and he gets a beating. Do it again and he gets a bullet.

Dogs are good in my opinion because they are trainable - yes they are a cost. Well worth the cost - best to all.

**kato** · Jul 11, 2013, 11:50

It does take some discipline to manage livestock guard dogs though. The kind of discipline I mean is to not make pets out of them. ;-) I've seen a few real friendly LGDs. They shouldn't be running to greet a car coming in to the yard.

So I guess not all donkeys, llamas, or dogs are created equal. LOL You have to shop around, whatever way you go.

Maybe I'm just lucky in that I have good donkeys. For me the advantage is that they actually don't take any more attention than the sheep do. They are also not that expensive to feed. I had some donkeys separate from the cows one winter, and had the chance to measure what their wintering costs were. For every donkey, I used about one round bale of hay between November and April. That year it worked out to about $50 for the winter. They don't get any grain.

On the other hand, I spend over $60 a month on food for the two dogs I already have. As far as other expenses, I think hoof trimming is about the same cost as dog vaccinations, so that's a wash.

Bottom line is, what kind of animal do you like to work with better?

**grefer** · Jul 12, 2013, 06:55

Thanks for the comments.The truth is I have a young family and would prefer not to have to guard against the guard dogs.I have had two neighbours with sheep/guard dogs in the past and both times the dogs started roaming all over causing the owners and neighbours problems.I would like to stick with something that eats grass because it is obviously easies to care for as long as they help to fend off coyotes I'm not too worried about the rest.Lol

Llamas instead of guard dogs