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Anatolian Shepherd Livestock Guardian Dog

Welcome Our New Anatolian Shepherd Livestock Guardian Dog

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Homesteading
Homesteading

The other day we discussed raising chickens as part of our new homesteading journey. One thing I always said I wanted, if we ever moved to the mountains, was a Livestock Guardian Dog. I wanted either a Great Pyrenees or an Anatolian Shepherd. I feel like they are gentle enough to be a family dog while still being loyal and protective over animals or people. Well, it just so happens, that I got my wish! A gorgeous little 2 month old Anatolian Shepherd mix came our way last week!

I’d like to introduce you all to Felina, the newest member of our family, an Anatolian Shepherd Livestock Guardian Dog!

Anatolian Shepherd Livestock Guardian Dog

Her mama is 100% Anatolian Shepherd but we’re not sure what breed the father is. She could be a mix or she could be pure. No one saw what caught the mama so we don’t know her full lineage. That doesn’t matter to me, though. She’s adorable! I love her little pouty face.

This pup is going to get pretty large. Anatolian Shepherd females can get upwards of 120 pounds. They are great for guarding livestock and for protecting chickens. She came into our lives just as we are starting our chicken raising journey so the timing in all this was perfect! With all the coyotes, hawks, owls, bobcats, bears and other large predators around here, I felt we needed a livestock guardian dog to help keep everything safe.

Felina seems to be pretty even tempered. We’ve all been cuddling her and loving on her and she seems to be enjoying all the attention. I’ve read that they shed quite a bit so she’ll need to be brushed regularly, but Jasper sheds horribly so we’re used to that. She loves to play and has a ton of puppy energy. I can already tell that she will need toys she can play hard with because when she gets bored, she’s gonna go after cords and things.

She’s being crate trained so, hopefully, I can get that under control fast.

She is learning really quickly too. She’s really smart! She hadn’t been worked with at all. She’s not house broken and hasn’t been taught to walk on a leash yet. So everything is very new to her. She’d been living in a horse trailer with her 4 other siblings until weaned, so I have a lot to teach her.

In just a couple days, though, she’s already starting to walk on the leash pretty well and she’s only had one accident in the floor. I’ve been trying to keep a really close eye on her and take her out as soon as she starts to wander around. So far, so good!

I was concerned about how she’d do with our first dog, Jasper, and our cat, Honey. When we bought our house back in the fall, there was a stray cat already here. She won’t look at you in the eye so I can’t get a good picture of her but, honestly, she kind of looks like a hoot owl! Big, round eyes and her fur sticks out everywhere, even though I bathed her. She’s pretty but she’s a hot mess. She has a funky tail that does some really weird stuff when she tries to wag it so we named her Glitch. For her glitchy tail. lol It is hilarious to watch. I’ll have to try to get it on video!

Anyway, Honey despises her, which is sad, because Glitch is really sweet! Another cat showed up a few weeks ago and took up residence in the outdoor cat box we’d made for Glitch. The kids named him Leo.

Jasper our Border Collie/Lab mix
Honey our cat
Glitch our cat
Leo our tom cat

Honey is a little more tolerable of Leo but she hisses and growls at Glitch and won’t have a thing to do with her. I’m guessing it’s because they’re both female. Anyway, this made me worried about bringing Felina home. Honey has always adored Jasper but they’ve grown up together since they were both babies. So I didn’t know if Honey only hated female cats or female animals in general. We brought Felina in and Honey seems to be ok with her! She sniffed everywhere Felina went and got pretty close to her. And Felina doesn’t seem to mind Honey. I’d also read (after we got her) that Anatolian Shepherd’s don’t really like cats but I think we’re good. PHEW!

Hopefully, no more cats show up here. If they do, they will be taken to the animal shelter where they can be spayed/neutered and adopted out to a good home. 3 is our limit and 2 of those live outside as barn cats. We can’t afford to feed every cat that shows up here!

I can honestly say that I NEVER imagined we’d have 2 dogs, 3 cats and 6 chickens in our lives! I kind of, sort of, maybe want a guard donkey too! Like, I really, really do. If you can find one that will actually guard, they keep predators away. Like the coyotes I mentioned in my “raising chickens” post. I’d also love a sheep some day. And a dairy cow so I can make cheese and butter and have fresh milk to go with our fresh eggs! Those are just some things I always imagined I’d have if I ever had a farm of my own. Our son wants a duck and our oldest daughter also wants a rabbit. But that’ll definitely have to wait. We have enough animals to take care of without adding more. We need to get this homesteading thing down pat first!

This journey sure has taken on a life of it’s own. We have animals now that we never thought we’d have.  There’s something for everyone to take care of. We’re planning a container garden in the spring, and have buildings in mind to add to the property. As long as we are doing well, that’s all that matters. And so far, the kids are happy. Clay and I are happy. The animals are being fed and loved and well taken care of so they seem happy too. And that makes this homesteading mama super happy!

So tell me, do you have a livestock guardian dog? Do you have any advice or tips for me on raising an Anatolian Shepherd mix?

Until next time…

Happy homesteading!

UPDATE: Our gorgeous Anatolian grew to over 100 pounds by her 9th month! Sadly, she was not thriving well as a house dog and had to be rehomed to a farm where she could live her live doing what she was meant to do – guard a flock! She is HUGE and absolutely beautiful, loving her life on a farm.

Updated Anatolian Photo

Homesteading

44 thoughts on “Welcome Our New Anatolian Shepherd Livestock Guardian Dog”

  1. Hello ,

    I saw your tweet about animals and thought I will check your website. I like it!

    I love pets. I have two beautiful thai cats called Tammy(female) and Yommo(male). Yommo is 1 year older than Tommy. He acts like a bigger brother for her. 🙂
    I have even created an Instagram account for them ( https://www.instagram.com/tayo_home/ ) and probably soon they will have more followers than me (kinda funny).

    I have subscribed to your newsletter. 🙂

    Keep up the good work on your blog.

    Regards
    Wiki

    Reply

  2. Keep up the awesome work at blogging. We had a farm guard dog when I was younger. He woyluld set and watch over the animals and the kids. If anything went wrong he would bark and help like something was wrong till someone came to see what was going on. I don’t have any advice for you as we got our dog from the Amish neighbor.

    Reply

  3. Beautiful dog and you will have your hands full if they are anything like other guardian dogs I’ve seen! Good luck on your training journey!

    Reply

    • Hi Sacha,
      Yes, she is a handful! Hyper as can be. But, she should calm down quite a bit after her puppy years. With that said….. she’s driving me nuts! 😂
      She never, ever, ever stops moving. Not even in her sleep. lol

      Reply

  5. I am an animal lover myself, I have 2 dogs at the time. I consider them my babies. Nothing better than true love from an animal, the comfort they give and you can give back to those cute loving animals. Love your blog !

    Reply

  12. I haven’t had a dog since I loves my beloved Xena she was a cocker spaniel/poodle/daschund mix. She was so loveable and gentle but a very smart little girl who brought great joy to my life. I am disabled and no longer can properly care for a dog so now I have been blessed with three great cats and they all have their own unique little personalities. Thank you for sharing your great story.

    Reply

  13. I LOVE animals! I have 5 rescue kitties, a rescue dog, and a sparrow. Your dog is so cute! I enjoyed reading this blog!

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  21. They are all so adorable, but Felina is the cutest pup I’ve ever seen! I love glitch as well, I have 2 short hair torties and boy do they have personalities of their own.

    Reply

  22. I grew up with an Australian Shepherd. My parents had to take him to obedience school because he was very head strong, but a wonderfully loyal dog. He would herd us kids if he felt we were getting to far from my parents. The only advice is a lot of space to roam and run. They live long lives and are generally very healthy.

    Reply

    • Hi Camilla,

      I sure will! I have a post coming up next week with updates on Felina. I can tell you now though, she is SUPER smart and will, eventually, be a great dog to have. But these breeds are very stubborn and headstrong so not easy to train. Her puppy stage is taking a lot pf patience and Grace to get through! I believe she’s worth it though. 😉

      Reply

  32. What a beautiful baby! I have a shihtzu named Peaches whos my best friend. We also have chickens, cows, and horses.

    Reply

  36. Hi, Your puppy is adorable! Congratulations! We adopted an Anatolian Shepherd from the rescue 16 weeks ago. She was listed as a “hound mix” lol. A lady at the vet said to me, “that’s a puppy?” I guess because she was so large for a 10 week old. She’s same as you describe, loads of energy & loves people & all dogs. She’s almost 6 months now & what a luv! She’s strickly a family member with a nice big bark.

    Reply

    • Hi Karen,
      Congratulations on your Anatolian! And I hear ya, NOBODY believed ours is a puppy. She is HUGE. She tripled her size in just a few months. 😂
      Anatolian’s are so headstrong and stubborn but, man, they are loyal as can be. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.

      Reply

  37. Hi Krystal- I came across this post looking for clues about what the rescue puppy I have is. She has the same ears with the black tips (her name is Tipsy now). Do you have updated pic/size of your dog? Thanks – scott

    Reply

    • Hi Scott,
      Do you have a picture of your rescue? Maybe we can help identify what breed it is.

      I’ve updated my post with a more recent photo of her, however she is A LOT bigger now! She was 100 pounds at 9 months old! She is now living on a farm because she, sadly, outgrew our home and just wasn’t thriving well as a house dog, so I don’t have a super recent photo. Anatolian’s desperately need to be on a farm, guarding a flock. They are not social and do not make good indoor pets without a ton of proper training.

      Reply

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