Wolf and Man: Partners in Survivorship (Portugal)
Livestock Guarding Dogs
The use of livestock guarding dogs is already an established livestock protection method in the area of Grupo Lobo’s Livestock Guarding Dogs Programme (LGD). The damage reduction has contributed to an increased tolerance from rural communities and also towards wolf conservation efforts.
The LGD Programme started in 1996 and its continuous support has resulted in an general acceptance from local shepherds in using livestock guarding dogs. The support by EAZA, in the scope of its 2008/2009 European Carnivore Campaign, has been very valuable. It has enabled the expansion of the LGD Programme with the integration of more dogs as well as support to livestock breeders by providing adequate food and veterinary care to the dogs ensuring their welfare and efficiency. From the last trimester of 2008 and to the end of 2009, a total of 35 pups (20 males and 15 females) were integrated into sheep/goat flocks. They were of the Cão de Castro Laboreiro and Cão da Serra da Estrela (long and short-hair varieties) dog breeds and most of the pups (80%) are registered in the breed’s Studbook managed by the Portuguese Kennel Club. Before being donated to the programme all pups were vaccinated, de-wormed and micro-chipped.
A total of 30 livestock breeders were selected from 13 counties, 19 in the North and 11 in the centre of the country. A contract was signed with each livestock breeder explaining the rules regarding the dog’s raising conditions and welfare and other management issues. Some livestock breeders had already received dogs in previous years and requested another one, others had learned about the project and contacted the technical team, while others were proposed by the Natural Protected Areas or the wolf monitoring team of Grupo Lobo. The flocks were of the following: sheep (14), goats (11) or mixed (5). The flock sizes were between 10 to 270 animals (on average 107 animals).
Since evaluation should only be conducted after dogs reach adulthood (18-24 months old) only one dog has been evaluated. The evaluation was performed by the technical team of the LGD Programme and revealed that this dog, a female of the Cão de Castro Laboreiro, was excellent in all three behavioural components - Attentiveness, Trustworthiness and Protectiveness. The female exhibited adequate social behaviours towards the livestock, accompanied the flock during its daily grazing, was alert and chased potential predators away. The number of damage also decreased from a yearly average of 50 goats killed/injured by wolves before the dogs was integrated to none after the dog reached adulthood. The livestock breeder is very satisfied with his dog!
Communication on Damage Prevention Measures
From the last trimester of 2008 to the end of 2009 different actions were conducted to promote the use of prevention measures and to raise awareness about Iberian wolf conservation. An exhibit on Iberian wolf bio-ecology, conservation issues and the use of livestock guarding dogs was on displayed at four dog shows in the North and Centre of Portugal. The participation of livestock guarding dogs in the dog shows also contributed to promote the national livestock guarding dog breeds as well as showing good working dogs to the general public. A total of 13 dogs participated in the dog shows with most of them being considered excellent and some distinguished with 1st and 2nd places or as Best in Show.
Other awareness actions were visits to the livestock breeders where livestock guarding dogs from the LGD Programme were used during walks through shepherd trails in the mountains to look for wolf signs and learn about wolf bio-ecology and conservation issues and efforts. Two visits were organized involving 10 participants and visits to schools with livestock guarding dogs and talks were carried out.
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