Homestead dogs

Dogs are “man’s best friend.” Right?

Well, on the homestead that’s not always the case. We know too many dogs who aren’t so great on the homestead even if they are great companions.  But when you’re starting or building a homestead, your dog is an important ally if chosen carefully.

Livestock guardian dogs are invaluable.

We almost quit raising pastured poultry because of predation. Skunks, possums, owls, hawks, a neighbor’s dog, and foxes were cleaning us out. Even our own barn cats enjoyed a chick or two! You may have run into some of these chicken predators. If not yet, you eventually will.

Then we met Daniel Salatin, Joel Salatin’s son. We told him about the problem. He said, “You need a dog.” Specifically, a livestock guardian. See, the husky and blue heeler served other purposes on the farm, but they didn’t know they were supposed to PROTECT the animals. Chase, yes. Put back in pens, yes. Protect? HA! Not so much.

We found a Great Pyrenees puppy. She was so cute and fluffy! And, when her guardian instincts kicked in at about 9 months, the predation came to an end. Even the blue heeler understood he better leave off the chicken herding. True, she tried to play with a chicken on occassion until she was about a year old, but it was a sibling sort of thing: “I can chew on it, but you better not!” She figured it all out, though, and beware chicken predators!

Livestock guardian dog breeds include

  • Great Pyrenees
  • Anatolian Shepherd
  • Tibetan Mastiff
  • Komondor (this is one cool looking dog, but all that hair!)
  • Rottweiler
  • all sorts of Shepherd breeds
  • and many others (google listed about 50 breeds!)

The upshot is, a lot of breeds are helpful to you on the homestead.  A dog can be your best friend…or your worst enemy. A dog that, by its nature, wants to hunt or retrieve birds or isn’t suited to the livestock you have (for example, a heeler is great with larger animals, a little tough on smaller stock) can make your life difficult.  So choosing carefully from the beginning will save you a lot of time and heartache later on.

Here’s how our dogs work for us:

 

Frequently asked questions:

How do you deal with all the hair? 

Yes, Great Pyrenees are very hairy. They are very happy outside, though, so the hair can stay outside. If you do want them inside, brushing helps a lot. You’ll also want a good vacuum or broom, because you’ll be cleaning up a lot of hair.  DO NOT shave them, even in the summer.  Their undercoat acts like woolen underwear. They do change to a lighter set in the summer, but that undercoat keeps them warm in the cold and cooler in the heat. The top coat is essential to shedding skunk smell, burs, dirt, and everything else they encounter.

How do they stay cool in the summer?

Pyrenees love to dig. They will find cool dirt to lay in. They like a shallow pool to get in, though they dislike swimming as a rule (woolen underwear gets heavy!). They pant a lot, even at 50 degrees. Cool water to drink helps them stay hydrated. Shaving them won’t really help as their coat is insulation from heat as well as cold.  Keeping their coat well brushed so the undercoat isn’t over heavy and matted does help.

How do I train my puppy to be a guardian? 

Mark will answer that and several other questions in this video:

Did we miss your question? Let us know and we’ll help you out!

A good homestead dog is truly “man’s best friend.”

 

Black Gold for the Homestead: Biochar

What’s your reason for pursuing homesteading?

If natural health is one of them, activated charcoal is already a tool for you, or it needs to be.

Activated charcoal is one of the safest, cheapest, most effective cleaners nature has to offer you.

It is simply organic materials (can be wood, coconut hulls, bamboo, even bones) that are super heated in an oxygen deprived atmosphere.  This roasts out all the toxins and all the other elements, leaving pure carbon.  The super heating also expands the carbon molecules so they have more surface area, and they are negatively charged.  The negative charge attracts and holds toxins.   The expanded, electrostatically attractive molecules provides a high rise apartment environment for water, toxins, minerals and bacterial life. This has a ton of potential health benefits for you! (Read more about that in this reference article: Activated Charcoal: 15 benefits and uses for health and wellness. Here are just a few of the benefits: 

  • Detoxification: from a drug or other toxin exposure
  • Diahrea (be sure to drink lots of water with it to avoid constipation)
  • Gas and bloating
  • Infections: both internal and external (makes a great poultice)
  • Reduce the effects of radiation
  • Support the liver (lower cholesterol, reduce toxin load, help clear the colon so the lymphatic system works properly)
  • Water and air purification

Activated charcoal is good for you, and for your garden and animals!

We live in a fairly toxic world. Even when we make organic choices and do our best to buffer our piece of earth, the fact is that we, our soil, and our animals are affected. That’s one reason we love biochar (which is the sasme as activated charcoal for practical purposes): it helps us keep our animals and ourselves clean and healthy. (Check out how we use it with the animals here: Biochar and your animals.) It helps pull out toxins so that our digestion is more efficient and our immune system can work better.

Often with our animals we “innoculate” the char with minerals and bacterias that are beneficial to seed good things into the soil and animals. The electrostatic charge holds water, minerals, and bacterial life to slow release them as needed. That creates an exchange where toxins get picked up. It keeps the whole system strong to repel unwanted viruses and bacterias that compromise good health. This is resiliancy. Our chickens grow faster. The cows give more milk. The pigs have stronger babies that grow quickly. The plants resist pests and produce even in harsh conditions. Just a small amount goes a long way to keep our whole farm system regenerative and resiliant.

Here’s more on how we make and use biochar (activated charcoal) on the homestead farm:

Want to learn more? Here are a few ways:

  1. Watch Mark’s live videos on biochar from The Anyone Can Farm Experience youtube channel.
  2. Join us here on the farm for TRIBE DAY. Mark is doing an hour workshop on biochar, plus you can enjoy the company of like minded folks and learn about other homestead topics, including how to start a homestead.
  3. Come to the farm to purchase biochar. It’s coming SOON to the Store, so check back if you need it shipped to you.
  4. Stay tuned for the “How to” video course coming out very soon.

Want to read up more on activated charcoal, along with other natural health remedies? The reference book I used is listed just over there to the right.

One last word: charcoal picks up everything, so use caution when taking with pharmaceuticals or medicinal supplements. Use it by itself with a 2 hour buffer before taking any other medicinal. And, drink lots of water! Charcoal can stop things up, and your body needs lots of water to allow the cleansing of the char to be most effective.

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