Livestock Guardian Dog Goes Viral After 'Scolding' Border Collie for Getting Near Baby Goats
Of course Livestock Guardian Dogs are out pets — we love them! But on farms they also serve an important function: protecting other animals. Just take one video that shows a Anatolian Shepherd Dog at the Raventree Ranch on Elverta, California taking on a herding dog who got a little too chummy with the baby goats.
Let's just say the dog, Judge, wasn't having it when Border Collie Pete didn't read the room.
As the clip from the ranch's TikTok page shows, Judge is just under 2 years old, but knows what's-what. As the ranch's owner explained in the text overlay, their goat had kids (or babies) during a storm.
"We didn't realize," they wrote on the onscreen caption.
In the first part of the clip, one can see Judge guiding the kids away from some open water outside the barn and closer to their mom. Good boy! That's exactly what he's supposed to do.
But then Pete, the ranch's herding dog, came in just a little bit too excited and Judge had to let him know that this was not okay. Judge pulled Pete down to the ground and barked at him. And let's just say that Pete got the message loud and clear.
"Great communication. I didn't see any of this until after out power came back on a couple days later," the ranch's owner explained in the caption.
How Livestock Guardian Dogs Protect Farms
Judge did such a good job protecting those kids. But most of us who don't live on farms or ranches might not be sure of what exactly Livestock Guardian Dogs do.
Livestock Guardian Dogs protect goats, sheep, poultry, and other livestock from predators in the area. This of course helps reduce the financial hit of losing animals on the farm, but these dogs also became a barrier against predators in the area too. This means that ranchers need less traps or lethal means to trap and capture predators, which is better for everyone.
Not every dog can be a Livestock Guardian Dog, mind you. There are certain breeds that are more ready for the job than others. There are even specialized breeding programs to help train Livestock Guardian Dogs who typically have the natural instincts, temperament, and talent for the position.
In the case of Judge and Pete, people praised Judge for protecting the kids. "Pete was clearly doing over 25 in the school zone," wrote one commenter. "The fact that momma trusts Judge so much that even the babies are comfortable with him is so adorable," another person added. "Turns out Judge is a very appropriate name," a third commenter joked. "NOT SO FAST PARDNER," someone else teased.
Poor Pete will probably be fine. But he's definitely going to think twice before hanging out with the goats for a while.
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