Alpacas virtually have no way to protect themselves. In Maine their safety is threatened by bear, coyotes, loose domestic dogs, and bald eagles. In order to protect their alpacas, Black Woods Farm Alpacas introduced two livestock guardian dogs to their herd in the fall of 2008. Rogue and Storm, Anatolian Shepherd Dogs, were purchased from Kathleen Mayer of Tamoora Anatolians in Rushville, Ohio, when they were fourteen weeks old.
Anatolians Shepherd Dogs are originally from Turkey. They are recognized as the Turkish National Dog. They are specifically bred to protect the herd with which they live. At maturity, they weigh 150 pounds.
Rogue and Storm were introduced to the
Osgood family as puppies so they are familiar with the family members and will allow them to enter the alpaca area. That is not the case for any other visitors. When asked about how the Anatolian Shepherd Dog would fare against coyotes the Osgoods had no doubt that the Anatolians would handle the coyotes without any problem.
