Thor - Our Guardian at The Gate

Unless you're a farmer, you likely don't recognize the value of a really good farm dog. You probably haven't even considered what a farmer needs in a dog. Most families just look for a hound that is going to fit into their lifestyle, be a loyal companion, at the very least, alert them to, and at best, protect them from intruders.

What if your family consists of four people, forty cows, twenty goats, a hundred chickens, twenty rabbits and thirty cats? What if potential intruders didn't always walk on two legs and break through windows and doors? What if they came in the form of weasels, skunks, coyotes, wolves, bears and even cougars? That's a pretty tall order for a dog.

There are dogs that are specifically bred to perform certain duties on the farm. Herding dogs need to focus on their masters. They must only chase when and where they are told to do so. Even though it's in their blood, it takes intensive training to teach them to follow direction and to NOT chase those animals unless asked. I once had a dog that would chase cows round and round the field all day long. He eventually had to be re-homed to a family with nothing to chase.

Livestock Guardian Dogs must bond with their flock and be willing to die taking on the fiercest of predators. Most folks that have them will tell you that if they bond with their people, they can easily end up useless in protecting their herd. Their human contact is limited and they spend their entire lives in enclosures with the animals they are charged with protecting. I know it sounds cruel for those of you with pets, but it's what these dogs were bred for and they are happy in their element.

It's rare to find a hound that will both herd on command AND protect his charges 24/7. Finding a dog that protects both small and large livestock can seem impossible. It's canine instinct to hunt and eat smaller animals like birds and rodents, which can end up devastating any farmer trying to raise chickens or rabbits.

As far as farm dogs go, our Thor is worth more than his weight in gold... and he isn't exactly a chihuahua! Honestly, I don't think there's an actual dollar value that could be placed on his head. I know he's not absolutely perfect, he does have his share of annoying quirks... okay maybe more than his share.

• He's a sly kleptomaniac - the moment a vehicle door opens, he's poking his head inside. One would think he's there to greet you and look for a pat on the head. Really though, he's scoping out the joint to see if there's anything he can wrap his lips around. There's no rhyme nor reason behind his thefts, he just takes whatever he can, a glove, a Kleenex, the other day it was a jar of garlic and on one occasion a cell phone.
• A master at the game 'keep away' - as often as we have tried, this dog cannot grasp the idea of a good game of fetch. If you show an interest in something he has, he'll grab it and run. We've clocked him with our ATV at 25 miles per hour. There's no hope in hell you'll ever get it back. He'll sometimes let you think he's tired out and you can have your item. Dropping it to the ground and laying down beside it, panting heavily, the moment you approach he smiles and I'd even swear he winks, as he grabs it and takes off again!
• Master of Destruction - he will only allow you to retrieve your item once it has been completely reduced to shreds.
• Affectionate to the point of annoyance. I never imagined it possible, but yes that IS a thing. Once you've petted him you cannot simply stop. He'll lean heavily into your hip, bump your hand with his nose, or force his head underneath it and if that doesn't work, he'll simply 'hug' your leg. Telling him 'NO.' doesn't stop him, nor does forcefully pushing him away. The only way to ward off his affection is to walk away, and heaven forbid, don't stop!

When it comes to his job though, Thor is an invaluable working dog. He quickly herds cattle and goats. If they've escaped, he'll have them running through the gate before you have a chance to realize they're even out. I've seen him jump on the roof of our goat shelter, when goats are delivering babies inside to have the best vantage point to watch for predators.

He's never killed a rabbit or chicken. I can no longer keep rabbits in a colony setting though, as he has set them free on more than one occasion. Mind you, he did help me gather them back up, once he figured out what I was doing. He didn't harm a hair on them, simply caught them and pinned them to the ground with his monstrous paw, giving them an occasional lick to calm them until I could retrieve them and put them back. The rabbits were less than impressed.

I have fed him eggs often, when they are cracked or broken. One time when I was cleaning out the incubator after a hatch, I gave him an egg that had partially hatched. I thought the chick inside was dead, but Thor packed it off a few feet and it peeped! He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me shocked. He ever so gently set the egg on the ground, laid down with it between his paws, licking it and looking at me with big, sad, expectant, brown eyes he waited for me to save it. Whenever a cat would approach, he'd growl and nip. I finally had to retrieve the egg and cull the chick, visibly breaking my poor dog's heart.

It's his fault our farm is now overrun with cats and kittens. When I first moved out here, we did the responsible thing and had our cats all spayed or neutered. It never failed though, we'd pay hundreds of dollars for surgery on a cat just to have it taken out by predators within weeks of recovering. Without cats to keep them in check, rodents can do a lot of damage on the farm. We finally decided to stop investing all that money in 'predator treats', so that we had a chance, hopefully at least, to end up with replacements for the ones that got taken out by predators. This method worked out well for decades. There were usually a dozen or so cats cruising the property and no mice in or around the house, chicken coop or grain bins.

Then we got Thor. Now, I couldn't honestly tell you how many cats we have. Last year, I counted 36 at feeding time, but they don't all come for cat food. Most are semi-feral and couldn't be caught to take to a vet, and who could afford to fix them all, even if we could catch them? We have had only one predator loss in the farmyard in the four years we've had him. Honestly, I don't even blame him for that one... I wouldn't take on a cougar either! He did manage to keep that cat from dragging the goat into the bush though.

This year he shocked us all by doing something I didn't even know was possible. Our boy adopted a newborn orphan lamb that had been dropped off by a friend.

When we took her out of her box, he did is best to bathe her and even tried to 'nurse' the hungry baby while I made her a bottle. In her early days, he would run to her every time she cried, soothing her until I could come and tend to her needs. Five months later, he has taught her to greet visitors and nudge hands for pets. He's taught her to chase cats when the are getting into things the shouldn't, but best of all he has taught her to herd cattle, while he stands back to watch. Thor truly loves his not so little lamb...

He may be a big goof, but there's no amount of money in the world that would convince me to part with my sidekick!