Faithful Farm Dogs

Farm dogs are having a renaissance, and they're finally getting the attention they deserve.

- SAMANTHA JOHNSON

For as long as there have been farms, there have undoubtedly been farm dogs, if only for the simple reason that dogs simply must be involved in everything. Thus, if there was a farm and a dog, there was a farm dog.

The key, then, has always been to somehow convince the farm dog to take on the work we want it to handle, then provide it with the resources and training it needs to excel at the task. Is this easier said than done? Sometimes. But when humans and farm dogs can reach that magical moment of understanding each other — a moment that gloriously still occurs — a partnership is born that is priceless and precious.

In theory, any dog can be a farm dog, but certain breeds are historically associated with this lifestyle and these tasks. The herding breeds usually spring to mind first — the Border Collies and the Australian Shepherds, the Corgis and the Collies. (Lassie, of course, was among the first to bring farm dogs to the silver screen.)

The herding breeds make it their business to safely move livestock from place to place, while the livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) — including the Great Pyrenees, the Akbash, and the Anatolian Shepherd — will stand guard, watching over and protecting the flock or herd with incredible intuition and devotion.

DOGS OF THE YEAR

Bindi is a 10-year-old Australian Shepherd that has amassed a very impressive resume over the past decade. Throughout her career, Bindi has stayed busy on the farm (she especially likes to work cows), has competed in American Kennel Club and Australian Shepherd Club of America agility, earned her Canine Good Citizen certification, and earned titles in trick dog novice, intermediate, and advanced.