Shortly after moving the alpacas to our farm we had many visitors. One uninvited guest was Mama Bear and her two cubs (each cub weighs 120+ lbs!). The first time I saw Mama Bear walking the fence line in the woods behind our paddocks I was nervous. When she came back a second and third time I was freaking out!!! I actually slept in the barn one night since I was certain she was out there. Then one morning my neighbor spotted her trying to climb into my paddocks and he chased her away with an air horn. I immediately called DEC (Dept of Environmental Conservation) and they recommended I increase the voltage of my perimeter electric fence,and get a livestock dog. We fixed the fence immediately and then we researched livestock guard dog breeds such as Great Pyrenees, Maremma Sheepdogs and Anatolian Shepherds. I contacted several breeders of these dogs, but knew it would be almost 2 years before a pup was capable of adequately protecting my herd. Then Kate from Tamoora Anatolians emailed me about a 3 year old girl who needed a new home with alpacas to guard. She sounded perfect so I drove to Ohio to get her. Snickers is such a wonderful dog! She is loving to our family and visitors and takes her job of protecting the alpacas very seriously. We sleep soundly at night knowing Snicker is watching our herd!
