Cheetah Conservation Fund

Lisa, on 23 Sep 2007

This is an amazing way to help the farmers guard their stock without having to harm the wildlife. I have seen other stories about the use of these dogs. The Mara Mobile Veternarian tells about how the life span of a Massai dog is only about 5 or so years. While I know that the Anatolian dog is for guarding, and probably isn’t really a pet that gets to come inside and sleep on the bed, I hope that they are treated alittle better by the farmers and that their life span is longer? They sure are a gorgeous looking dog. And I imagine they do their job well. Lisa, California

cheetahconservation, on 04 Oct 2007

Thank you so much for your comments! Lisa, to address your concerns, CCF’s Livestock Guarding Dogs are certainly treated well. We monitor them every six months. Every farmer that receives a dog from CCF is given specific guidelines for their care and training, and our staff monitors the dogs every six months. It is important to remember, as you correctly point out, that these are working dogs and therefore don’t get to stay in the house. They must remain with the animals they are guarding, day and night. And yes, they face many dangers in the African bush. This is why CCF goes a step further by training farmers in techniques to protect their domestic animals –their livelihood, by teaching them techniques to protect their animals from predators and maximize the efficency of their farming operations. Our courses on integrated livestock & predator management imparted at CCF have been very successful. Nearly 1000 farmers have attended the course since its implementation in 2003.