About Abel

Abel has lived on our Farm since he was weaned. He will be a year old this month. Initially he was doing okay with our sheep so we began leaving him unattended with our rams for whome he seemed to have the utmost respect. This seemed okay for several weeks or a month and then he got rough with two of them causing injury and causing half an ear to be lost on one of our valuable breeders. From the time he was a puppy has always killed chickens and will seize any opportunity to do so. We have tried to train him in a pasture adjacent to sheep but he will not respect fence. He gets through five strands of hot wire in moments. So we've had to keep him penned up in our barn as we work on training and he has escaped several times as well, killing chickens. Since it is a challenge to keep him contained as we train him to be a livestock guardian we are unable to keep him. We cannot risk any more loss of life or injury to our livestock. Although he has been good with people so far he has had only minimal exposure to our toddlers. Considering that he seems to have a high prey drive, I would be hesitant to allow him access to young children who run and play and may trigger the prey drive. He might be able to be rehabilitated to be a good livestock guardian for somebody who has a lot more time on their hands than we do. Or he might do good on a property with no children or animals as a guard dog. He patrols the perimeter and barks at perceived threats but I wouldn't say He barked excessively. Even as our neighbor's dog barks its head off at him he calmly looks at her and doesn't react. He has been introduced to two other dogs on our property and does well with them. They are both female. He was around or Barn cat when he was a pup but hasn't been around the cat recently so I don't know if he would do well with cats at this point. He has had minimal exposure to our large pigs without any reactivity but has not been turned loose in an enclosure with them so I cannot guarantee his behavior around them. Perhaps he would be suitable to guard larger livestock like cattle, horses, or donkeys. He does well on a leash and knows sit and come. He is food motivated as far as using treats as a learning tool. He is purebred without papers and comes from working lines on both parents' sides for several generations. He does not jump on people.

Licking County
Johnstown, Ohio