Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) reduce predation with their scent and their barking. Astro is also very bonded to the stock and sometimes I think he thinks he’s a goat, judging from his taste for alfalfa pellets. I’ve even seen him nibble on poison oak along with the goats. 

Astro is five years old and is a Maremma and Great Pyrenees mix. I got him second-hand from a grazer in the area who was downsizing. I was a little nervous to buy an older dog I didn’t know very well, but I went for it because Astro’s littermate belongs to yet another grazer in the area, and I had worked with that dog and liked him. 

Astro is the kindest soul, takes great care of the livestock, and is easy on the eyes.