More freedom for Lokum-Kangal Dog

I closed off the old corral that Lokums pen is set up in and let him have the freedom of being loose in there all yesterday afternoon. It is not set up yet to keep him in if he wanted to go out real bad so I kept a close eye on him as I worked nearby all afternoon on some projects. He did good and did not attempt at all to escape.

Lokum had a better view of Sarah our other Kangal and the main sheep flock and kept watching all of them intently on and off throughout the day.



As I was working nearby yesterday I tried to not go more than a couple minutes without glancing over to make sure he didn't try to climb or dig out.  I plan to reinforce it with electric to prevent any of that.



Then the next step will be to get some acreage fenced in.  Even right now as I make this post I have Lokum loose in the corral again and I have my laptop in a spot to where I can see him clearly, I glance out every little bit.  I have enough experience with dogs to know that when they decide to do something it only takes a matter of seconds to accomplish their desired inclination. 



However I am confident in my relationship with this dog that if he did somehow escape that he would come to me if I called.  He is quite happy to be any place I am.  With this in mind I don't know if Lokum will ever be a proper Livestock Guardian Dog with him bonding to me so solidly.  But with his strong personality I wouldn't want to do it any other way, I feel that he needs all this training to be a good and well mannered "canine citizen".  If he never works out to be reliable with livestock then he will be my shop protector and farm buddy. 

Lokum meets the sheep

The below text is pretty much what I included in this video
which basically gives a run-down of what’s in the video and pictures.

Last week April 14th,2017 I took our new Kangal
Dog Lokum out to meet the sheep for the first time since we’ve had him.  He already knows Sarah our Kangal that we’ve
had for about 5 years. 

Although Sarah knows Lokum also she wasn’t overly thrilled
to see Lokum out by her sheep at first. 
I could tell by her body language that she wasn’t so sure about this.

Notice how her tail goes round and round, this is not her
normal posture when she is at ease. 

Sarah starts to warm up realizing that Lokum isn’t a threat.

Swishing her tail happily.

You might notice in the back ground one of our ewes that
didn’t get sheared last year.

We will get to her when we shear in May.

Lokum meets the ram.

Lokum was uneasy with the ram staring him down and was a
little jumpy.

Lokum definitely had both eyes fixed on him.

This last portion is of Lokum meeting our ram. Since I was
recording by myself the video quality was terrible as I was trying to monitor their
interaction so I only have four pictures to illustrate with.

Lokum with the poultry

This is the first time Lokum has had free reign in the poultry yard. I’ve had him in there numerous times on the 26’ retractable leash and he never pays much attention to the birds, so I took a chance and turned him loose in there and still he paid little attention to them. In time I’m giving Lokum more and more freedom as I can trust him to respond to my commands.

Sarah and Lokum meet

This is the first introductions of our older 8 year old Kangal Dog Sarah to our newest Kangal 2 year old Lokum. The first meeting was on April 2nd, 2017.

 We really didn't know what to expect, but Sarah seemed to accept Lokum quite well and seemed happy to see him. Lokum showed a little excited aggression, but nothing serious and has since warmed up quite well to Sarah and seems to want to play with her.  However I was a bit cautious at first because I have seen dogs grab noses or what ever they could get a hold of right through chain link fences and I didn't want to take any chances.

 We really see Sarah's age compared to the energetic young newcomer. I hope to get a couple more good years out of Sarah being with the livestock and then we will probably retire her to the house once she gets too old to be outside.

Some Simple Obedience

 

After some exercise running along with the Gator I practiced some simple obedience with Lokum. He is so high energy it's best to let him run off some steam before any lessons.

Exercising Lokum with Gator

 

 

I imagine there could be a number of people who might object to exercising a dog along side a machine like this but, in our situation and at this point I feel it is critical that Lokum have an adequate out-let for all his energy.

 He has more energy than I can him give while walking him on foot even with a 26' retractable lead.

 

When I first began a couple weeks ago giving him a good run alongside the Gator it finally seemed to match his requirement for exercise.

 

Until I can get some acreage fenced in for him where he can exercise himself this is what I plan to continue to do.

 

I do take him out on foot at least every day usually 2 to 3 times a day actually, then every couple days a nice run with the Gator, but I am extremely careful and do not allow myself any distractions so as to prevent any accidents.

Lokums pen