Kangal Dog Sarah killed a skunk

3 or 4 weeks ago Sarah got sprayed by a skunk. 

Later, I put more sheep in the paddock that she primarily stays in (also where she got scented) and they ate down and trampled some of the tall grass and today we spotted this skunk that had previously been hidden. 

Apparently Sarah killed it, would explain why she got sprayed.

One of her main hobby's is hunting gophers, mice and snakes.   

Lokum update 10-9-17

When we brought Lokum home he was simply wild.  I don’t know how else to describe him.  He was wild and unruly and had hardly any manners.  Very hard to handle!  I had to keep a fairly tight rein on him when I brought him around the family so he didn’t hurt them from jumping on them or bumping into them. 

It’s really only been in recent weeks that there has been a marked change in his wild behavior.  He’s actually settling down and is acquiring some manners.  However the fact that he no longer has any testicles has probably sped up the process somewhat as well I imagine. 

Seeing this change and remembering the “old’ Lokum I am getting a picture in my mind of how he was and how he now is.  He came here basically on his own.  I was little more than an acquaintance who fed him and walked him every day.  But really for some time he was a “free agent” completely on his own in a completely foreign land and running on pure instinct and adrenaline.  Every person and every farm animal I introduced him to were simply acquaintances. 

I think the shift came when he began to bond to me (and is still bonding) and to this place.  He’s no longer ALONE in a foreign land and is finding security in his routine and familiar sights and sounds and smells.  He doesn’t have to run on pure instinct and adrenaline so much anymore.  

Lokum is my 3rd Kangal Dog and it is even more apparent to me now that Kangal Dogs are very smart dogs.  With a millennium or two of selective breeding for this type I see why Lokum was such a handful.  For a dog like this to grow up being left to his own devices was a complete recipe for disaster.  However all those brains and physical capabilities are traits that are vital to how a good LGD responds to a predator threat.  Just trying to stay a step ahead of Lokum shows me that he would probably be very effective against any kind of real threat when all that primitive instinct kicks in. 

Earlier tonight after I got home from working, for the first time I let Lokum be with our main flock of ewes while attached to the 26’ retractable leash.  I was pleased that after the initial greeting he really had no interest in pursuing the sheep.  It was very much like when I first let him be with poultry, he was quite indifferent to them. Didn’t try to chase or fuss with them one bit!  I just had to make sure a couple bossy ewes didn’t try to ram him and turn it into a bad experience. 

Loukm knows these sheep through fences. I’ve had them surrounding him in his high security enclosure that I originally built for him.  The first time I set them up like that he terrorized them through the fence which I suppose is understandable since that was HIS turf.  But in time he stopped that behavior once he got used to their presence.

So I am pleased with tonight’s encounter on the 26’ retractable leash.  I consider it a success.

The top two pictures are of Lokum being nice with my wife Kelli.  And the one with him looking out of the fence was him being on guard after a car drove through the driveway.