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The Queen of the Night: A Farmer’s Lesson in Choosing the Right Dogs

The Queen of the Night: A Farmer’s Lesson in Choosing the Right Dogs
A livestock guardian dog lays in a field next to a herd of sheep near Saint-Etienne-les-Orgues, south-eastern France, on June 27, 2024. Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
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Commentary

When I first started farming, I didn’t know the difference between a herding dog and a livestock guardian dog. All I knew was that predators were killing my animals, and I needed help. So I did what many new farmers might do with limited knowledge: I bought an Australian shepherd, a sweet male named Puffin, hoping he would stop the attacks.

Mollie Engelhart
Mollie Engelhart
Author
Mollie Engelhart, regenerative farmer and rancher at Sovereignty Ranch, is committed to food sovereignty, soil regeneration, and educating on homesteading and self-sufficiency. She is the author of “Debunked by Nature”: Debunk Everything You Thought You Knew About Food, Farming, and Freedom—a raw, riveting account of her journey from vegan chef and LA restaurateur to hands-in-the-dirt farmer, and how nature shattered her cultural programming.