Texas Ridge Working dogs

Do you ever read ads for puppies that claim to have "working parents" and wonder what that means? At Texas Ridge, it means our livestock guardian dogs are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in rain, snow, sun and wind. It's their sole purpose to keep our family, farm and livestock safe from all manner of predators. Our neighborhood is home to cougars, bears, coyotes and wolves, but our dogs ensure our livestock, home and children are safe from these predators, and the predators are safe from us. Our dogs truly earn their keep. They enable us to graze our animals without permanent fences and are present for every task we perform. They even keep deer out of the garden and orchard!

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Meet the Dogs

BELLE

Ranch Manager

Belle joined the team in 2017. She is half Anatolian, 1/4 Akbash and 1/4 Pyrenees. She is 100% working dog, having adopted our goat herd as her pack. She is incredibly sensitive to each animal's body language, and automatically lays down submissively when any of the animals under her protection display the slightest bit of fear toward her. It goes without saying that she's also a great mom to her puppies.

SUNFLOWER

At Large Guardian

Sunflower was born in July 2019 to Boss and Belle. She was one of 14 puppies in her litter and suffered a spinal injury when she was just 6 weeks old. She has fully recovered, and works at large to protect the entire farm. Although she acts friendly when we're here, she is a formidable guardian when we're not around.

ISLAY

Goat Guardian

Islay is the daughter of Belle and purebred Pyrenees Lincoln, born in 2021. She is totally devoted to her goats and can't stand it when we split them up to move part of the herd to another pasture. She enjoys sleeping in the middle of the goat hay so that she is surrounded by her goat friends at all times.

When our guardians work together, they successfully drive predators off of our land, keeping even our chickens and baby goats safe without without permanent fencing or any other physical barrier.

BOSS

Retired ranch manager

Boss was born in spring 2016. He is 3/4 Pyrenees and 1/4 Anatolian. He was our first guardian and sired 2 litters of pups, and is father to Tater and Sunflower. Boss retired from breeding in 2019, and found a new home as a family dog and full-time chicken guardian on a farm where a fenced yard keeps him safe from ungrateful neighbors.

TATER

Goat Guardian - Lost in the line of duty

Tater is the son of Boss and Belle, born in October 2018. From birth he chose the company of goats over his fellow puppies. Even as a young dog, Tater's instincts as a companion and protector of our herd were unparalleled. Even the first-time moms felt safe leaving their newborn kids in Tater's care while they take off for a graze. He was mellow and easy going, and took great care not to startle or panic even the littlest goat.

On October 11, 2019, Tater took off to respond to a threat and never returned. We believe he died defending our farm and livestock from a nearby, well-documented wolf pack. His life and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Hybrid vigor

Our guardian dogs are a mix of Pyrenees, Anatolian, and Akbash in varying percentages. There are many breed purists out there who believe that an animal should be evaluated as a breed first, and an individual second. However, we find that our mixed-breed dogs don't experience any of the health problems that are prevalent in purebred dogs, such as congenital joint weaknesses, heart conditions, allergies, and skin and coat problems.