Guardian dogs help protect the flock at Glenorie
The Crook-King family at Morven in south west Queensland has been successfully using guardian dogs as part of a multi-pronged strategy to reduce predator attacks on its flock, although the first few years were a massive learning curve for the family.
Merino woolgrower and veterinarian Julie Brown, her parents Peter and Marie Crook-King and brother Bill, use livestock guardian dogs on the family’s 30,000 hectare property ‘Glenorie’, 85 km south of Morven in the mulga country of south west Queensland. The extensive property is scrub and semi-open pulled country with some areas heavily timbered. Although wild dogs are the main predator of livestock in region, ‘Glenorie’ is also affected by foxes, feral pigs and eagles.
In 2010-2011, the property saw a significant increase in the wild dog population resulting in devastating wild dog attacks and catastrophic sheep and lamb losses from 2012 onwards. In the 2013/14 financial year, the family lost 900 adult sheep and most of the lambs that were born on its property. The only lambs that survived that year were 50 poddy lambs that were raised by hand.
The attacks and losses not only resulted in suffering for the family’s sheep, but also affected the family’s emotional well-being and their business’s financial bottom line.
The family decided on a three-pronged attack to try to limit wild dog damage: building an exclusion fence in a cluster group with neighbours, trapping, and investing in Maremma guardian dogs for their sheep.
Maremma guardian dogs
Maremma dog guarding the flock at ‘Glenorie’.
The family’s decision to use Maremmas began with reading the Best Practice Manual for the use of Livestock Guardian Dogs, and an initial visit to Ninian and Anne Stewart-Moore of ‘Dunluce’, Hughenden, to see their guardian dogs in action. In 2012, the family travelled to Victoria to buy nine grown Maremma dogs and five pups.
The Maremmas are managed mainly by Marie and Julie. Julie admits the first few years were a massive learning curve.
“Learning the techniques of how to bond the Maremmas with our sheep took some time. It’s important to get it right and we had some problems in the early years with poor bonding and destructive behaviour,” Julie said.
“Also, the wild dog numbers exceeded the capabilities of the Maremmas that we had. The density of Maremmas in our paddocks was simply not high enough.
“However, once the cluster fence was finished (although it wasn’t perfect) and the Maremma behavioural problems were sorted out, we had a very effective livestock guardian team of more than 25 Maremmas with others in training.”
Predation was virtually eliminated. As a result, sheep losses dropped and lambing percentages massively improved. This not only had positive economic impacts for their business, it also resulted in improved sheep and human welfare.
“For us, wild dog predation is only prevented when Maremmas are physically present. It is important to maintain an experienced and mature livestock guardian dog team, although not too old because their effectiveness decreases with age,” Julie said.
“We prefer the guardian dogs to be two to three years old before they can be trusted to guard the flock, as younger animals tended to sometimes ‘play’ with the sheep, or stray from the mob.
“It’s also important that wild dog pressure does not exceed the capabilities of the guardian dog team; smaller paddocks and higher Maremma densities improves their effectiveness. Fencing and trapping inside the fence are other control techniques that also help prevent large numbers of wild dogs and foxes from overwhelming our guardian dogs.”
Creating a strong bond to livestock
Developing trustworthiness in the bonding pens at Glenorie.
Julie says anyone considering investing in Maremmas for wild dog control must be completely committed, because guardian dogs require a big investment in time and effort to ensure they’re properly bonded with their flock.
To create a strong bond to the sheep, the Maremma guardian dogs at Glenorie live with stock from birth in special pens for several months, although they are fed away from the sheep. The pens are hygienic, well-shaded, sheltered and have good drainage. Importantly, they are escape proof.
The Maremmas are tethered each night and monitored closely during the day until they can be trusted.
“It takes time for the pups to bond with livestock, and patience and persistence to prevent misbehaviour. It’s a gradual process. Destructive behaviours can develop quickly during a Maremma’s adolescence. They must be 100% trustworthy because we cannot watch them when they are in the paddock guarding independently, and they must also be mature mentally and physically to successfully confront a group of wild dogs,” Julie said.
“Guardian dogs must be able to be led, caught and put on a chain, and they aren’t encouraged to make friends with visitors or contractors. They are not pets. We constantly check them in the paddocks and if a guardian dog leaves its mob, we will bring it back in and confine the dog to the bonding pens again.”
When it comes to mustering, the Maremmas generally know the ‘Glenorie’ kelpies and don’t worry too much about them, although some will ‘arc up’ at the herding dogs. The kelpies tend to ignore the guardian dogs.
Julie can recognise each Maremma in the paddock, and she says they all have their quirks.
“They’re very funny – some are very friendly and let out a few excited yelps when they see me but others stand back and bark menacingly, or will try to push the sheep away,” she said.
Husbandry and maintenance
Julie Brown with a Maremma pup at ‘Glenorie’.
While Julie has no preference whether the Maremmas are male or female, she is adamant that they must all be de-sexed by 12 months old, to prevent them from fighting amongst themselves, wandering and mating with wild dogs.
Julie is a veterinarian, so she herself vaccinates the guardian dogs for distemper, parvovirus, canine hepatitis, leptospirosis and canine respiratory disease. The dogs get a broad spectrum worming tablet – hydatids are a human health risk, and treating hookworm is especially important for young dogs. They also get a Bravecto spot-on or chew for protection against fleas and ticks.
Julie recommends to include the examination and care of guardian dogs in a vet’s regular on-farm visits.
The coats of her guardian dogs need clipping in spring, in readiness for the hot and humid Queensland summers, or when required.
“Otherwise the coats can get very dirty and full of grass seed. The dogs are constantly cooling off in troughs and dams. Without clipping, the guardian dogs can be prone to skin infections. Toenails need to be clipped too,” she said.
The need to feed the adult Maremmas decreases when they are in the paddock due to their habit of scavenging, but there are several feeding stations containing dog biscuits. However, since the pig population has learnt how to get into the dog feeders, the family has had to implement once a day feeding.
“There must also be consideration for the care of older and retired dogs. We owe them a good retirement for their service. Succession planning is vital; you should have young dogs in bonding pens to replace your older dogs who want to retire and are becoming less effective with age,” Julie added.
No silver bullet
The La Niña event of 2020-2024 caused a significant wild dog population increase in the region. This is because the increased kangaroo population supported more wild dogs and there was greater wild dog pup survival.
“This resulted in increased wild dog pressure on the existing cluster fence. Plus, the heavy rainfall events, wet ground and wash-outs made incursions more likely. So the Maremma presence is very important within the fence to prevent predation,” Julie said.
“We currently have only eight working Maremmas, which is inadequate to cover all the sheep due to wild dog predation once again being a significant problem. So we are rebuilding the team and planning our next litter. We are continuing with trapping and planning more fencing.”
In November, Julie presented at the first national Livestock Guardian Animal Forum, hosted by the National Wild Dog Action Plan in Canberra. The event explored the role of guardian animals in managing the impacts of wild dogs across Australia and was attended by landholders, researchers, veterinarians and government.
“For me, the event reiterated that there is no silver bullet to predator control, especially in extensive grazing situations when properties are large and livestock are spread out,” Julie said.
“Livestock guardian animals are incredibly effective when they are implemented well and when predator pressure does not exceed their capabilities. They are best used in combination with other tools, namely fencing and lethal predator management, which keep predator populations under control.
“Knowledge and support are also required to effectively implement livestock guardian animals – there must be information and resources available for producers to reduce the failure rate of using livestock guardian dogs.”
This article appeared in the Autumn 2025 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine that was published in March 2025. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.
