Coyotes Are Back

I was busy feeding bunnies and listening to the dogs going crazy outside...but it could have been anything. Dogs across the valley, people walking by on the road, whatever. Matt heard the coyote singing by the meadow pond in back of the barnyard. I had let Thor loose for his nightly patrol, but after going to see about the danger (I could tell he was at the pond by his muddy legs)he came back in the barn and laid down in the milk room! I couldn't get him to come out! Matt was pissed off that Thor would do that while coyotes were about, but I told him that was Thor's Maremma coming out. Maremmas are "close guarders" and stay with the flock when danger is near. But the sheep were outside, not in the barn. I stopped making excuses for Thor and went about my business, sorely disappointed. I think Thor would be a great sofa dog. Matt let Knut go, and he shot up to the pond. Matt says Knut is the killer. You would never know, as he is such a loving dog - all three of the White Boys are. Livestock guardian dogs work in teams, and Knut is a hard charger, more Pyrennees and Akbash than Maremma. Where Maremmas (Italian LGD) like to stay close, Pyrennes (French) and Akbash (Turkish) prefer to patrol long distances and watch from afar. They like to find a hidden high place and guard from there, often only showing a pair of eyes poking up from a rock for example. I've been told my dogs are confused, being a mix of Tatra (Polish LGD), Pyr, Akbash and Maremma. They were local, and they were cheap (Maremmas can be $800!- with all my dogs being rescues or free-to-good-home that's ludicrous to me) and their parents were working with sheep. I was washing wool in the milk room when Knut came in (they can open doors!) to tell me everything was alright. He left to go back outside and guard, while Thor continued to sleep on the floor. I haven't counted heads yet this morning, and have too many to notice right away if anyone is gone. I tied Knut and Thor back up this morning and they are out cold.