WHEN Johnny Ames was trying to find a breed of canine he hoped would shield new lambs from birds of prey he wished a canine that may not solely scare off any predators, but additionally look cuddly.
Luigi and Peaches are Italian Maremma sheepdogs, who’re being educated to be ‘guardian dogs’.
Johnny, a falconer on the Rothiemurcus Estate close to Aviemore, is educating the young dogs to reside alongside flocks of sheep while being on alert for any birds of prey who may even see lambs as a straightforward meal.
The sea eagle, or white tailed eagle, is the UK’s largest chicken of prey.
It was reintroduced to Britain within the Seventies, with round 150 breeding pairs considered residing in Scotland, totally on the west coast.
They primarily feed on seabirds, wild foul and fish, however to the fury of farmers are additionally identified to focus on lambs.
Johnny is utilizing a drone with a paper sea eagle hooked up to coach Luigi and Peaches to push back any birds of prey they see close to the sheep.
He confirmed off the 2 dogs coaching on farming and countryside present Landward.
The BBC Scotland TV present was celebrating the position dogs play in Scotland’s countryside by dedicating an entire episode to some very particular canine companions.
From dogs who work with livestock, to dogs who journey on a number of the highest hilltops – man’s finest buddy has a really particular place in Scotland’s countryside story.
Johnny mentioned: “In Europe you do discover most farmers right this moment do nonetheless have livestock guardian dogs following their flocks .
“Our plan is to attempt to use them to guard farmers’ lambs within the lambing season and attempt to deter eagles.
“If an eagle is soaring around a flock of sheep and it sees these great big dogs wandering around that it perceives as wolves, the idea is they are just going to look elsewhere for food.”
He added: “Of all of the guardian breeds of canine the Maremma are the softest.
“Some of the opposite breeds are huge, scary wanting dogs who do bark at folks and are fairly threatening.
“The Maremma still guard against predators, but when it comes to hikers going through someone’s field, the worst they are going to do is go over for a cuddle.”
Landward presenter Cammy Wilson, a farmer who has misplaced a variety of lambs, welcomed Johnny’s work.
He mentioned: “We nonetheless use dogs to shepherd sheep, so why not use them to guard sheep too.
“Every lamb misplaced to predation prices a farmer like me round £130 and though this undertaking continues to be in it’s early days, certainly something that helps resolve this actual concern for farmers is value making an attempt.
**Landward is available on BBC iPlayer **
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