New Laws For LGDs in SnoCo

image Ok, Iā€™m writing about something other than copper! šŸ™‚ I read about some proposed changes to the Snohomish County leash and noise ordinances that relate to livestock guardian dogs (LGDs). As the law currently stands, dogs canā€™t run loose in our county, and they canā€™t make continuous noise (aka kennel barking, where they go on and on for more than a half hour).

But, there is an exemption for LGDs in the barking category, since they are doing their job protecting an agricultural crop. When people purchase land zoned R-5 or Ag-10 in our county, they must sign an affidavit that they understand there will be ā€œagricultural activity, smells and soundsā€. (Mmm!) And LGD barking falls under this umbrella. So if people call the county to complain about this, theyā€™ll just be told, ā€œsorry, itā€™s within the law for your area.ā€

Trouble Afoot, Law is Being Modified

However, apparently the county has been having an ongoing problem with one or more individuals who are leaving LGDs out with stock in unmonitored fields-places where the farmer does not actually live (so he doesnā€™t have to listen to them bark!). And, not only do these dogs bark a lot, they are also frequently getting loose, create a nuisance, and violating the leash law. So, the proposed change to the law is that LGDs are only protected under the ā€œok to barkā€ clause if they are maintained on the farmerā€™s residence, not on vacant land. (And the leash law stays the same- still, no dogs or livestock are allowed to run at-large.)

Snohomish County is Not The Open Range

Though I always feel some anxiety about laws which take away peopleā€™s rights, I think maybe this is an OK change. I believe people successfully run unmonitored LGDs with stock on the open range, in places like Idaho and Montana. But open ranges usually donā€™t have residential neighbors. In our county, almost anytime you run livestock in a pasture, there are going to be people dwelling within a mile or two of the property. So, extraordinarily noisy dogs, or loose dogs, are going to impact them, and thatā€™s unfair.

LGDs: ā€œJust set it, and forget it!ā€ ā€“ NOT!

LGDs are not a trivial livestock protection solution. They are clever, creative, adventurous and sometimes naughty. And they have a lot of time on their hands, er, paws! I know many people who have trouble with them being escape artists. They are known for doing undesirable things like hoarding, or killing, newborn lambs or harassing the livestock theyā€™re supposed to be guarding. They can be a liability if they bite someone. When they do get loose, they can be real trouble. And, they are not invincible- they are vulnerable to injury or death if a large pack of predators challenges them, or a big enough animal takes them on, like a wolf or cougar.

So, for those reasons, I donā€™t think they are a ā€œjust set it and forget itā€ solution (unlike a Ronco rotisserie oven). They need daily monitoring, supervision and ongoing training, socialization and management. And they need a human with a rifle as a backup when something big comes along! šŸ˜‰ Though I suppose itā€™s possible that a few people are lucky enough to have a dog they can leave alone with stock in a field thatā€™s only checked one-daily or less, I am guessing thatā€™s not common. Our dog certainly does not have the job qualifications for that! šŸ˜€

How Much Do They Bark?

Our LGD does bark during the night, as do the Border Collies, who live in the house but can run out the dog door into their fenced yard. It seems to come in waves, sometimes they bark multiple times in a night, then maybe Iā€™ll have several nights in a row of peace and quiet. I am a pretty light sleeper, and Iā€™m keenly interested in whatever the dogs are barking at, since it may be costing me money if itā€™s out there eating livestock or our fruit trees! So, I wake up every single time any of our dogs barks. I check the clock, and listen for a few minutes. Often, the collies come back in and settle down, and Bronte will quiet as well. Then I figure whatever was out there heeded the warning and departed. Or maybe it was just a cat. šŸ˜›

But, if the barking by any of the dogs goes on for more than five or ten minutes, I get concerned. So, I get up, put on a robe, and go shine a flashlight out there to assess whatā€™s going on. I glance at the poultry houses. Then, I look for all of the sheepā€™s eyes reflected in the light. I can tell if they are spread out, that they are lying down and relaxed, so are perceiving no threat. If they were bunched tightly together, then Iā€™d know something was in their field scaring them, and Iā€™d be grabbing a gun. And the llama makes weird  noises when there is a threat. But so far, probably thanks to Bronte, thatā€™s never been the case.

At that point, I usually say a few words to Bronte, both to let her know Iā€™m there backing her up, and to encourage any lurking wildlife to move along. 90% of the time, that does the trick, and we all go back to sleep for the rest of the night.

When Itā€™s Not Wildlifeā€¦

But, every now and then, Bronte will keep barking. She starts to get hoarse from insistent barking. Then, I get back up, put on my clothes, and walk allll the way down there with a flashlight. Sometimes itā€™s creepy if itā€™s really foggy! On those times, there are occasions when I still canā€™t tell what she was barking at, but when I leave, the situation is over and sheā€™s quiet. But, many times, especially during the summer, itā€™s people out there who are making her bark!

This was a real surprise to me. We live on a between-towns road with little shoulder where people drive 60mph, so you donā€™t often see pedestrians. At least during the day. But, in the middle of the night, oddly enough, there are road-wandering types out there, probably hitchhiking or something. Sometimes itā€™s a gaggle of young men, being loud. It takes a long time for someone to walk by, in and out of Bronteā€™s hearing range, and sheā€™ll bark at them the whole way, telling them to stay out of her pad! Sometimes itā€™s people pulled over in their cars, doing whatever people do when they pull off the road. And, a few times, there have been people in the nursery tree crop next door, who have peeled out in their cars once they presumably spotted me! Anyway, itā€™s been interesting, coming aware of all the night life that is active in the country while most of us sleep! Bronte naps a lot during the day, but my hunch is that she doesnā€™t miss a thing at night!

Glad We Can Keep Her

Iā€™m grateful that the proposed law change wonā€™t affect us, since barking LGDs will still be allowable on the farmerā€™s residence. They probably figure that the LGD is going to annoy the farmer as much, or more, than the neighbors, so that should keep the noise problem in check. Weā€™ve had our LGD for nearly a year, and she has proven to be a valuable asset. Not only does she ā€œtrainā€ the predators to stay out of our livestock and protects our investment, sheā€™s also good for the wildlife population as well. In the olden days, people just shot every coyote they could find, in an effort to combat predation. With an effective LGD, we only shoot at coyotes who donā€™t respect her boundaries and come into the yard anyway, and most donā€™t. So, sheā€™s a very effective wildlife manager. And she seems to like her job.

Speaking of which, Bronte is barking. Iā€™m headed out to see whatā€™s there. šŸ˜‰

4 thoughts on “New Laws For LGDs in SnoCo

  1. bruce king says:

    Generally speaking, modifying agricultural practices to make people who live in agricultural zones more confortable seems like a bad idea.

    Having shot my share of coyotes this year despite having a pack of hunting dogs that stay at the farm I’d be inclined to say that the current law is appropriate, and if there’s an issue with animal welfare it can be handled through the existing laws on animal cruelty and so on.

    What this means is that seasonal grazing areas, or areas in the flood plain — where you are basically prohibited from building a residence — become that much less attractive.

    How did you find out about the proposed change, and is there a public comment meeting about it?

    • workingcollies says:

      It was presented to the Ag board, I think to get their input before going ahead with it.

      I dunno, I can see the concern. Dogs barking ALL night is miserable. What I’ve found with our dog is that she is uncomfortable with new and unfamiliar things, and that makes her bark more. New field, change in the pasture configuration, migrating birds she hasn’t heard before; in the dark it all makes her bark a lot because she’s afraid of the unknown, and trying to tell it to stay away. So, I would imagine that moving LGDs around in strange pastures all the time would result in them being noisier than they would be on a home farm that they’re used to. If I lived near that, I would sure hate it.

      And, it sounds like the barking wasn’t the only issue, that the owners were also having a problem of the dogs escaping a lot, and of course if you don’t live there, it would take longer to notice you have a dog on the loose and get the situation back under control. I got the impression that the problem people didn’t have true LGDs, but rather they were negligently leaving dogs on vacated property, and then trying to claim they were LGDs to get by with having them be a public nuisance.

      The only thing I wonder about are the “portable goat” services, where they just electronet them in- I don’t know if any of those folks use LGDs, or if they just rely on the hotwire to keep coyotes out? Or if they are shepherded at night? For myself, I wouldn’t ever be comfortable leaving a large dog inside of electronet on someone else’s property, I don’t think it’s secure enough, and the risks of the dog escaping and causing trouble are too big.
      Michelle

  2. bruce king says:

    As far as people farming property that they don’t live on — that’s me. I don’t have a residence on my acreage and commute to take care of the animals every day. Now I don’t have any neighbors, and I have a big freeway that makes it hard to hear anything, but I’ve also got a dog park across the street full of people who have called animal control to report:
    dogs loose on my property (they are my dogs, inside my fence)
    sheep unable to drink (concerned the troughs were too tall for a sheep to drink)
    Cow laying down in the field.
    7 911 calls when i skinned the coyote one morning and left it there until later in the day… etc.
    Last thing I need is to give them another way to complain about me.

    • workingcollies says:

      Bruce, ah, “good citizen” calls, yes, we get those too. Often people stop by to point out we have a dog in our field or whatever. I just patiently explain- they are taking time out of their day to try to be helpful, after all, so I thank them for that. People have called Animal Control worried that the wooley sheep are cold. šŸ˜‰ Fortunately for us, our Animal Control officer is very knowledgeable about livestock, and very cool; he patiently explains a million times to people how livestock are OK in the weather.

      I consider it to be a double-edged sword, we live in a region where a lot of people don’t have broad livestock knowledge, but they’re willing to pay high prices for locally farmed, natural meat. If we lived in the Midwest, we might get fewer calls to the Sheriff worried about our animals, but we also couldn’t command such high prices for what we sell. We live on a visible, high-traffic road too, and that, as you’ve pointed out, has its plusses and minuses! šŸ˜› Sometimes I wish for more privacy, but about then, a person will be driving by and stop to ask “can I buy some lamb?” and then I think the visibilty isn’t such a bad thing.
      Michelle

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *