From the beginning Duke has his own ideas of how to manage "his" small alpaca herd. The many breeds of Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) are born with 5,000 years of genetic experience in guarding and managing their flocks; they have their own ideas of how their flocks should be managed. Duke understands that the babies (crias) are the first to be protected, the mothers are next to be protected, and last but not least are the males. Duke did not have any crias to protect in our first year of with his alpaca herd. So the females were his top priority. Early in the spring I decided it was time to being Sleeping Lady Alpacas breeding program. Well, breeding alpacas, I imagine, must be like breeding elephants. There is a lot of trumpeting from the male, a lot of chasing around as the females naturally like to give the males a challenge, and generally it is a boisterous time. (Others may not experience this, I may just have a rather enthusiastic stud who enjoys his work.)

       None of this commotion was Duke's idea of a good alpaca management program. He did not want this happening to his females. At first I tried to keep him out of the barn, but that just didn't work. He would have torn the barn gate down, or killed himself trying. We finally reached a compromise. He can come inside the barn, but he can not interfere with the breeding. He can circle the alpacas, he can keep a close eye on what is going on, and he can get very close to his girls to keep an eye on them. He can not get close enough to touch the alpacas, and he can not bark, whine, or otherwise voice his dismay.