Born January 7, 2021
Maggie was born January 7, 2021 and became the fourth addition to our Kuvasz family. We adopted Maggie May 26, 2021 at 4 ½ months of age when her first owner had to rehome her for health issues. When Maggie came to us she was so spry, adventurous and fearless. Since she was so young, we felt that she needed time to bond to her new owners and build a trusting relationship before we turned her out with our goats. Bringing a new pup into a house full of dogs, Maggie would run around from dog to dog, saying “here I am, let’s play”, but her reception was not welcome.
This did not stop Maggie, their growls did not shut her down. She just said, “okay, now is not a good time”; but she showed no fear and continued to bounce around the house, happy as a lark, not giving a second thought to those grumpy dogs that she lived with. It took 2 weeks before Maggie won them over and they accepted her. When Maggie was 5 ½ months old, we started transitioning her to her goat herd. Chloe was already watching over the goats, but we wanted another dog to give Chloe some companionship and also have her back if a large pack of coyotes permeated the fence. We started by taking Maggie over to the goat herd and I would sit in the pasture with her for a couple of hours a day as they all became acquainted with each other. We did this for one week and then we left Maggie and Chloe to tend to the herd while I watched in the distance to make sure that Maggie acted appropriately. We then started increasing her time with the goats by a couple of hours, going from 2 hours a day to 4 hours a day for seven days, before we increased the time again. Within a month, we made the decision to leave Maggie with the goats full time at the age of 6 ½ months. Now this wouldn’t have been the best plan if Maggie was the only LGD with the goats, but by having Chloe, a mature Kuvasz whom had already bonded with her livestock, made all the difference in the world. A well established, mature mentor for a new pup will make the training so much easier.
Maggie is lively, intelligent, self-confident, fearless and gentle with her livestock. As livestock owners, you are always concerned whether your animals are safe from predators and if your LGD’s have bonded with their herd and will be fearless in the face of danger. We were able to see for ourselves first hand that we have nothing to worry about with Maggie and Chloe. Two of our does, required surgery and our vet wanted them to recuperate in a pasture by themselves. So Maggie and Chloe remained with the rest of the herd in a pasture that was right next to the pasture with the two recuperating does. Every 3 days we had to give the two does antibiotic injections and this antibiotic caused pain at the injection site. The two does bawled during the injections and Maggie was on the other side of the fence jumping 3 feet into the air, crying and barking frantically for her goats. At that moment, I had tears of pride well up in my eyes and I knew without a doubt that if her herd was ever in danger that Maggie would put her life on the line for her charge. That is the confidence that every livestock owner should have in the ability of their LGD’s.,