Our experience using Ovcharkas for predator control began seven years ago when we moved to a beautiful, remote piece of land surrounded by national forest in northwest Montana. We loved the peacefulness and wildness of the property, and it was a dream come true for us. At the time, we had two young children who loved to play outside and explore our new home. We thought that was wonderful, and encouraged them to play in the forest and at the nearby creek.

As summer turned to fall we realized that we were not the only family in the valley. We had in fact moved into the home territory of a pack of Grey wolves. We would often hear them howling, and soon we started seeing them around the house. We had two Australian Shepherds at the time, and they would hide under the porch while the wolves would steal their bones out of the front yard. This was too close for comfort, and we no longer felt comfortable with our kids playing in the forest. We needed a dog that could stand up to the wolves and defend our home territory.

Our research into large breed Guardian dogs led us eventually to the Caucasian Ovcharka, a relatively little known breed with a long history of defending against wolves. We found a breeder we liked, and in January we brought home our first little fluff-ball. She didn’t stay little very long! By the next summer she was a hundred and twenty pounds and eagerly defending our property, livestock, and children. Her hereditary instincts were strong and true, and starting with her first encounter she showed an intense hatred for the wolves and a ferocious determination not to let them come near. We had no more wolf problems for our remaining year at that property.

When we finally bought our own homestead it was also in a remote corner of land surrounded by national forest. It lies between the two largest roadless areas in the region. As you can imagine there is an abundance of wildlife, both prey and predators. Wolf, cougar, bobcat, black bear, and grizzly bear all live in the nearby forest and frequently move through or around our property. The first winter we lived here a pack of five wolves decided to camp out about two hundred yards up the mountainside behind our house. They were there for several days, and repeatedly tried to get into our pig pen and have a feast. Our amazing Ovcharka was never going to let that happen, and she singlehandedly kept the wolf pack at bay night and day until they gave up and moved on.

As impressed as we were with her performance that winter, we also thought it was a pretty big job for one dog. We started looking for another Ovcharka, and soon we brought home Ares. They were a great team right from the start. When Ares was just four months old he encountered his first wolves. I was walking the dogs on the road near our house and two wolves came down and started following us up the road. We hit the end of our walk and turned around, and on the way back down we ran right into the two wolves. My female saw them first and started going crazy, barking and straining on the leash. At first I couldn’t see what had her so upset because both wolves were frozen in terror with their tails tucked, trying to sink into the ground and disappear. As soon as I saw them I let her off the leash, and she barreled toward them like a freight train with little Ares hot on her heels. They chased the two wolves down the mountain until satisfied that they were long gone, then returned to me with tails wagging and huge dog-smiles on their faces.

Now our first female has pretty much retired, and Ares has taken on the role of lead Guardian. He is also my constant companion spring through fall while I do seasonal work in the forest. The areas I frequently work in are great bear habitat for both black bears and grizzlies. Working in bear country, especially core grizzly habitat, is an amazing experience but not without risk. Every day carries the potential for a bear encounter, and every encounter carries the potential for either a good outcome, (the bear runs away), or a bad outcome. Over the years I have come to rely on Ares as my first line of defense. I am a strong believer in the effectiveness of good quality bear spray, and I always carry it but have never had to use it. As I hike he patrols around me like a satellite intercepting any predators before I run into them. Last season he rounded the corner ahead of me and startled a grizzly. The bear ran down off the trail a little ways, but then stopped and turned. I couldn’t see it because the brush was so thick, but I could hear it about thirty feet away “woofing” back at Ares. It was standing its’ ground and did not want to move. Ares also stood his ground, and after five very tense minutes the bear decided to move down the valley. Ares followed it, and every time the bear stopped he got right back on its tail to push it a bit further. I could hear him working the bear in this manner until it was a safe distance away. Then he returned to me, and we continued on our day. I don’t like to think about what might have happened if it had been me alone that walked around the corner into that big stubborn griz.

Bears are not the only danger in the woods. I’ve seen my dogs in action with cougars, wolves, and even moose (which are much more dangerous to run into than they look). People always ask, “How did you train them to do that?” The answer is simple. I didn’t. Ovcharkas instinctively want to guard, and they seem to know what is a threat and what is not. I can trust my dogs to chase off a bear or cougar only to return home and let a visitor’s children climb on their backs or pull on their tails. Our lifestyle, homesteading, working in the woods, and raising a family in wild country would not be the same without our amazing Ovcharkas.

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