Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherd & Akbash crosses
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Litter Planned for Spring of 2024-
Charley x Charlotte
We are accepting names of those wishing to be contacted when the litter is on the ground. Please submit the form using the button below if you’d like to be added.
Our Mature Guardian Dogs…
Gidget and Max were our first two guardians used to protect our goats and ducks. They are poultry safe and have been since approximately 9 months old. Together, they’ve produced four litters, totaling 35 puppies which went off to new homes for similar jobs to theirs, and one special female, Charlotte, who stayed right here. Charlotte was born in October of 2021, and quickly following in the footsteps of her parents in keeping the goats and ducks safe. She is a lot more social than her mother, but still recognizes strange vehicles and alerts us to both human and animal intruder. Charlotte will carry on the genetics of the Bluestem Acres dogs with new partner, Charley. Charley was born in December of 2022 at T & E Farms in Fairland, OK. He’s a much bigger dog than Max and we hope he adds some size to our lines.
The pack works well together. Max and Charlotte know their perimeter and keep it patrolled, while Gidget and Charley stay closer to the goat herd and the house. If help is needed, Max and Charlotte will call Charley out for assistance, but Gidget almost never leaves the barnyard anymore. They will go beyond our property if trailing a predator, but they are not ones to just go exploring. As typical for the Great Pyrenees breed, they do bark to ward off threats, sometimes more than we’d like to hear, but never incessantly unless we are actually needed for assistance. On a few occasions they have cornered a big coyote in the pasture and call us out to finish the job. Each has many kills under their belt (armadillos, raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels, rabbits, etc) individually and they work well together as a team. We have not seen them kill a coyote or bird of prey, but have not have issues with those predators taking our stock since we brought the dogs to the farm.
Purchasing a Bluestem Acres puppy…
Each litter is priced based on experience of the parents and the cost of raising the puppies while they are here. We are not in this to make money, but we also put a lot of time and funds into generating quality dogs. Puppies are not released to go home at 12 weeks of age. They must be picked up by 14 weeks of age, unless additional arrangements are made. Puppies are raised with free choice access to large breed puppy food, will have received their first rounds of shots (7 weeks & 11 weeks), have been regularly dewormed, and be microchipped with lifetime registration through AKC reunite.
We want to remain in contact with buyers through the lives of our puppies and are willing to assist in rehoming any of them should the need arise. For this reason, we remain as primary contact on the AKC Reunite microchip, and bear the burden of updating owner information. It is our intention for our dogs to never end up in a shelter or rescue and this is the only way we can ensure that stays true.
If you'd like to be on the contact list for when a litter arrives, please submit the form using the button above. We will notify everyone on the list when the litter arrives. We take a “litter list” deposit from interested parties when puppies are two weeks old. The order this deposit is received establishes the order for puppy selection. Puppy selection usually occurs when puppies are nine weeks old, and at that time a second “puppy deposit” is due. The puppy deposit brings your amount deposited up to 50% of the purchase price. All deposits are non-refundable, unless we choose to cancel the contract/purchase agreement. We reserve the right to deny sale of a puppy to anyone for any reason. We reserve the right to retain any puppy or not offer all puppies as homestead guardians if behaviors are exhibited that warrant it. The remaining half of the purchase price is due on/before your pickup appointment.
How we raise Bluestem Acres puppies…
We usually raise one litter of LGD puppies per year when our youngest female is in her prime years (ages 2-5). The puppies are born with the goat herd, in whatever nest the dam creates for them. We then relocate them to a goat stall so we can monitor weights and keep nails clipped, plus provide adequate human socialization, but they still have daily (minute by minute) exposure to the stock they’re expected to guard, the goats and ducks. We do have horses, but puppies usually don’t have any horse eposure unless they stay here beyond the typical 12 week period. Our puppies are raised with the small homestead in mind. They will be working dogs, but we interact with them daily so they will have some human bond and be accepting of visitors. When possible, we allow the puppies to witness/assist with goat kidding and we always make sure they’re exposed to adolescent stock as well as mature (and sometimes grumpy) adults. Some puppies will exhibit behaviors that will make them better pets than guardians. Other factors, including size, also influence what type of home we seek for the puppies from each litter. All puppies are placed on a case-by-case basis and we will not place more than one puppy in the same home from the same litter.
We do not do puppy picks based on color. While we understand that some dogs are more visually appealing than others, basing your selection for an “employee” on your farm solely on what they look like is not advised. We take lots of pictures and videos and communicate with our buyers regularly as the puppies grow. If you are interested in purchasing a puppy from us, be prepared to answer questions. Individuals unwillingly to answer questions may be denied purchase. We have sold puppies to individuals in eight states, and expect to continue to send puppies beyond our local regions. Local buyers are always welcome to come visit the puppies as they grow, but we don’t allow individual puppy selection until puppies are assessed in various situation and reaction tests. When our litters are approximately nine weeks old, we put them through a short series of ‘situation’ tests or reaction tests. These tests are videoed and the puppy reactions are rated according to severity. We compile all the tests for each puppy into one video, and post the videos to a Youtube channel. Buyers are encouraged to watch all the videos of the litter when given the opportunity to pick their puppy. Individual puppy picks will not occur until we have had the opportunity to asses the puppies in this manner, and post the videos for viewing. We communicate closely with all our buyers throughout the process to help them pick the puppy that’s going to best meet their needs, not just the one that’s the “prettiest.”
Committed For Life…
When we breed our dogs, we’re committed to that litter for life. If you own a Bluestem Acres dog and no longer wish to keep it, please contact us. We do allow our buyers to sell their dogs to new homes, but we want to be provided contact with the next owners. If you own one of our dogs and want our help in rehoming it, we’re willing to do that too. No matter the reason, please never surrender one of our dogs to a shelter, or abandon it. We will do everything we can to get the dog back to us before you need to do either of those things if you give us notice. Remember, we remain as the primary contact for their microchip not because we want to limit your ownership, but because we want to ensure the safety of animals we breed.