Guard Dogs

Akbash breed guard dogs Zoe and Toby choose a fallen tree to watch over the flock at Shepherd's Dairy, Anselmo, NE. Shepherd's is the only Grade A inspected sheep dairy in Nebraska. Before they got these dogs, coyotes once killed seven sheep in one night. The Akbash breed are naturally protective of animals they are raised with. The dogs can grow to 140 pounds. If they see a coyote, they'll chase it down and kill it, yet they are extremely gentle and calming with the sheep.
      From their ranch near the sand hills outside of Anselmo, the Curtis family maintain a herd of over 100 sheep. They started milking in 1993, but it wasn't until Kim Curtis figured out a way to make soaps and lotions with the sheep milk that they began to turn a significant profit. Over the last few years, the soap business has doubled in volume each year, and Kim now sells soap in over 500 stores nationwide.