A white livestock guardian dog laying in a pasture in front of two white sheep.
A free webinar offered on Sept. 19 will cover the latest research on the use of livestock guardian dogs to deter predators. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host a “Livestock Guardian Dog Research in the Western States” webinar on Sept. 19.

The Zoom webinar will begin at 3 p.m. There is no cost to attend but participants must preregister at https://tx.ag/Sept19webinar.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Center at San Angelo has a research program dedicated to livestock guardian dogs, LGDs, and utilizes them at the center’s ranches and in partnership with private ranch owners.

Free educational webinars for producers and those in the livestock guardian dog industry are offered each year courtesy of the LGD research program.

Featured livestock guardian dog speaker

Julie Young, Ph.D., associate professor at Utah State University whose research focuses on the behavior, ecology and management of carnivores and beavers, will be the featured speaker.

“I’m excited to have Dr. Young as our featured speaker for this webinar,” said Bill Costanzo, AgriLife Extension livestock guardian dog specialist, Bryan-College Station. “She has done a lot of important LGD research over the years in the mountains and western states and will be sharing that research and results and how it is applicable to Texas as well.”

Young’s research aims to reduce negative human-wildlife interactions to facilitate coexistence. She often coproduces research with livestock producers to increase the efficacy of non-lethal tools, such as LGDs, to reduce livestock predation.