Project Report
| Jul 28, 2011
More puppies on the way
By Allison Rogers | Grants Manager
Thanks to the support CCF has received for our livestock guarding dog program, things are going very well. At CCF's headquarters in Namibia, we have two litters of puppies on the way. The puppies are born and reared in the goat pen so that they bond with goats. When they are at least 8 weeks old they are neutered and sent to live with their new goat herds. Before taking their puppies home, their new owners have to attend puppy class so they'll understand how to properly use and care for livestock guarding dogs. We follow up on each of the puppies to make sure they are healthy and doing what they're supposed to.
On another note, CCF has received a grant to study whether a vitamin deficiency is related to the high incidence of squamous cell carcinoma in dogs in southern Africa. We've got to find a way to lower the incidence of this type of cancer so that the livestock guarding dogs can live long, healthy lives saving cheetahs. We will update our supporters on GlobalGiving as we learn more.
As always, thank you so much for your support of this groundbreaking program!
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May 2, 2011
The hard reality of a livestock guarding dog's life
By Allison Rogers | Grants Manager
I'm sad to report that one of CCF's young Kangal guard dogs, Cazgir, died a few weeks ago. Cazgir had been imported to CCF from the United States to help build up the Kangal breeding lines. Cazgir was a victim of a disease that is causing serious problems with livestock guarding dogs in sub-Saharan Africa: lingual squamous cell carcinoma (or SCC of the tongue). SCC is much more prevalent in dogs in sub-Saharan Africa than in other parts of the world, probably due to damage caused from sun exposure. CCF is working hard to determine if there are other predisposing factors, such as nutrition and genetics, and we are also trying out various methods of early diagnosis and treatments. Because livestock guarding dogs are the greatest hope for the survival of cheetahs, we cannot abandon the program. We simply must find a way to stop SCC. We will keep you informed of the progress we make. In the meantime, we mourn the loss of Cazgir. These dogs are so much more than guard dogs to the staff. Thank you for your support of this very important program.
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Jan 31, 2011
New puppies flourishing
By Gail Potgieter | LGD program coordinator
In 2010 we added four puppies to expand the livestock guarding dog breeding program at the Cheetah Conservation Fund's research station in Namibia. Aleya, the eldest of the four and imported from Germany, is now more legs than dog and promises to become an elegant Kangal when she grows into those legs! Chino--one of the puppies from the artificial insemination litter--is an exceptionally affectionate little Anatolian who greets us with enthusiasm every morning and patiently endures being checked for ticks. Our French duo, Firat and Feliz, have quickly become part of the dog/livestock family. This is especially true for young Firat who never wants to leave his herd and howls when separated from them. These four young dogs represent a bright future for our guarding dog programme, so their excellent progress as working dogs is especially encouraging. This year, we will continue to breed our adult dogs and hope to produce four litters: two from our Anatolian females, Uschi and Penda, and our first Kangal litters from Cazgir and Hediye. After her 2010 litter, Tylee was spayed and is now a staff pet. In her breeding days, she gave us 58 future livestock guarding dogs. If one guard dog can reduce predation on a livestock herd by 80-100%, thus negating the need for a farmer to shoot predators, imagine the impact she made during her "career." Thank you, Tylee.
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