Guardians for the modern family farm & homestead.

Find Us on Facebook!

My Story & How Guardians of Basileia was created

When my husband brought home our first Guardian, Lucy, I was pregnant & honestly, a bit overwhelmed. I immediately took to Facebook and the interwebs to try to learn what we were supposed to do with her.

But..

Everything I read seemed…well, it just didn’t sit right. I mean, its what EVERYONE does. But, I didn’t like it.

We tried putting her in the pen with our goats, but she immediately escaped. We tried putting her into a kennel inside of the pen, and she panicked. She was totally terrified & an absolute mess.

We ended up bringing her into our kitchen, putting her into a puppy pen, and letting her acclimate with us. We bonded with her, created a routine, and slowly but surely, she relaxed into her role.

I did everything “wrong”, according to the rest of the LGD world.

They told me I would RUIN her. They told me she wasn’t a REAL Guardian if she bonded to me.

But, for some reason, it seemed to be going REALLY well. Lucy turned into the absolute best Guardian.

I went against everything I read, everything I was told, and followed my …well, a little bit brain & a lot a bit heart.

And, it didn’t just work. It worked SO well.

Fast forward a few more Guardians ,a TON of real-life experiences, even more researching, & Guardians of Basileia was born!

So yeah, here I am. Just raising livestock guardian dogs for people like me, who need the perfect guardian for their farm & family, and teaching others what worked for me!

If you want to understand more of my philosophy ….

  • Guardians are meant to have a bond & working relationship with their Shepherd. The idea that Guardians ought to work totally independently is NEW.

  • Guardians are NOT “plug & play” - I am against the notion that guardian puppies should be dumped in a pen with stock & not interacted with for fear of inhibiting bond to stock.

  • Guardians ought to stay with their mama & littermates until AT LEAST 12 weeks. I prefer 14 weeks, and that is my practice. This allows for critical psychological and emotional development that results in more stable, balanced dogs.

  • Guardians can be fully functional & trustworthy working dogs by approximately 1 year old WITH the commitment of the Shepherd. Functional working dog does NOT mean perfect. All working dogs require continuing training for their entire lives.

  • Guardians should be SAFE & PREDICTABLE.

  • Guardians should be good canine citizens. They should be able to sit, down, and recall. They should be able to walk politely on a leash, load into a vehicle, and visit the vet.

  • Raising Guardians for the small family farm or homestead is NOT the same as raising a Guardian who will be working on a large ranch, with little to no human interaction. It requires an entirely different mindset & philosophy.