By Jake Meeus-Jones via SWNS
An over 110-pound guard dog is training his new puppy companion to help him protect a flock of Christmas turkeys.
Maremma sheepdog Bear, three, has spent the last all his life keeping a watchful eye over the 750 birds each year.
Maremmas are a flock guardian breed which means they are designed to live with the animals they protect.
Bear’s role as turkey protector allows the turkeys to remain outside year-round free from predators.
Farmer George Ford, 35, enlisted a sidekick for Bear – 11-month-old pup, Star – in the summer and she is being trained to look after the chickens and the turkeys.
George, who runs Nempnett Pasture in Blagdon, Somerset, said: “He’s still out there patrolling and doing his job.
“We’ve got a puppy called Star and she helps out as well.
“She’s still too young to stay in with the birds full-time so she’s in training – Bear’s taking her under his wing.
“Bear was in with the birds basically as soon as we got him as a puppy.
“We didn’t even really have to train him – it’s kind of innate.
“He just built that bond with them straight away and stays outside with them the whole year round.”
This year, George has got Bear looking after 750 turkeys before they are slaughtered and sold for between £60 and £140 each in time for Christmas.
George said: “We’ve got 130 more than last year – we just keep selling out so we’re doing a few more.
“We’ve built another gobbledygo to accommodate the extra birds – 750 turkeys and a dog!
“We get them in June and when they’re fully feathered up they go out in August and they stay out until beginning of December.
“As the weather gets harsher they get stronger and they can cope with the elements well.
“Our previous ‘free-range’ model required the turkeys to be shut away safely in a barn at night and their range soon became overgrazed and turned to mud.
“We now think keeping them out and moving regularly to fresh pasture is a much better way of doing it.”
George says Bear is always listening and is able to distinguish the different noises the turkeys make.
He said: “We’ve found him up in the gobbledygo and sleeping on the platform with the birds which we’ve not seen before.
“He’s really in tune with the birds – one of the birds made a different noise and he jumped up and legged it across and noticed there was someone walking on the footpath near the fence.
“It’s just in him – he’s always listening!”
George is hoping Star will be able to take on full-time duties in the next two years.
He added: “It took us a couple of seasons before we could leave Bear alone with the birds so hopefully by 2026 Star will be ready.
“She helps out with the chickens as well.”
