More About Those Working Dogs

Last Saturday, I was at Ahualoa Alpacas on the slopes of Mauna Kea. They were celebrating Alpaca Days and holding an open house for the public. Officially, I was there to demonstrate spinning with alpaca fiber and to talk to people about the fiber, and I enjoyed doing that. But what I really loved was watching Leo, a young Maremma, doing a perfect job of guarding his flock of alpaca.

It was a lovely sunny day and there was a large crowd wandering around and standing at the fence trying to get as close as possible to the wonderful, furry critters. When the alpaca were away from the fence, the dog could be seen resting in the shade under a tree. But when the alpaca moved up to the fence where the people were, their guardian was right there too making sure that all was under control.

Only once twice did Leo go on high alert: Once when an ATV showed up with it's noise and the second time when a cattle dog arrived in a pickup with some of the attendees. Notice his body language in this photo. It says I'm all business and ready to take on any danger to my flock.