by: Heather Smith Thomas

A good dog can be as much or better help than another rider or two—bringing up stragglers, keeping the herd together, rounding up a herd-quitter, getting cattle out of the brush or in any other terrain that may be difficult to get through on a horse. When working by yourself, dogs can be invaluable, especially when moving a challenging group of cattle. On a hot day, however, it's important to make sure you don't overwork your dogs. Just like horses and humans, they may overheat when working hard. Making sure they have adequate water during the job, and a chance to cool off now and then, can help avert dehydration and heat stroke.
Don Hatch, a stockman near Tendoy, Idaho, has always depended on good horses and good dogs to help handle cattle, since he is often moving cattle by himself. “I've killed a few really good dogs from heat exhaustion, moving cattle in hot weather. Every time it's happened, I've been moving cows by myself and overworking my dogs. On some of this lower range country, water sources are a long ways apart and there is no shade; even the sagebrush is short,” he says.
He moved to this area from Utah 18 years ago. “I never had a problem with this in Utah, but up here I've killed two really good dogs,” says Hatch. This particular range has steep areas that are very short on shade and water. In steep country, and with cattle not wanting to move because of the heat, it's easy to overwork your dogs because you are using them a lot.
“The first one I killed was the best dog I ever had. He was the best help corralling cattle, in the corral, or out on the range. When heat stress hits, it seems like it happens quick,” he says. You may not realize the dog is in trouble until it's almost too late. But as soon as you see the first signs of a problem, if you can get the dog cooled off, you can save him.
“It's always happened to me in the heat of the day where there hasn't been much shade—where the dogs weren't able to get in some shade once in awhile, and a long ways between water. If you get an hour or two from water, they can overheat and die,” he says.
“I saved one two years ago; he went into convulsions after working too hard. I tried to load him on my horse, and the horse wouldn't let me, so I took my shirt off to blindfold the horse, then loaded the dog on and climbed on too, and jerked the blindfold off. I took him as fast as I could, about a mile and a half to a water trough, put the dog in the water and got him cooled off quick enough to save him. The average person might not try that, but my dogs are very valuable to me and I wanted to save that dog!”
“The best advice I can give anyone is to pack water along. Take a canteen, or bottles of water in your saddlebag, so that if a dog gets in trouble you can pour water over his head and mouth. Give the dog a drink and wet him down. If you're working in an area with no water, stop once in awhile and dump a little in their mouth and on their head and rest them a few minutes. This can help avoid problems. Usually, however, I get too intent on what I'm doing and don't worry about them enough until they're in trouble. In the past 18 years I've gotten dogs in trouble about 6 times, and twice it's killed them.”
Just as in humans, the dog's body can only function within a narrow range of temperature. If it gets too high, the brain is damaged. “They start staggering and acting disoriented. If you see that, you know you've got a serious problem,” he says. Only fast action at that point can save the dog.
“If you're out all day in the heat—and it seems like black dogs are the worst because they get hotter—and it's up in the 80's or 90's, they will overheat if they keep working. I had a couple other dogs I've saved that went into convulsions; there was no water close enough to get them to, but I got them to stay there and lie in some shade. The dogs were smart enough to know there was a problem and they stayed. I left the cows and hurried home to get water. The dogs were where I could drive with a truck so I brought water that way since I could get back to them a lot quicker. I got some water into them and was able to save the dogs,” says Hatch.
A tough cattle drive is easier on a dog if there are accessible streams, mud bogs or troughs. “Any place a dog can drink, and get into some water and get his belly in it and get cooled off, will really help. I try to move cattle in the mornings, but sometimes it takes longer than you figure and you end up in the heat,” he says.
Michael Thomas, a rancher near Salmon, Idaho, also depends on dogs whenever he's moving cattle, especially on the range. The dogs were invaluable August 16, 2003 when he and his wife and father were desperately trying to get all the cattle out of their high range pasture ahead of a fire. They wore out the horses and dogs but with 2-way radios (for constant communication regarding the fire's progress and where the cattle were), they managed to save all their cattle—gathering them in three hours out of an area that usually takes two or three days.
That day there was no time to rest the dogs or worry about water. But as a general rule Thomas feels fortunate that most of his range has shade, and not very long distances between water. “We've had some days moving cattle that if we hadn't gotten to a trough or a creek when we did, our dogs would have been in trouble,” he says.
“We always try to take time when we get to a water source to let the dogs get a drink and get wet. With the stock troughs you sometimes have to teach dogs to get in them, especially the young ones—if they haven't been in a trough before. Sometimes they're a little timid because when they get up on the side of it and look down in there they are afraid to jump in. The first few times, I get off my horse and lift them in, so they can get a drink and get completely wet. If you do that every time you pass a trough, when the weather is hot, they won't get into trouble,” says Thomas
A dog working hard in hot weather needs to drink every chance it gets, since it will dehydrate just from water loss via panting while trying to stay cool. “If it's real hot and you can't avoid working cows that day, you have to always keep in the back of your mind to try to not overdo them. It's easy to overwork dogs before you know it,” he says.
“Last summer we had a couple young dogs that went along with us to learn the job. One day we were down in the low country in July gathering some cattle that had gotten through the fence down into a neighbor's place that had a lot of gates open--going clear down to the highway. On the long drive back up to the range pasture, the young dogs were falling behind and trying to crawl under any little sagebrush for shade, and even trying to get under our horses. By the time you realize they are too hot, you definitely have to stop and give them a break. The 3 dogs that had been going every day with us were ok, but the young ones that hadn't been going every day were the ones that were in trouble,” he explains.
“We slowed everything down, stopped periodically, but even after they recovered, it was short term. We couldn't go very far without having to let them rest again. We finally got to a creek where they could drink. Once they got some water (and were rehydrated and cooled off), they were able to go on home just fine. But from the point we realized they were in trouble, we had to consciously make stops, for them.”
It helps if a dog is in good physical shape and not carrying much fat by the time the weather gets really hot. “We are lucky in our situation, in that our first range pasture is fairly close to the ranch, relatively small, not very steep, and we're not riding all day long when we move cattle there. Even some of the older, experienced dogs are not in great shape in the spring. They do need to get in condition. Overweight dogs have a lot more trouble with heat,” explains Thomas.
Long hair is another factor. “If you have a hot climate you may want to consider a short-haired dog. Some people clip their dogs. I've seen some really hairy dogs that are shaved,” he says. Even though dogs don't sweat, they still radiate body heat (heat loss into the air, if it's cooler than body temperature), and a thick hair coat holds in heat.
“Every time you come to a mud hole or trough where the dogs get wet, they lie in it. If you clip the long hair they won't be packing around so much extra weight of mud and foreign material. The mud dries out and acts as an insulator to hold in body heat, too. There's a type of crossbred curly dog here in our valley that has a lot of thick hair, and almost everyone who has those dogs shaves them in summer,” he says.
“Our dogs, by the time we get into the worst heat of July and August, are lean and trim enough that if we just pay attention to hitting every water source we can, not pushing them too hard, we can usually get along fine. But our pastures are unusual in that we have a lot of water. On the other side of the valley where we leased range last year, there is a severe shortage of water and it's open country; vegetation/brush is short and there isn't much shade. It's a lot tougher on dogs. We try to ride really early in the morning and be out of there by mid-day—for the sake of dogs, horses and people. It's several hours between water sources, and some days, even though you start early in the morning with best intentions, you may get into trouble and not be done before it's really hot.” Sometimes you think it's going to be a routine check, but find something important you have to deal with, that takes longer. All of a sudden it's mid afternoon and 95 degrees.
On a day you know you'll have a long cattle drive, it's important to start early (for the sake of the cattle, horses and dogs), even at the expense of other chores and ranch work, so you might be on your way home by the time it is very hot. “A dog can travel a long ways in the heat, at the speed of your horse walking. But when they are working cattle they expend a lot more energy and more apt to become dehydrated and stressed.”
He's had both long haired (border collie crosses) and short haired (blue heelers). “One thing that helps us is that we use our dogs so much that by the time the weather is hot the dogs are not fat. They go all the time. It helps if a dog is never overweight. We have a few that don't go all the time (including some older semi-retired dogs) and they may join up with us voluntarily if we're moving cattle within sight or hearing of our house. They may hear us and come along. They're the ones that have the most trouble if we are out there all day. My suggestion to anyone who finds themselves out there with a fat dog is to be really careful. That's the dog you'll need to keep an eye on. If it's a long day and you are committed to getting the cattle moved without being able to go home, that's the dog you may end up packing home on your horse,” says Thomas.
A dog has less body mass (to dissipate heat from) than a horse and an in-shape dog can usually stay cool enough if he can keep drinking. “A good dog that's doing his job will generally go 10 times farther than your horse does in the average day. But you want a well trained dog that only does what you tell him to do, so he's not overworking himself. You also need to be conscientious about your use of the dogs. They often don't need to be working all the time unless it's one of those days when it's tough getting the cattle to move. Some days the cattle move easy and the dog doesn't have to work very hard, but other days you get into circumstances where cattle want to brush up or don't know the country and you have to drive them all the time—and that's when dogs may get overworked. There are some days you just have to stop and let the dogs rest. The most important thing is awareness. Pace the dogs, if you can. If you can periodically give them time to rest and have a good drink, they will be fine,” he says.
If a dog does start to suffer heat stress and becomes disoriented, staggering or having convulsions, it's imperative to cool him quickly. Wetting him down with cool water is probably the best thing to do, if you can. Be a little careful, however, if water is ice cold; cooling him TOO much can also be risky. Taking him to a very cold stream and immersing him, for instance, might not be best.
“In our area, the streams are small and not ice cold, especially by July or August when weather is apt to be hottest. In May or June, however, streams are colder if the water is coming right off a snowbank. And you could run into trouble that early in the year if your dogs are really out of shape. It's probably best to avoid extreme cold. Any water that is cooler than the dog will probably be effective,” says Thomas.
“When a dog is really in trouble, you need to give him water to drink and get him cool. It's better to see the early subtle signs. Out in the open where there's no shade you may not see the signs as readily because there's no shade for dogs to get into. If you stop traveling, however, you'll find them crawling under your horse for that little bit of shade. This is always a clue to pay attention to. A good dog may travel right behind your horse, but it's very unusual for a dog that knows his business to try to get under your horse. If he does that, he's desperate for shade. Another clue, if a dog is usually very energetic and exuberant and suddenly wants to lie down all the time, he's on the edge. If you see him lying down, it's time to stop. Or if he's usually right with you and is now back down the trail a ways lying down, you'd better pay attention.” 

Participants in the Northwest Project Grass Grazing Field Day got a break in the rainy weather with blue skies and moderate temperatures — not a typical July day.
Held on two neighboring farms, the field day provided hands-on experience with the use of grazing systems with a large dairy herd and a cow-calf operation.
John and Amy Vanderstappen, owners of Van de Jersey Dairy Farm, use grazing to augment the total mixed ration they feed their registered Jersey dairy herd.
The participants in the field day were taken on three wagons through the pasture system to see the access road, watering systems and fencing that are used with the cattle. Vanderstappen pointed out that he had put in drainage tiles in many of his pastures.
“Tiling is important in pastures as well as on cropland,” he said. “It will pay for itself in three years. If we hadn’t tiled, we wouldn’t have been able to use many of these fields with all the rain we have had.”
Vanderstappen said he believes his cattle are healthier by being on pasture for half of the day. From April to September, the cattle are on pasture at night, and then in September they are switched to being on pasture during the day.
In late November, he brings all the cattle into the barns for the winter. He also doesn’t want his cattle in the pastures during deer hunting season.
Some of the cattle walk about half a mile from the barn to get to the pasture, crossing two roads in the process. Vanderstappen said the public is quite patient when the cows are crossing the road. Because they are the younger cattle, they move rather quickly.
“We only put the younger cattle on the pastures that are far from the barn,” Vanderstappen said. “We keep the older cattle in the fields close to home.”
Using a Natural Resources ConField
Day Shows Grazing’s Benefits, Whether Dairy or Beef
Photos by Carol Ann Gregg
John Vanderstappen explains the watering system in his heifer pasture that is fed by a nearby spring.
Ryan Miller points out assets and challenges in his beef grazing system.servation Service cost-share program, Vanderstappen improved the main road that leads to all the paddocks for the milking herd.
Vanderstappen and his crew did the laneway improvement by laying fabric then 2.5-inch stone, then 1-inch stone and then fines.
“You want the top soft so it won’t hurt the cows’ feet,” he said.
Vanderstappen talked about the benefits of the pasture system for his dairy, which is currently milking about 270 cows.
“I don’t see much change in milk production from when they are on pasture and when they aren’t,” he said. “There is about half the manure to haul in the summer. The cows receive about a third of feed from the pasture.”
Because the farm is successful raising calves, it has a surplus of high-quality Jersey cattle to market for dairy purposes. In 2013, the farm sold about 100 head to other dairy operations.
Vanderstappen said the farm’s calf-raising system has been changed to provide the calves with three-quarters of a gallon of pasteurized milk twice a day for three months.
Jersey heifers wait to be moved to another pasture.
The farm has moved from hutches to small groups of calves, and Vanderstappen said he is happy with the results.
“It is expensive to raise calves, but they are much healthier and bigger on this system,” he said.
Van de Jersey Dairy Farm is now using a new freestall barn with a liquid manure system. It is also using a custom manure hauler that Vanderstappen said is saving the farm money.
The new barn has a loafing area for cows about to calve.
There are four full-time and four part-time employees who see to the day-to-day operation at Van de Jersey Dairy Farm.
The field day continued at the beef farm of Ryan Miller. He began raising cattle with his dad more than 20 years ago. About six years ago, he purchased the farm where he and his family now live. They have 20 brood cows.
Miller led the tour through part of his pastures. He was concerned with how rough the pasture was after this past winter. He also talked about his system and how he can provide shade through an adjoining paddock during the heat of summer.
Because the system is relatively new, Miller was searching for input from other producers and agency staff who were participating in the field day.
While in the pastures, Extension educator Joel Hunter gave a presentation on the characteristics of different grass species with recommendations for seeding to provide a diverse stand of grass for the grazing animals.

August 7, 2014 from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Rain or Shine! Dress for the weather!

 Join us for a discussion and tour of:

• Spring Creek Farms and their grazing system
• Stream Buffers
• Other Best Management Practices
• Funding Sources for you and your farm

The event is free but  please RSVP by July 24 to

Christine Esterline 610-372-4657 Ext. 210

or Christine.Esterline@berkscd.com

 

A common concern of all electric fence users is lightning strike and a blown up energizer. Mains
units should be installed with lightning protection on both the incoming power side and the fence
side. For incoming surge protection, a plug-in surge protector should be installed at the power outlet
and the energizer plugged into the surge protector. This is the same type of protector as used on
home computers and other valuable appliances and can be picked up at almost any appliance or
variety store. Most rural electric systems experience daily variations in voltage flow that are as
hazardous to electric fence energizers as lightning strikes and so a surge protector is good insurance
for everyday usage.
For lightning protection on the fence side, several practices are advisable. Location of the energizer
is the first step. Place the energizer in a building in a low-lying area or a lightning rod protected
building. Avoid placing it in a building on a hilltop with no lightning rods. Frequently there is no
choice where the energizer is to be installed, but when there is a choice use common sense and stay
away from lightning prone areas.
The ground stakes should be well away from the ground system of power poles or the service box.
Never use the existing ground system of power poles or breaker boxes for the energizer ground. A
short in the power line can feed into the fence system through the common ground and create a
dangerously charged situation in the fence as well as damage the energizer. A lightning strike on a
power line with a common ground with the energizer creates a situation where the energizer could
be damaged through both the incoming line and the ground system. The ground system for the
energizer should be placed at least 25 feet from the nearest power line ground rod.

An induction coil or lightning choke should
be installed in the fence lead-out wire near
the energizer. The induction coil is made by
coiling 6 to 8 loops of heavily insulated 12
gauge wire in an 8 to 10 inch diameter circle
and taping the loops together. A lightning
choke is made from a loose coil of hi-tensile
wire with 8 to 12 loops spaced about 2
inches apart on a mounting board. Either
device acts as a lightning brake by forcing
the high voltage lightning surge into a
circular flow and creating a resistance field
by which the flow of lightning energy is
reversed. The energy flow goes back up the
fence and away from the energizer. The
induction coil is much easier to assemble and
is our preference. Once we started using
induction coils in our installations we
virtually eliminated all damage to energizers
due to lightning strikes.
A lightning diverter should be installed where the
lead-out wire attaches to the fence. A lightning
diverter at this location serves the double purpose
of diverting some of the initial energy surge to
ground and serving as a route of exit from the fence
of the energy flow reversed by the induction coil.
This device has two terminals for attaching wires
and leads from each terminal that are set with a
wide enough gap to prevent the normal energizer
voltage flow from arcing across, but close enough
to allow a lightning voltage spike to jump easily
across and pass to ground. The top terminal is
attached to the uppermost electrified wire and the
lower terminal to a ground rod. The lightning
diverter ground must be separate from the energizer
ground. If a common ground rod is used, the
lightning spike can pass through the common
ground system and return to the energizer
potentially damaging the circuitry. It is relatively
cheap insurance to install several lightning diverters
through the fence system at lightning prone
locations and where fences network together.
Ideally, more total ground rod capacity should be installed under the lightning diverter system than
under the energizer itself. Several types of lightning diverters are available, but all work on the same
principle.

Just as the energizer should be matched to the size of the
fencing job, the solar panel must match the energy draw
of the energizer. For each 1 joule energizer output, allow
seven watts of solar panel capacity in high sunlight areas
and ten watts in low sunshine areas. In Missouri the
seven watt capacity has proven adequate in most
conditions, but in wet cloudy springs seven watts has
proven inadequate for keeping batteries fully charged.
Solar panels should be oriented from due south to no
more than 20 degrees to the southwest. The logic for
orienting the panel slightly to the southwest is because
mornings are often cloudy with clearing in later
afternoon, particularly in the spring and fall when day
length is shorter, thus more hours of intense radiation
occur when the sun has already progressed to the western
portion of the sky. The panel should be oriented so many
degrees off horizontal based on your latitude. Because
the angle of the sun's rays striking the earth differs
through the seasons, the efficiency of a fixed orientation
varies seasonally. For panels used only during the spring
to fall grazing season, 25-30 degrees off horizontal may be appropriate. Winter grazing requires a
panel more steeply inclined, up to 60 degrees off horizontal with a south to southwest orientation.

The particular model of energizer to choose depends on the total distance of fence to be charged.
Manufacturer's claims on this point can be very confusing. If the energizer has a joule rating assigned
to it, it should be simple to determine how many joules of power are needed for your situation.
However it is not so simple. One major fence company makes energizer recommendations based on
the premise of ½ mile of fence per joule of energizer capacity. Another manufacturer suggests up
to 10 miles of fence per joule of energizer capacity. The first company is presenting a worst-case user
scenario while the other is presenting a best-case scenario. Our experience has been that allowing
one mile of fence per joule output will give satisfactory performance in most situations.
The type and construction of the fence affects the total mileage capacity of the energizer. Single wire
paddock subdivision fences for cattle are generally well up out of the vegetation and, if well
constructed from high quality material, several miles of this type fence can be electrified for every
joule of energizer output. Multi-strand perimeter fences and three strand sheep paddock fences may
carry very heavy vegetation load on the lower wires and much less total distance will be served by
the same energizer as used in the single wire situation.

The next decision to make is whether to use a battery unit or mains unit. This choice depends mainly
on availability of 110v or 220v power source. In almost all situations where power is available, it
is advisable to use a mains unit. Mains units are invariably cheaper per unit of output power than
battery units. Worries about keeping batteries charged up and the fence hot are eliminated by mains
power. Monthly electricity cost for operating mains units, based on $.08/kWh, range from less than
$.05/month for small units to around $1.50/month on very high-powered units. Even if a mile of
feeder wire is required to bring power from a building housing the mains unit to the actual pasture,
it will generally be cheaper in the long run to do this rather than use a battery unit with solar
recharging of a battery. Available mains power units run from less than 1 joule output to 20+ joule
output.
If mains power is not available and a battery unit is required, there are many sizes and types to
choose from. Self-contained lantern batteries, either 6 or 9-volt cells or a multiple of ‘D’ cells, may
power very small units with less than 1 joule output. New technology in dry-cell and gel-cell
batteries has increased the time period which battery units can be operated between recharges or
replacement. Gel-cell batteries are generally designed to be recharged but require special chargers
to maintain battery life. A new generation of long-life, disposable dry-cell batteries offers potential
for more than six months battery life. For remote units that are not visited on a regular basis, these
long life battery systems offer greater management opportunity than has previously existed without
use of solar recharge systems. Current technology in “smart” energizers allows for even greater
battery life. Smart energizers detect the load upon the fence and adjust pulse output to the demand.
If load is minimal, the battery draw is reduced and battery life is prolonged.
Larger wet-cell units up to over 20 joule output can be powered by 12v automotive type or deep
cycle gel batteries. When using 12v systems, it is highly advisable to install a solar panel to keep the
battery charged. The higher the output of the energizer, the more rapidly a storage battery is drained.
The largest wet-cell battery units may fully drain a deep cycle 12v battery in less than a week. To
avoid the weekly turnaround of batteries, a solar recharge system is a must.
There are also energizers available that can be used either as 12v battery or 110v mains units. These
units offer a great deal of versatility in use. Some graziers are concerned about controlling animals
if the power goes off for an extended period due to weather events such as hurricanes and ice storms.
The dual power units offer the opportunity to switch to battery power if the mains power is out for
more than a few hours. They can also travel from the home base of operations to a remote grazing
location to be used with battery. These units can work well for custom graziers operating on leased
land.
Some people have the perception that battery units are inherently less powerful than mains units.
When comparing units with the same output joule rating, the capacity to energize a given length of
fence are the same, as long as the battery is fully charged. It is only when the battery has been
partially drained that battery units can be considerably weaker than their mains counterparts. Using
a solar or wind recharge system can eliminate the weak battery failure.

Modern electric fence energizers have the capacity to maintain effective voltage for animal control
under much more adverse vegetative load conditions than earlier types. Low-impedance is the term
most commonly used to describe the modern energizer. Low-impedance energizers are characterized
by moderate voltage and a very short pulse length. Manufacturers have attempted to rate the power
capacity of fence energizers by several methods including miles of fence powered, farm acreage
covered, voltage output, effective voltage under varying resistance levels, and joules of energy.
Each of these ratings has its limitations.
Miles of fence powered is meaningless unless
the wire gauge, vegetation load, quality of
fence construction, and other factors are
specifically indicated. Size of the farm means
nothing without some idea of the level of
paddock subdivision on the farm. Voltage
output is generally peak voltage potential
with no fence attached to the energizer or
"no-load" voltage, as it is commonly referred
to. An energizer with 15,000 v no-load
potential may actually be considerably less
powerful than a unit with 5000 v no-load.
Joules are the most common means of comparing fence energizers. One joule is equal to an electrical
output of 1 watt per second. Comparison by joule output is only valid if the pulse lengths are similar
and if measured at comparable resistance levels. Most manufacturers rate their units based on output
energy. This is the amount of energy the unit consistently pulses into the wire. A few companies use
stored joules to rate their units. Stored joule measurements are usually 20-30% greater than output 

2 joules so units cannot necessarily be directly compared across manufacturers. For example, a 10-
joule stored energy output energizer is equivalent to a 7 to 8 joule output energy-rated unit.
Very often the energizer model number itself tells what the energizer capacity is in joules. The two
units shown below are examples where the ‘M’ indicates they are mains (110v plug-in) units and the
numeral specifies the output joule rating. The M1000 has 8 times the output power of the M150. This
does not mean it produces a higher voltage on the fence line, only that it will maintain the power
level on six times as much fence.
With these points in mind, how does one go about selecting the proper energizer for a particular
situation? You need to consider how many miles of fence will you have, will it be single or multiwire,
what is the expected vegetative load on the fence, what type of livestock or wildlife are you
attempting to deter, and what is available as a power source.

Selecting and installing the most appropriate fencing system for your grazing operation is a key step
toward successful pasture-based livestock production. Three types of fencing are likely to be used
in a grazing cell: perimeter, permanent subdivision, and temporary or portable subdivision fencing.
Electrified 12.5 gauge hi-tensile wire makes most satisfactory perimeter fence and permanent
paddock fencing. Numerous options are available for portable fencing. This guide deals with
material selection and proper installation of all types of electrified fences for grazing systems.
Materials are covered in individual sections.