True North Guardians

07/27/2026

Filing another example under “stepping up” — good job, Big Boy Bru!

This dog! This dog is impressing me more and more as he matures and I was pretty impressed to begin with! At just about a year and a half old he is already pretty much plug and play. He can work rowdy young boars, farrowing sows, the adult ewe flock and/or an obnoxious cow or any combination there of. Let me break down why this is such an achievement. Say you learn the piano, you practice and practice and finally you can play almost anything on it. You tell your friend you play music and they say “oh cool play this!” and hand you a violin. You try to explain that you only play the piano but they don’t understand and keep insisting you play them something on the violin. Another person hands you a saxophone and excitedly asks you to play that too. This is what happens to young guardian dogs. Each flock, group and species is a different ‘instrument’ that they must learn to play. And as everyone knows that takes a lot of practice. Some dogs take years to build up their repertoire and some dogs are like those amazing people who can just pick up anything and play it after a little fiddling around. Bru is showing me over and over that he is one of those. He makes some mistakes, hits some wrong notes but he slots into each role so smoothly and seamlessly you almost forget he’s still a puppy sometimes. If this is what he’s shown me already I can’t even imagine what he will show me next!

07/24/2026

This is about stepping up.

The dogs I breed are meant to be working dogs, with a particular ability to do well with small ruminants. When I place puppies with folks, I generally do so with the understanding that those dogs will eventually step into working roles assigned them.

But, at the same time, I am also trying to target temperaments and personalities that are able to function even when things are a little grey or are different from what they’re used to. LGDs like order. And some can be pretty strict about it.

Knowing what belongs and what doesn’t is one of their not-so-secret weapons. It is an amazing skill. They can seem like they’re not doing anything 70% of the time — and all the while they’re soaking up the sights and sounds, and learning the nuances of the stock they’re with. The second something pops that isn’t the norm — a sound, a strange critter, a change in the ranks of the animals they’re with, they’re on it.

But that trait can also lead to friction and conflict, if they do not have the ability to learn nuance and instead approach everything with an extreme black/white mentality.

It’s why I believe a good mind is the key. Doesn’t matter how pretty a dog is, if it doesn’t have a good mind, it won’t be able to function well in the world we have in North America.

—

When I bred Fiala to Hugo in 2025, one of the things I wanted to see in the pups was his ability to roll with things. Whether it’s pack dynamics, or work, or expectations. I’m pretty happy with what I’m seeing in that regard, even at just 16 months.

Several of the litter have all been asked to do new things, or step up, recently. And they’re nailing it.

Cash, who lives on a 500-acre cattle and sheep farm in Pennsylvania, has been living and working with sheep 24/7 for quite a while now. Recently, his Anatolian partner had to be pulled to recover from a skin issue, and Cash was asked to watch the sheep solo for a little while. Which he did without fanfare.

His owner said, “His personality is just … out of this world. Nothing fazes him or at least, not for long.”

Umbra, my keeper, has also risen to the occasion at the right time. I needed backup in with the main flock and asked her to pinch hit. She’s lived and worked with sheep and other free ranging rando animals for a long time in smaller pastures and rotations, but this is a much bigger job.

She’s slid into it like she was meant to do it. Working with her partner and learning as she goes. Perhaps, it will be her longtime job. We will see.

And last, but definitely not least, Juno.

Juno was sent to Texas to be a sheep guardian and was growing into it with a maturity beyond her age. (I’ve shared videos and such of her in this page if you want to look them up.) But, unexpectedly, her family had to downsize from their farm a few months ago. No more sheep or other farm animals. The hope is that it won’t be long before they can get more land and re-start their farming. But for now, they’re living a suburban life.

We discussed it at length. While I was, and always am, willing to take Juno back, one of the reasons I placed her with them was because I felt her personality could handle a lot of new things and changes.

They were heart broken about sending her away. Based on how she had handled the initial transitions and their desire to have big dogs around still, I advised them to give her a trial run as a suburban Kangal. If at any point, she seems unsatisfied or needs stock work, I can take her back. No problem.

Her family is putting in the work to make sure she and her Maremma partner have outlets, but overall, Juno has stepped into this new lower-key role with a poise that is beyond her age. (As a note: this is a very specific assessment of an individual dog. Not all LGDs can make this transition and thrive. In fact, the first LGD I ever worked with came to us because he failed in a residential setting.)

Provided everything comes together for Juno’s family to get back to farming in the not-too-distant future, I don’t doubt she will make the transition back to working stock guardian with just as much poise.

I’m so proud. Good job, pups! 💜

— Rebecca

Photo of Cash provided by Tall Pines Farms, and photo of Juno provided by Southern Star BCs ( on TikTok).

06/28/2026

Excited to announce the addition of Sunny Lees Shelter from the Storm, “Bodi,” to the True North team. He’s a 10 week old Anatolian Shepherd. He also happens to be Ankha’s nephew. 🥰

I’ve gotten to know Alison at Sunny Lee Anatolians over the years, visited her farm and have been waiting for the right time to add a puppy from her breeding that incorporated Marmara Yasmine, a dog that impressed me when I met her a few years ago. A great livestock guardian, she worked well over 10 years and had the grit to stand her ground against Minnesota wolves.

And with the breeding to Ankha’s sister, Honor, and the solid genetics there, I couldn’t resist.

Bodi stood out even as a wee thing for his steadiness with stock and intelligence, his old soul approach to life, deference to his litter mates and other dogs, and his desire to range out a bit and make sure all animals were accounted for. Overall, the litter was strong on structure, had lovely temperaments and showed a lot of promise with stock.

Looking forward to watching this little dude grow up. 😁

06/22/2026

Monday motiv — never mind. 🙃

Sometimes, we just need to slow down. Not speed up. We’ll call this a nervous system reset for the week. ✌🏼

Courtesy of Ankha, LGD extraordinaire, and her sheep.

06/21/2026

Happy first birthday to Najin! 💜💜💜

06/17/2026

Evening chores featured quite a show yesterday. We caught the edge of a quick deluge of rain from a passing thunderstorm to the south, and the result was stunning.

Tarih, 2 year old Kangal, decided to photo bomb — he popped out of where he and the donkeys were taking cover to check out what I was doing. No worries, dude. Just snapping a photo of the double rainbow. 😃🌈

04/21/2026

So excited to see how my first baby dog does in her first full grazing season as a sheep guardian. 💜

Are there big things in her future? Time will tell. 😁

Umbra. 13 month old Kangal. Fiala x Hugo.

04/14/2026

🚨🚨 BIG ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨🚨

Very excited to announce that our New Zealand import, Vadi Red Sky at Night, "Skye," has been sent out on lease for breeding by Shepherds Rest Anatolians, in Oregon.

Skye is a lovely example of what a proper Anatolian should be, both in looks, but most importantly, in her stable and grounded temperament. Over the years, Shepherds Rest has consistently imported and bred solid, stable Anatolians that have benefited numerous AKC programs.

We are looking forward to seeing how she furthers those traits during her time at Shepherds Rest, and we plan to bring in some resulting puppies to our program. She will return to True North at the conclusion of the lease.

The only U.S. import from Heidi Morrissey, of Vadi Anatolians in New Zealand, Skye is a beautiful, sweet, loving, athletic and dedicated guardian who has lived and worked with both sheep and mini donkeys on our 200-acre commercial farm.

Skye is AKC pointed, with a major win.

Her pedigree features New Zealand and Australian lines, as well as American influence, including Shepherds Rest's most well known Turkish imports: Ormanüstü Duman, Durkaya's Kara Panter, Yozgatli Arap Ati, Avsar's Nazli and Çapar of Çardak. That diverse lineage results in a COI of 0%.

She is fully health tested, with solid results from OFA and Pennhip. As well as cleared, via Embark and UC Davis, of all genetic diseases.