Author Archives: bill.costanzo
The Guardian Way – March 2021
Program Update Do not forget to register for our LGD Nutrition and Feeding webinar on March 25th at 3pm with Dr. Deb Zoran, DVM, of the Texas A&M Small Animal Clinical Science Department. You can register for the free event on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TAMUlivestockguarddog/ . Look under the Events section and use the link in the webinar description to register for the Zoom event. If you are not on Facebook, you can also register for the webinar on the San Angelo AgriLife Center Events page. https://sanangelo.tamu.edu/events/ As… Read More →
The Guardian Way February 2021
Starting with this issue of The Guardian Way, we have streamlined it to allow for quicker reading of project updates and events going on with the Texas A&M AgriLife LGD Program. Program Update We will be presenting webinars on various topics related to LGDs this year every other month. Our first webinar for 2021 was presented by Dr. Saleh, formerly of Oklahoma State, but now working at Texas A&M University. The topic was “Common LGD Parasites and How to Control Them”. We thank Dr. Saleh for her continued… Read More →
The Guardian Way – January 2021
Home & Work Hopefully 2021 will prove to be a better year than 2020! I had some changes in my personal life as I know many did, some caused by Covid-19. I know I am happy for the new year to be here, sadly we are all still being affected by Covid-19 however. But with the vaccine available soon, hopefully life will return to normal in 2021. The boys are back in college again and looking forward to their new courses. We got some projects done in December… Read More →
The Guardian Way – December 2020
Home & Work Merry Christmas! The boys are out of college for the semester and helping me with projects around the house. New appliances are a welcome addition for us this month. Painting a few rooms and a bathroom update is on the list this month during the winter break. It’s important to take advantage of the slower days during the winter to take care of projects that are needing your attention such as repairing dog feeders or feeding stations. You may want to provide a higher quality… Read More →
The Guardian Way – November 2020
Home & Work I can’t believe that we are already at the end of fall with holidays right around the corner. The boys and I are looking forward to having the holidays in our new home. The dogs have adjusted well to the move and my LGD is guarding the house and yard from several roaming squirrels! The newest set of pups for the second round of the bonding project arrived in early October and are adjusting well to their new home. These pups are out of the… Read More →
The Guardian Way – October 2020
Home & Work Change is inevitable and how you deal with it makes the situation easy or difficult. Sometimes it’s easier to accept the change than fight it if you can. The boys and I have settled into our new home in town and the dogs are adjusting to city noises. It is important to allow your LGD time to adjust to new situations that they encounter. If you move them to a new location or introduce new stock, make sure they bond with those animals and new… Read More →
The Guardian Way – September 2020
Home & Work The boys and I were busy packing boxes to move to a new house in town at the end of August. We sold our place outside of Grape Creek and moved to a smaller home in San Angelo. This is going to be a big adjustment for the three of us and our two dogs. My registered border collie, Booker, and my Pyrenees Maremma cross, Brutus, have never lived in town. It is important to make changes with your LGDs slowly over time. Things like… Read More →
The Guardian Way – August 2020
Home & Work My boys are finally registered for their college courses after more than two months of delays due to Covid-19 closures and will be starting classes at the end of the month. That was quite an ordeal to go through with limited personal interaction due to the lockdown. Hopefully no one has been too inconvenienced trying to contact personnel at the San Angelo AgriLife Center; we are back working at 50% capacity at our location until further notice. We are gearing up for the next phase… Read More →
The Guardian Way – July 2020
This is a new section to The Guardian Way in which I will give you a brief update on things happening for me at home and work. In May, my twin boys graduated from high school in Grape Creek. Although it was not your traditional ceremony, which I’m sure most were not this year, the boys were excited and happy to finally put that chapter of their lives behind them. It was sad for me, being a former teacher who saw so many traditional graduations of my past… Read More →
The Guardian Way – June 2020
LGD Webinar On May 1 we held our first LGD Webinar with over 90 people actively watching during the events scheduled time. We discussed several things regarding the LGD program at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Center, from inception to the current time, including the puppy bonding program. We reviewed our initial results of the set of six pups that we bonded last fall. We also reviewed GPS tracker information and had a panel of three local producers. I would like to thank our producers,… Read More →
