Freddy CraddockGuardian Dog Field Books $27 · Get the books
Three field books · 273 pages · PDF

The big dog is not the plan. The plan is the plan.

I've spent thirty years on a high-plains sheep place with guardian dogs, fence and coyotes. These three books are what I tell people before they buy the dog, in the two years after, and on the bad day. No rankings. No bite-force numbers. No guarantees a dog can't keep.

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Instant PDF downloadSecure checkout3 books, 273 pages
Raised Right — cover
The Honest Guardian — cover
When the Guardian Goes Wrong — cover
The three books

Three days. Three books.

The Honest Guardian cover
Book 1 · Before the dog

The Honest Guardian

How to Choose a Dog That Will Actually Protect Your Family, Your Stock and Your Land

"A dog can be brave and still be the wrong dog for your place."

This is the book for before you spend a dollar. I start with your place, not the breed: what's actually out there at night, what you're keeping, how tall the fence is, who lives in the house, and what your own body and hours can handle. Then we name the job. A dog that lives with stock, a farm dog that does more, or protection, which is a different trade. Only then do we talk breeds, lines, hips, breeders, and the number nobody gives you. You'll finish with a filled-in Place Card and a decision you can keep.

Inside · 14 chapters
  1. The Dog Is Not the Decision
  2. Fill Out the Place Card
  3. Name the Job Before the Breed
  4. Instinct Is Not Training
  5. The Handler Is Part of the Fence
  6. The Dogs That Live With Stock
  7. The Farm Dog That Does More
  8. Protection Is a Different Trade
  9. Names That Hide Different Dogs
  10. Lines, Hips, Backs, and Temperament
  11. The Breeder Visit
  12. One Dog, Two Dogs, or No Dog
  13. Count the Cost Before the Dog
  14. Make the Call You Can Keep
The Place CardWalk the Fence questionsChecklists & warnings
111 pages · PDF
Raised Right cover
Book 2 · The first two years

Raised Right

The First Two Years With a Guardian Dog — From Chewed Boots to a Dog You Can Trust With the Flock

"A pup doesn't know your rules. Your job is to make them boring."

The pup is home and the house is losing. This is the month-by-month programme: the place he cannot leave, arrival week, name-leash-place, seeing the world without chasing it, the first tests, mouth-stock-range, gate-guests-children, the bold months, the regression at fourteen to sixteen months that is not betrayal, two dogs in one household, and the small pieces trust is earned in. Each week ends on a card you can put on the fridge. There's a chapter on tools and a no-tool road for where they're banned.

Inside · 15 chapters
  1. The Work Starts Before Arrival
  2. Build the Place He Cannot Leave
  3. Arrival Week: Make It Boring
  4. Month One: Name, Leash, and Place
  5. Month Two: See the World Without Chasing It
  6. Month Three: A Working Brain Needs a Job
  7. Month Four: The First Tests
  8. Months Five Through Seven: Mouth, Stock, and Range
  9. Months Eight Through Ten: Gate, Guests, and Children
  10. Months Eleven Through Thirteen: The Dog Gets Bold
  11. Months Fourteen Through Sixteen: Regression Is Not Betrayal
  12. Months Seventeen Through Nineteen: Two Dogs, One Household
  13. Months Twenty Through Twenty-Four: Trust Earned in Small Pieces
  14. Tools, Corrections, and the No-Tool Road
  15. Keep the Dog, Keep the System
This Week's CardStep by StepFair Warning boxes
100 pages · PDF
When the Guardian Goes Wrong cover
Book 3 · The bad day

When the Guardian Goes Wrong

Reactivity, Over-Protection, Bites, Attacks and the Way Back

"Listen first. Make the next safe choice. Then do it again tomorrow."

This is the book for the bad day and the months after it. Control first, then read the root before you put a label on the dog. Make the leash fit the handler, not the other way round. What to do when a fight starts, and what not to grab. Distance as training. When treats aren't the answer. A door routine for the house so protection stops being a liability. The dog that turns toward you. Two dogs that can't share a plan. After the bite, before the shame. The guardian that came back torn. And a plan with an exit, because every plan needs one.

Inside · 12 chapters
  1. The First Job Is Control
  2. Read the Root Before the Label
  3. Make the Leash Fit the Handler
  4. When a Fight Starts
  5. Distance Is Part of Training
  6. When Treats Are Not the Answer
  7. The House Needs a Door Routine
  8. When the Dog Turns Toward You
  9. Two Dogs Cannot Share a Plan
  10. After the Bite, Before the Shame
  11. The Guardian Came Back Torn
  12. The Plan Must Have an Exit
The Door RoutineStep by Step sequencesThe Exit Plan
62 pages · PDF
Why three

Why three books, not one

Because they're three different days. The day before you buy is about your place, your fence and your money, and the wrong dog is decided right there. The two years after are about routine, and most of what goes wrong is a routine that slipped, not a bad dog. And the bad day is its own trade: control, distance, a door routine, an exit. I kept them apart so each one stays honest about what it's for.

Before the dog

Book 1 stops the day the dog arrives. Place, job, lines, breeder, cost.

The first two years

Book 2 never shops for a breed. Routine, fence, stock, guests, regression.

The bad day

Book 3 starts where the other two ran out. Control, distance, bites, the exit.

Look inside

Pages from the books

The Honest Guardian · Place Card
Raised Right · Month Two
When the Guardian Goes Wrong · Step by Step
Freddy Craddock
About the author

I'm Freddy Craddock.

I've spent most of my life on a wind-beaten sheep place on the high plains, which means I've spent most of my life mending fence, counting ewes, and arguing with weather. Before I had my own flock I was a ranch hand and a seasonal shearer, and I've had guardian dogs at my heel through drought, coyotes, and one winter I'd rather not describe. I've buried dogs that were better than most men.

I don't believe a scary dog is a safe dog, I don't believe a dog trains itself, and I don't believe anyone who says "guaranteed" about an animal. What I do believe is that most dog trouble is a plan that was never written down. These books are the plan. They're plain, because that's how I talk, and short on poetry, because the fence still needs mending.

— Freddy
What you get
  • The Honest Guardian — 111-page PDF
  • Raised Right — 100-page PDF
  • When the Guardian Goes Wrong — 62-page PDF
  • Instant download after payment, plus a copy sent to your email
  • Readable on phone, tablet, laptop; printable
  • Free updates to these editions
  • 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee
  • One payment. No subscription, no account to make
Three field books
$27
One-time · all three PDFs
  • The Honest Guardian · 111 pages
  • Raised Right · 100 pages
  • When the Guardian Goes Wrong · 62 pages
  • Instant download, plus a copy to your email
Get the three books · $27
100% money-back guarantee30-day, 100% money-back guarantee. Read them. If they aren't for you, use the support form within 30 days and I refund the full amount. You keep the PDFs.
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Questions

Fair questions

I don't have a dog yet. Where do I start?

Book 1, chapter 2, the Place Card. Don't call a breeder until it's filled in.

I've had guardian dogs for twenty years. Anything here for me?

Book 3 mostly. The door routine, the two-dogs chapter, and the one about the guardian that came back torn. Book 1's breeder and lines chapters are worth an hour too.

Is this about livestock guardians or house protection dogs?

Both, and the difference between them is the point of Book 1. Protection is a different trade, and I say so.

How do I get the files?

Pay, and you land on a page with three download buttons. A copy also goes to your email. PDF, no app, no account to make.

Is this a subscription?

No. One payment, yours to keep.

What if they're not for me?

Use the support form within 30 days and I refund it. You keep the PDFs.

Is there medical or veterinary advice in here?

No. Where a dog or a person needs a vet or a doctor, the book says so and stops.

Do the books use prong or e-collars?

Book 2 has a chapter on tools, corrections, and a no-tool road. Book 3 assumes you may not be able to use them. Neither book sells you a gadget.

Who is Freddy Craddock?

A high-plains sheep rancher who has trained guardian dogs for thirty years and writes the way he talks. There's more in the About section above.

Can I print them?

Yes. They're 6×9 pages and print fine on letter or A4.

Write the plan before the dog does.

Three books. 273 pages. One price. Thirty days to change your mind.

Get the three books · $27