Who We Are?
About us
Welcome to Emerald Mountain Ranch, stewards of the fifth-generation legacy of Stanko Ranch established 1907. Nestled in the stunning landscapes of the Yampa River Valley and Emerald Mountain, we share the challenges, commitment, and satisfaction of ranching in the Colorado mountains. Meet our beloved animals and learn about our Amazing Loyal Hardworking Livestock Guardian Dogs, including Turkish Boz Shepherds. Join us as we celebrate our way of life and the enduring spirit of ranching.
The Stanko Ranch sits nestled on the western slope of Emerald Mountain, also known as Quarry Mountain, in the picturesque surroundings of Steamboat Springs. Originating from a humble 160-acre claim staked by Patrick’s Great Grandfather in 1907, the ranch has flourished over the years, expanding to over 600 acres. Throughout its history, it has been a hub of agricultural activity, cultivating crops such as wheat and potatoes, and raising livestock including cattle, sheep, and hogs.
Today, the Stanko Ranch remains a labor of love for the family of Jim and Jo (Patrick’s Parents), Patrick, and Jan. Their commitment to preserving the legacy of the ranch extends to the careful selection of livestock guardian dogs. In response to the proximity of wolves in neighboring Wyoming, Jan embarked on a quest to find capable guardians for their livestock. After thorough research, the family settled on Turkish Boz Shepherds, renowned for their effectiveness in protecting livestock.
At the heart of their operation is a dedication to producing top-notch working Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs), meticulously trained and exposed to various aspects of ranch life, from protecting cattle and sheep to safeguarding poultry. The Stanko Ranch stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of family farming and the timeless bond between humans and animals.
Emerald Mtn. Ranch
Emerald Mtn Ranch | 5th Generation Stanko Ranch Est. 1907 • 700-acre Yampa Valley working ranch. Purpose-bred Turkish Boz Shepherds, raised and proven under real mountain conditions and predator pressure.
Advocates for LGDs, land & livestock
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𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘! 🎶
𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 25 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑙𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝑊𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡, 𝑤𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑦.
𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒. 𝐼𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑎 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑.
𝐴 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑝𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘-𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤. 🐾
#𝐿𝐺𝐷 #𝑃𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑦𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 #𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝐺𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝐷𝑜𝑔 #𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔𝐷𝑜𝑔𝑠 #𝐸𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑑𝑀𝑡𝑛𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ #𝐷𝑜𝑔𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 #𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒
Shelby met the buck SoSo for the first time today, and let’s just say the sounds and that "cologne " were a lot for her to process!
It is all part of the rotation here, and she is taking it all in.
Shelby is actually available and looking for her own place to guard.
We also have a few other adults ready for new employment. They each have their own unique quirks and personalities, but they would all make wonderful additions to a homestead looking for a guardian.
Check out our website : EmeraldMtnRanch.com for more info on Shelby, the pack and our program 🐾
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 🐐💨
𝗦𝗼𝗦𝗼, 𝗮 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲. 𝗛𝗲’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 "𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀" 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘆.
𝗨𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗦𝗼, 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱. 🙄
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 "𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮," 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗦𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁’𝘀… 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲. 🤢
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗸? 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 (𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁) 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄! 𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀. 👇
#StrongOdor #RanchLife #Goats #NigerianDwarfGoat