Is a sheepdogs primary job to herd the flock or to protect it from wolves?

Is a sheepdogs primary job to herd the flock or to protect it from wolves?

They were bred to herd.

mainly to herd the flock

Sheep dogs herd. There are breeds such as the Maremma who will protect the flock from predators. Maremma live with the flock.

Herd the flock, the protection happens when one or more of his flock is threaten. Remember, he can't herd if a wolf or wolves are killing his flock. I guess you can say, a Sheepdog is combination of herding/ guard dog. Most of your other herding breeds stay with the master till it's time to work. A Sheepdog is on call 24/7.

there are breeds such as the border collie who's primary job is flock protection these are often called sheepdogsthere are breeds such as the Great Pyrenees used mainly as flock protectors they may ALSO be called sheepdogs though that is less common

That depends on the breed. Herding breeds, like border collies, german shepherds, shelties, etc job is to help the shepherd move the flock from one pasture to another. Then there are livestock guarding breeds such as the great pyrenees and maremma who live with the flock and protect against predators such as wolves.

It really depends on the individual breed. Breeds such as Border Collies and Australian Sheperds are bred primaraly to herd. Breeds such as Great Pyranese , Anatolian Shepherds and Marmian Sheepdogs are breed primaraly to guard. Breeds classed as contanental Herders such as GSD, Beauceron, Bouvier des Flanders and the Belgin Sheepdog breeds are dual purpose dogs that herd, keep the sheep in a certin area while grazing and protect the flock.

There are different kinds of sheep dogs -those that are designed primarily to move the herd like border collies and GSD's. There are also breeds that are called Livestock Guardian Dogs that are designed to simply protect the sheep from predators such as the Anatolian, the Great Pyrnees and Akbash. There are also some dogs that were originally designed to do both. There were a range of LGD's that were designed because the main predator for sheep is not always wolves. Some dogs like the Ovcharka were also designed to protect from bears.