# Great pyrenees pup not letting mom and baby out of the shed



## heathen (Jan 24, 2012)

Hi I have just had my 5 day old baby goat and his mom out of the kidding stall for a little bit this afternoon supervised so that I can be sure my 7 month old GP pup don't do anything out of line. I walked the goats out of the shed into the lot to introduce the baby to the rest of the heard. Moma goat was on the bottom of the herd but everyone gave her room snifed the baby and actually backed down from the moms threats. Jess the GP pup kept putting moma and baby back in the shed I done this 6 times before I finally  scolded him and told him to leave them be. He let them back out of the shed and followed them around the lot and kept getting between mom and baby. I had to run back into the house for a minute and when I came back out he had the baby goat sleeping next to him and was giving it a bath. Mom was to to happy about this and was rebathing the baby evrywhere the pup licked it lol. I have never had a LGD before and from what I have read this is nothing to worry about I just have to watch him around the babies. My concern is that this is not the first baby he has been around the last 4 babies including two bottle babies he laid around with them bathed them but never put them in the shed and definetly never argued with the other mother goat over who was giving the baby a bath. He has never offered to be aggresive and when the baby stood up and mom was taking the baby further away he rolled over on his back and wined at her. She then went to where I feed the goats at and he simply sat and watched them. Usually he  is hanging out with the bottle babies that are 7 months old now but he completly ignored them the entire time mom and baby was out. Soon as I put the mom back in the shed with her baby he went to his other goats snifed them all and  laid down on top of the hill watching them.  If I hadnt seen how he was acting with the baby and mom I would think he as just being his typical self. If the gate is left open he lays in front of it and will not let the goats out. Even if he gets butted he will growl and stand his grownd nothing gets out. What I am wondering is the baby that was born had to be pulled Jess had followed the mom around wining and kept running to the edge of the fence and barking then back to the mom ( thats actually how I knew somethign was up) I praised him gave him a treat and started to pull the kid I thought it wasa dead and even efter it was born thought it was going to die.  The pup never left the goats side he just sat and watched when she screamed he would wine. Yesterday was the first day it was jumping and playing normaly I do not use kidding stalls but where the baby was so week I wanted to give the benefit of not having to move  around alot with all the trouble the kid had had. The pup has free access to go in during the day the doors are shut and all the goats are locked up at nite.  Is he acting so strangly with this baby because it was or is week or was the fact it had to be pulled a factor? Or is it just that they have been in the stall for a week and he thinks thats where they belong? At what point do I take action with him trying to mother the baby the mom is a first time mom and seems a little confused on what she should do. thanks for any insite


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## carolinagirl (Jan 25, 2012)

At 7 months old, he is too young to be considered safe with livestock, especially new borns.  He is still a puppy and does not know how he is supposed to act with them yet.  Is there any way you can separate him with adult goats only until he gets more age on him?  He is heading into a period of his life when he can be expected to be a bad puppy.  Puberty is a hard time for them (and us) because he is going to test boundries and try to do anything he pleases.  It will pass and he will be a good dog again, but he really really should not be with those baby animals yet.


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## peteyfoozer (Jan 31, 2012)

what she said! These dogs don't mentally mature until around 2 years old. He is still very much a puppy and learning to steal babies from the mothers is  not a good thing! He is likely also going to want to play and roughhouse with them because he thinks of them as his 'friends'. I would limit the amount of time he is loose with young ones. Older animals can usually keep a pup in line and teach him respect. Good luck! It sounds like you have the makings of a great dog, I would just keep some limits on him right now so he doesn't develop bad habits.


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