# Was thinking of rescuing/adopting adult Anoltolian? PICTURES ADDED



## fastrnrik (Oct 11, 2012)

I have a few questions and looking for some opinions and insight. I have come across a nice looking Anotolian. He is fairly local (couple hours away) A rescue group has him in a foster home. They pulled him out of a kill shelter and do not know his history. They say he is super sweet, good with kids, dogs, cats, etc, etc, which is fine, but I am more interested in his attitude towards small livestock such as goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, etc. One of my questions to you guys who are experienced with LGDs is how much of it is instinct vs training? The reason I ask this is that we have hunted wild hogs for many years and I have been breeding and using my own catahoula leopard dogs for nearly 20 years. Granted, I consider myself to be good with dogs, but these catahoulas we have need very little in the way of actual training to do their job. They instinctively know what to do and when, and with a little fine tuning, they are ready to do their job. I know nothing about LGDs, and I didn't know if they were similar in their drive to the "job" that their breed is known for? I realize buying an adult dog from a foster home is a total crapshoot, so I guess I'm looking for opinions and insight. I like the idea of saving a dog from the pound and we are looking for a LGD so it's kind of a win/win on the surface, however I would hate to go through the time & expense to adopt him and have start eating goats & ducks. Any input would be appreciated.


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## Sugarbushdraft (Oct 11, 2012)

**I do not own any LGDs, this is just some info I've picked up from stalking  ** 

LGDs work in a way, they bond with their flock. They naturally want to defend 'their goats'. To bond a LGD with a flock, you let them sleep out with them, and such. Not sure if you can bond a full grown LGD to a new flock, but thats for experts to comment on. The 'training' LGD's need, is not to kill animals. Mostly birds. They might need training not to chase goats, or kill birds. Typically they naturally will attack things that threaten 'their flock', so they don't really need training there. So, If it would ME, I'd be so-so on this b.c. I'd be worrying about bonding the dog to the new flock.

Best of luck!


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Oct 12, 2012)

My personal opinion;  you already know the possabilities.  You seem very aware of what the different outcomes could be.  Just as with your hunting dogs, the "protective" drive of the LGD is instinctual.  You will have to give any dog, wether it be a rescued dog or a pup "supervised" time to bond with their flock/herd.  And then  continue the supervision until you are positive that they are ok with the animals.  That is the trainning.  Correct improper behavior, praise good behavior.  

I would introduce him slowly to your different animals and see how he reacts.  I am guessing you will find out very quickly if he has been in charge of birds, etc.  You also have to be aware that even if he was in charge of birds, "his birds" were used to him and most likely not all flighty and in a panic when he was around.  Your birds, may very well act all scared and flighty, which is an invitation to play chase.  Again, just something that you will have to closely supervise for a time period. 

As you say, it is a crap shoot.  You just don't know why he was surrendered/abandoned.  He could be an amazing LGD, or you could be getting a dog that is a great family pet.  As long as you are content with either one of those possabilities I would say go for it.


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## Alice Acres (Oct 12, 2012)

As the previous poster mentioned - this dog may be great with HIS home stock (going on the assumption he has been a working dog)...but that does not mean it will automatically apply to your stock. Unless he has had the opportunity to get used to changes in stock and adapting this way, it is still going to be a process. So guess what I'm saying is, even if you were buying some great, super well trained LGD, you still are going to have a transition process anyway.

If you meet the dog, like him and want to bring him home, I would 1st suggest you have a Plan B set up for him if it doesn't work out. That would be the fairest to both your family and for the dog. If you can't figure out a Plan B , then I would really hesitate to get him.
Good luck!


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## fastrnrik (Oct 12, 2012)

Thank you for the input. It's very helpful. I was going to call about the Anotolian today, but got busy. In the mean time I ran into a guy I know at a jiffy store this afternoon who has a Great Pyrenees/Maremma for sale. She is about 10 - 11 months old. He has raised her from a puppy and she is a working LGD. She is a BIG girl too LOL. I'm going to see her Sunday. I still haven't forgot about the Anotolian though.... It bugs me that a dog like is in a rescue. Knowing myself I will probably end up with him too. I've driven 12+ hours one way to save dogs before. Yes, I'm a sucker LOL. So, does anyone have any input on the Great Pyr / Maremma cross? I have read a lot about the Great Pyr, but have never heard of a Maremma. I looked them up online and they seem to a great LGD like the others. Thanks again for all the help.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 12, 2012)

Maremma's are also great LGD's. The mix of mar/Pyr is very common here, mostly because there really are not a lot of Maremma around so often they are crossed with the pyr. Very similar in appearance, type, etc.  You see that with the Kuvasz too.

Well.... ya know if she is already a guardian AND you do get the Anatolian (hint hint) she will teach him some of the right ways! LGD's IMO work so much better in teams. You will still have to acclimate her to her new herd/flock etc.

When I can figure how to do pictures (by myself) I will post pics of our LGD's "playing", but in their "play" you see how each dog has it's job in taking down a predator. Very interesting to see in how they play their roles out. One always takes out the back leg, grabsand pulls, then the male pyr will come over the back and his whole mouth will be over the spine, between mid back and the rear. The shepherd always goes for the throat. Amazing! Yet they are all gentle and great with people, each other and all the "pets". Most of the time we never get to see how these dogs work as a team because they are usually doing their job at night or generally out of your sight.


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

I have been looking up the great pyr's and maremma online and they seem to look fairly similar- white or blonde-ish colored. The dog for sale here is black with a little white. He says its a rare color? Is that correct? In all my looking I can't find a black one. Not to say it doesn't exist, I just haven't seen it anywhere. The actual dog- appearance, coat, build etc looks like the other LGD's, just the color is different.

I understand about them working as a team. The catahoulas we  had worked VERY well as a team! I have seen them work together to catch countless 300 + lb wild boars, and literally break & tear coyotes in half. It awesome to watch any working dog work. Several years ago we had some local meth heads breaking into our shop and offices (our business is up near the road, house & farm in the back). They hit us several times and the local cops were no help. So one night I happened to see lights up by the road and a car park in the shadows out by the gate. I quickly loaded three leopard dogs in the golf cart and slipped through the woods to the shop area, and I was well hidden in the dark treeline. Two white trash meth heads jumped the fence and ran to the shop (about 200 yards wide open area). I let them go and watched them break into one of the work trucks. The dogs were ready to roll, but they are well trained and will not move until they are told to and will not sound off until they are baying and/or catching. So the thieves came out with several tools, construction lasers, etc. When they got halfway to the road (100 yards from shop and 100 yards from their car, point of no return!) I put the leopard dogs on them. The two male dogs caught the bigger thief- one hit him high and one hit him low and took him down. The female dog took the smaller guy down. The two male dogs were stretching and trying to tear the ol boy apart, so I called them off and let them play with the smaller guy for a minute. I called the dogs off and watched the robbers now shredded, bloody, and without their loot straggling to their car. When I looked at the scene with all the blood & mess, I noticed a small handgun laying on the ground. Apparently one of the tweakers dropped it while getting shredded. Thankfully I had the working dogs to handle it. Always wondered what happened if I had went up to confront them by myself. Anyway, I called the cops (yet again) and they found the guys in the hospital and arrested them. I've not had any more problems since then LOL


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## Alice Acres (Oct 13, 2012)

fastrnrik said:
			
		

> I have been looking up the great pyr's and maremma online and they seem to look fairly similar- white or blonde-ish colored. The dog for sale here is black with a little white. He says its a rare color? Is that correct? In all my looking I can't find a black one. Not to say it doesn't exist, I just haven't seen it anywhere. The actual dog- appearance, coat, build etc looks like the other LGD's, just the color is different.
> 
> I understand about them working as a team. The catahoulas we  had worked VERY well as a team! I have seen them work together to catch countless 300 + lb wild boars, and literally break & tear coyotes in half. It awesome to watch any working dog work. Several years ago we had some local meth heads breaking into our shop and offices (our business is up near the road, house & farm in the back). They hit us several times and the local cops were no help. So one night I happened to see lights up by the road and a car park in the shadows out by the gate. I quickly loaded three leopard dogs in the golf cart and slipped through the woods to the shop area, and I was well hidden in the dark treeline. Two white trash meth heads jumped the fence and ran to the shop (about 200 yards wide open area). I let them go and watched them break into one of the work trucks. The dogs were ready to roll, but they are well trained and will not move until they are told to and will not sound off until they are baying and/or catching. So the thieves came out with several tools, construction lasers, etc. When they got halfway to the road (100 yards from shop and 100 yards from their car, point of no return!) I put the leopard dogs on them. The two male dogs caught the bigger thief- one hit him high and one hit him low and took him down. The female dog took the smaller guy down. The two male dogs were stretching and trying to tear the ol boy apart, so I called them off and let them play with the smaller guy for a minute. I called the dogs off and watched the robbers now shredded, bloody, and without their loot straggling to their car. When I looked at the scene with all the blood & mess, I noticed a small handgun laying on the ground. Apparently one of the tweakers dropped it while getting shredded. Thankfully I had the working dogs to handle it. Always wondered what happened if I had went up to confront them by myself. Anyway, I called the cops (yet again) and they found the guys in the hospital and arrested them. I've not had any more problems since then LOL


Oh, that is most excellent!!!


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## Bossroo (Oct 13, 2012)

Alice Acres said:
			
		

> fastrnrik said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


X2 !!!  With well trained dogs like yours... why are you worried about some mere predators ?  Since this dog is in a shelter and in their            " expert" opinion exhibits a " rare color "  I would suspect that it may be just another  x-bred mongrel (that they are trying to unload for a huge "adoption fee" or "donation" )and may not be well suited as a LGD.   ( example:  one of my son's friends in town whent to a shelter and adopted ( $$$)  what they were told was a "purebred Pug " ... turns out to be a Boxer  x ? ).


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## Southern by choice (Oct 13, 2012)

There is no way the black and white dog is a Maremma/Pyr. There is definitely something else there.

Your dogs did an excellent job in doing their job!  Sad thing is now in this crazy culture the bad guys always get the break and the dogs end up getting taken away and killed. Glad reason was in your favor!


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

Oh, I have NOoooooo problems with predators when the leopard dogs are out. They will kill, or at least try to kill, any land based predator they can catch. The problem is, they are not exactly "livestock safe" I could probably make them stand down if I stood by, but left unattended they would have a goat snack with a side of poultry fries. They are hunting / chase dogs and its hard to get that out of them once they're grown. I am confident I could train a good catahoula puppy to be livestock safe predator killer, but our last female died, so we don't have our own puppies anymore, and I haven't been able to find any puppies that I like (I'm VERY picky). Catahoulas are a breed that does not have a strict "standard" so you see mix breeds and crosses with everything under the sun and they labeled as catahoulas, so you have to be really careful and know the history of them. Heck, it seems any dog with a merle coat or glass eye or any unknown hound gets labeled as a catahoula around here. That's what led us to breeding them in the first place.  And to be honest, I was wanting an LGD not only to watch our animals, but because we want something different.  

 The black dog that is supposed to be the great pyr/maremma cross isn't at a shelter, she's at a local farm. I have a picture I can try to post or send to somebody to post for me. Maybe you guys can figure out what she is. I'm going to see her tomorrow. The aonotolian I found was at a shelter. I also found a lot of great pyr's in my area. Apparently there is a large club and rescue organization specifically for them in Florida. I'm sure most are pets, but ya never know. I agree about the "adoption" and "re-homing" fees. Some of these organizations and "rescue" people are crazy with what they charge. I don't support those types of places.

And you're right, the culture today is skewed to the bad guys rights. My dogs vacationed at a friends house in another county after the incident, just in case the local government wanted to try to quarantine them or any of that nonsense. When we went to court I told the judge if I'd have known they had a gun, I would have let the dogs finish them off. When it comes down to my family or a meth head.... well sorry bout your luck tweaker. The fellas that got bit tried to make me look like the bad guy, and said they had a flat tire and were just coming to use the phone, blah blah blah. Yeah, at 3 am while they carried my stuff off LOL. No one wanted to hear it.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 13, 2012)

I think 5 more posts and you can put up a picture!

We originally were going to go through a Pyr rescue group but that was a no go. The two we looked into basically had a 10 page questionnaire and it was definitely their intent to actually never place a dog! No dog from either place was ever going to an LGD home. Period! I'm guessing a lot of these dogs were from "pet" homes and they wonder why they ended up in a rescue, go figure. These dogs really are happiest in doing a job. They are certainly not without their issues though. We have 1 anatolian and 3 pyrs, all fantastic.   Training them up for poultry is the issue mostly. In fairness they really weren't bred to protect poultry, so it takes time and patience.

Glad the judge saw the situation for it's reality.


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

haha I agree. A friend of mine tried to adopt a lab from a lab rescue place and he said the questionaire was crazy. They wanted extensive financial & credit info and all sorts of crap. He laughed at them and left. I know they have to verify that you can take care of the dog, but isn't the ultimate goal to find the dog a home? Why make it so difficult?

I think poultry is difficult for a lot of dogs. Their behavior just triggers a dogs catch "that looks yummy" instinct. My basset hound however could care less about them. He is a wimp and doesn't pay any of the animals any attention LOL  

5 more post huh? Guess I better start typing LOL


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## Southern by choice (Oct 13, 2012)

your down to 4 now!


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

4


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

3


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

2


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## fastrnrik (Oct 13, 2012)

and 1


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## Alice Acres (Oct 13, 2012)

Yay!

It wasn't so long ago that I was tempted to do the same thing.


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## babsbag (Oct 14, 2012)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> There is no way the black and white dog is a Maremma/Pyr. There is definitely something else there.


Don't be so sure about that. I have a pyr/maremma male and a pyr/anatolian/ akbash/ovcharka female. They had pups last year and I ended up with 2 that were black and white. Here is a picture of one of them. 







I did some research and there are black pyrs. My female did not get out and did not have any visitors so I knew the pups were from my male.

The pup could very well be an LGD breed. If she hasn't been around poultry I would be a little cautious. LGD or not, poultry is the ultimate squeaky toy. My dogs are 2 years old and have been with my goats and birds since they were 8 weeks, and I still don't trust them, and I still lose a bird now and then.

What I have discovered though is that they don't like new birds. The old ones they ignore now, but when I put 15 new ones in the pasture I lost one a day for about 6 days. I also had a guinea fly into the pasture by mistake and they killed it. Other chickens that live in my orchard most of the time are in grave danger if they enter the pasture by error. But chicks that are hatched out under the barn are completly safe. I am now trying to introduce new birds by putting them in a dog kennel in the pasture for a week before turning them lose. I am hoping this works. I can't fault them for not accepting new birds, that is kinda the way they are wired.

I am in complete awe and terribly jealous of dogs that are completly bird safe.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 14, 2012)

> I have a pyr/maremma male and a pyr/anatolian/ akbash/ovcharka female. They had pups last year and I ended up with 2 that were black and white. Here is a picture of one of them.


More than likely passed to the pups from the ovcharka part in your female.

There are a lot of "accidents" out there and people are less than honest and like to pass off dogs as being "rare", special breeding-highly valuable etc. etc. .

I did google this too, and it was as I figured... but out of respect for our poster and staying on subject, I will say with a big smile.... NO COMMENT.   

BTW  the pup is cute


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## Roll farms (Oct 14, 2012)

I went to look at 'Pyr' pups once...got there and some were black.  The father was obviously a Newfie (I have one), webbed feet and no DD claws.... but they assured me he was a 'black pyr' b/c that's what someone told them.  

I agree they do best in M / F pairs.  All you can do is try it.  Good luck.


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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)




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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)




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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)




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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)

Here are some pictures of her. She's not quite a year old. That's a 4' fence she's propped up on in the one picture. I have no idea about what the different LGD breeds should look like, so if anyone has any input, feel free to speak up. As I said, the guy says she's a great pyr/maremma cross. I know the guy a little bit and I don't think he's a BS'er, if anything, maybe whoever he got the dog from told him it was that breed and he's just repeating it. I don't always judge an adult dog solely on breeding, but also by personality, temperment, mannerisms, etc. I'm going over there this afternoon, so we'll see.

I'm not particularly worried about chickens, as we only have a few, but we have a lot of really friendly pet ducks & geese down at the pond and an awesome pet turkey around the yard and I don't want them turned into kibble

As a sidenote about dogs killing chickens.... When I was in high school I had a bulldog/cur dog that started killing our neighbors chickens. My grandpa was an old school farmer and told me to tie one of the dead chickens to the dogs neck/collar and leave it. I did, and as you can imagine, after a few days it got RIPE and eventually fell off. That dog never killed another chicken. Didn't even show any interest in them. Didn't know if any of you have ever heard of anything like that?

Thanks again for the input on the LGD.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 14, 2012)

> The dog for sale here is black with a little white. He says its a rare color?


Sorry, this is not a pyr/maremma. You are right, maybe that is just what he was told. 

She is a cutie though. I do notice she is fenced in and not with any livestock (or it appears that way) I notice chickens in the background, and ducks to the side. I also notice that a fence is separating her from them.



> I'm not particularly worried about chickens, as we only have a few, but we have a lot of really friendly pet ducks & geese down at the pond and an awesome pet turkey around the yard and I don't want them turned into kibble


I would definitely want to see her with the ducks etc first. I wouldn't just ask questions of why she is separated from them, ask the guy to put her with them, for at least 20 minutes while you all move back and watch her from a distance. I would hate to see your pets eaten.



> As a sidenote about dogs killing chickens.... When I was in high school I had a bulldog/cur dog that started killing our neighbors chickens. My grandpa was an old school farmer and told me to tie one of the dead chickens to the dogs neck/collar and leave it. I did, and as you can imagine, after a few days it got RIPE and eventually fell off. That dog never killed another chicken. Didn't even show any interest in them.


Some it has worked for others not, most dogs actually love dead things. Some dogs think this is a reward, and are happy to carry it around til it falls off and now they get a "toy". Worth trying though.


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## Roll farms (Oct 14, 2012)

I know Maremmas are more streamlined and shorter-coated than pyrs but....that dog hasn't got the build of a pyr / maremma cross from what I've seen of them.
Looks more like a Border Collie x to me....could be some pyr in there but....maybe border collie x maremma?

She's a pretty dog but agree w/ SBC, she may be seperated for a reason and I'd hate for your critters to suffer for it.   Herding breeds can be very rough on livestock if they don't have room to work / run.


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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)

I noticed the fence between her & the birds. He said she stays with goats, and I can see a goat house in the picture. I dunno. I guess I will know more later today. I'm a little more skeptical now....

She is cute .Any thoughts on what she may be? Glad I posted on here, because I have no idea about these dogs.


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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)

I surely don't want any kind of border collie. I knew a guy who had those and they are not for me.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 14, 2012)

She has good height, and sorta pyrish ears, eyes, muzzle. Her coat however is really off. Not dense or longish, I know that's not really a word.  I'm guessing maybe lab in her. I would think if she was pyr/BC there would be more fringe on legs chest tail, and should would probably lose a little height too. No way to tell. :/  Gosh is she cute though! Her face is just so kissable, if you do that sort of thing-you know smoosh their muzzle, not that I ever would do such a thing  . Do you know why the guy is trying to re-home her?
I may have missed this, so sorry if I did and am asking a careless question, are you looking for a LGD for that purpose or a property protector, or a family guardian?


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## bonbean01 (Oct 14, 2012)

She's a sweet looking girl 

No idea if she has any border collie in her or not...lab mix?  Really don't know.  But, about border collies...as a kid growing up on a farm we had lovely border collie Rex.  He was not a LGD, but a farm watch dog and our pet.  He never touched any of our chickens or turkeys and scared off fox that came close.  So, when a friend in town (half mile from our place) phoned to say Rex had killed a chicken, we were sure it was not Rex since he never harmed not even one chick or chicken at our place.  My Dad said it had to be a border collie who looked like Rex and that if that happened again, he should shoot him.

Well...friend called again a few days later to say Rex had killed several more chickens and he really did not want to kill our dog.  Again, my Dad said it could not be our Rex as he stays on the farm and doesn't go after chickens or turkey.

We came back from the city one afternoon, and there was Rex stumbling into our driveway with a bullet hole in his forehead and blood and chicken feathers still in his mouth.  Rex stumbled to us and we held him and he died quickly then...amazing he came home to die in that condition and of course we were heartbroken.  This is a dog that made my Mom take us in the house for any spanking as he'd grab her wrist to stop it...not bite or hurt her, but stop her....what kid doesn't love a dog like that?

My Dad drove to our friend's place with chickens to replace one the ones Rex killed and extras.  

So, even a dog who protects and does not harm his family's poultry does not mean it won't kill other peoples poultry.  Really hope that if you get this dog you don't have losses!!!


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Oct 14, 2012)

Wow. That is a horribly sad story.


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## bonbean01 (Oct 14, 2012)

Yes...Really loved our Rex!  But it does show that even a dog you know super well and trust is capable of doing this sort of thing.  We thought he stayed home all the time...obviously when we went to the city he would go to town for chicken dinner and be back home before we were.

Even if this dog is good with poultry (although the fencing makes it look like maybe she is not?) then the original poster may get a dog that goes after the poultry there.  She may not see them as "hers"


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## Southern by choice (Oct 14, 2012)

Very true bonbean(love that name). We have about 150 chickens free- ranging everywhere but different groups tend to hang out in certain areas. The chickens will walk in/out of the fencing, the dogs generally ignore them because "those chickens" belong there. When a foreign chicken goes through the wrong fencing that is when we have a problem. Right now we have a gazillion Modern Game bantams, they are such prolific breeders and every time you turn around there is a new clutch following mommy out of the woods. If the chicks walk through the fencing to the LGD's they are dead! They don't eat them, just step on them and kill them that way.

LGD's can be a pain sometimes! Our good ole farm mutt oversees everything on the farm-EVERYTHING. Kills only what she is suppose to.
Our Heritage turkeys have been real bad lately, they love to linger around chicks to kill them. Poor chickens, they never get a break. All I have to say is "Lu- drive 'em out"  and point where I want em and it's done!

She is a great farm dog and extremely watchful but in the end she can't take down a pack of coyotes or a bobcat. 

Btw-   about Rex


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## Bossroo (Oct 14, 2012)

The shape of this dog's head and  coat characteristics show  hints that it has Golden Retriever? in it's genetic background.


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## redtailgal (Oct 14, 2012)

She looks like a Flat coated retriever cross to me..........which would put the border collie/ golden retriever spot on.

Flat coated retrievers are derived from black golden retrievers........dubious breeders will often cross a golden with a border to get what is supposed to be a flat coated retriever with markings... and market it as something special.  The white toes and white underbelly is a tell tale sign to me.

Border/Golden crosses tend to have alot of teeth issues, so if you get this girl, be sure to check her mouth and bite structure well, check for deep check pockets that may hold food and cause the molars to rot easily.

They also tend to be HIGH energy dogs, with poor attention span, and have a knack for chewing.  They can be highly intelligent and I've seen alot of them used for flyball and agility.

While I am not one to say that a partcular breed cannot to a specific job (I had a dobe that was a WONDERFUL rabbit and bird dog),  I would not trust this dog around my livestock.

jes my two cents........take it or leave it!


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## Southern by choice (Oct 14, 2012)

Funny, that would have been my first guess but I always go with probability. Since flat coated retrievers are not just everywhere I thought the probability of that kind of mating would be a little unlikely. Amazing how mutts can look like so many different "almost" breeds. 

I keep checking to see what fastrnrik  decided...


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## fastrnrik (Oct 14, 2012)

Southern by choice said:
			
		

> She has good height, and sorta pyrish ears, eyes, muzzle. Her coat however is really off. Not dense or longish, I know that's not really a word.  I'm guessing maybe lab in her. I would think if she was pyr/BC there would be more fringe on legs chest tail, and should would probably lose a little height too. No way to tell. :/  Gosh is she cute though! Her face is just so kissable, if you do that sort of thing-you know smoosh their muzzle, not that I ever would do such a thing  . Do you know why the guy is trying to re-home her?
> I may have missed this, so sorry if I did and am asking a careless question, are you looking for a LGD for that purpose or a property protector, or a family guardian?


I believe the guy said he was downsizing and getting rid of his goats so he doesn't need dogs. He apparently has more than one dog, but was keeping others as pets. 

Haha she is cute and does look awfully friendly and kissable. 

I am looking for a LGD to patrol the property for predators and to keep an eye on our critters. The ducks & geese are in our pond which is a few hundred yards from the house and barn. We have a fairly large tract of land, but I'm really just wanting one to patrol our "core" area of about 10 acres, if that makes sense. 

I'm not sure what to do. I'm not a "dog snob", but I certainly don't want to pay good money for a certain breed of dog and it be a mutt.


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## Grazer (Oct 14, 2012)

She resembles this black Lab/Great Pyr mix a lot.







And I agree with other posters, she could very well be a Flat coated retriever cross


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## fastrnrik (Oct 15, 2012)

I think I'm going to pass on this dog. I have nothing against mutts or mixes, had a lot of good ones, but I don't want to spend several hundred dollars on one either. She is a sweetheart and I like her, and would take her, but not at the price the guy wants. Guess I will keep looking. Maybe I'll find a catahoula puppy or two. I know how to they look & act LOL.

Thank you to everybody for the info. It was very helpful and helped save me  from a mistake.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 15, 2012)

Glad you were able to come to a decision you are comfortable with! Now, what about the anatolian?


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## babsbag (Oct 15, 2012)

She looks like my border collies.   She does not look like my pyr/maremma mix.

I am not going to argue black or white pyr but here is the website I ran across when I was wondering where my black pups came from. I am no pyr expert and I don't really care one way or the other, but just thought I would share what I read.

http://bar6diamondranch.com/lgdsinfobackpyr.html


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## fastrnrik (Oct 15, 2012)

I filled out the application for the rescue place. Waiting to hear back. They don't communicate well, which bugs me. 

After researching LGD's, I'm going to take my time and find a good one, preferably two. Probably pups so I can know their history and teach them how I want. I need dogs on patrol, but I don't want to get in a rush and end up with a pet laying on the porch.

That website is interesting. They have nice looking pups, and they seem like decent prices. Is that around the going price for LGD pups?


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## babsbag (Oct 16, 2012)

I paid 200.00 for my female and 300 for the male so I think that there price is about what you can expect for a dog that is a purebred and from working stock. There is a lot of work that goes into making a dog a good LGD and it doesn't just happen on its own as many want you to believe. A good breeder will be there to help you and work with you and also to take the dog back if things don't work out.

The longer the pup stays with its working parent the better. They say they can learn a lot from the parents. When I sold my pups though I sold them at 8-10 weeks. I just couldn't have 9 puppies under foot in the barn. They were in to everything and wanted to help me milk


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Oct 16, 2012)

babsbag said:
			
		

> She looks like my border collies.   She does not look like my pyr/maremma mix.
> 
> I am not going to argue black or white pyr but here is the website I ran across when I was wondering where my black pups came from. I am no pyr expert and I don't really care one way or the other, but just thought I would share what I read.
> 
> *http://bar6diamondranch.com/lgdsinfobackpyr.html*


*
*

Interesting web site.  Beautiful dogs too!


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