# This poor excuse of a lap dog wants to be a livestock guard dog, or maybe I need her to be???



## 258 Pots (Apr 24, 2015)

She was mistreated the first year and half of her life.  She was crated 14-22 hours a day and is VERY sensitive to tone.  You can see in these photos' first she has a big smile then once I try to get her attention she cowers.  Working on building up her self confidence, fine line is I need her to protect the chickens and goats but keep the hawks and coyotes at bay.  Last night my lovely wife and I were out admiring the garden over a campfire and the yotes, where less than 100 yards away...

She is eager and loves to please, the key steps here will first patience, then patience, combine that with love and more patience and she will get it.


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## Goat Whisperer (Apr 24, 2015)

What kind of dog is she?


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## 258 Pots (Apr 24, 2015)

She is a white German Shepherd, she has all the skills just not quite the confidence I need her to have.  I'm thinking of building some obstacles for her to overcome and maybe that would help.


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## Southern by choice (Apr 26, 2015)

The shepherd will be bonded and loyal to you. They are not Livestock Guardians.  A livestock guardian lives with, bonds and is loyal to their charges including property bonding. I highly doubt your shepherd will be willing to live with your chickens and goats full time and protect, their inclination is to you the master. Herding dogs are herding dogs and are not the best choice for a guardian. She will be eager to please you not the herd. 

Patience only goes so far. There are some dogs that are just born with weak nerves. She may be a wonderful pet for you but I would not expect her to be a guardian of livestock. That is what specific other breeds were bred for the Shepherd is not one of them.


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## 258 Pots (Apr 26, 2015)

Yea, I realize she isn't ed zachary what you would start with, I have low expectations, maybe a halfway decent general farm dog...  Either way she is a rescue and has a lifetime pass, hoping maybe I can get some work out of her.  Thinking of leaving her over night with the goat and kids, I wouldn't put her in with the goats but give her run of the barn at night.


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## Southern by choice (Apr 26, 2015)

If she is already showing any signs of separation anxiety and or weak nerves I wouldn't recommend it.
I don't know how long you have had her but it may be best to allow her routine and time to bond with her human masters. I would be hesitant to lock her in an unfamiliar territory as she very well could try to escape, go over a divider and possibly entertain herself with the goats.

Of course I am basing this off the idea you have had her for a short time. Dogs that were crated, kenneled for a long time, especially shepherds tend to get kennel mad. It  takes time for them to overcome some of the "madness". Of course I never recommend playing into the neurosis but help to train them out of it. 

I am glad you are happy with whatever her role ends up being... a couch potato or hopefully a farm dog. 

She is a cutie for sure and sad to hear she was living in a crate for so long.  Glad she isn't anymore!


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## 258 Pots (Apr 26, 2015)

I've had her for a couple of years now, she is very eager and likes to chase birds out of the property, so maybe...


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## Pearce Pastures (Apr 27, 2015)

We had friends that adopted an older GSD who must have had some trauma in her younger years.  They spent a LOT of time resocializing her, giving her praise and treats at every new experience, and trying to reassure her that she was safe.  They took her several times weekly to a leashed dog exercise yard/park to get her comfortable with unfamiliar people and dogs---it was mildly helpful and she is still wary of people she does not see all of the time.   Loves her owners to pieces but is not a fan of cats, birds, squirrels, and small dogs.


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## 258 Pots (Apr 30, 2015)

Both of my dogs showed way too much interest in the chickens, that isn't something I can turn off, I suspect my dogs are chicken killers...


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## Baymule (May 20, 2015)

Good for you for giving her a good home.


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## Baymule (May 20, 2015)

Good for you for giving her a good home.


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## Ridgetop (May 21, 2015)

How much acreage do you want her to protect?  She will probably not be a good LGD  - like Southern says those dogs have an inbred sense of bonding to their livestock where a GSD is bred to bond to her owner.  Her first loyalty will be to you and your family.  BUT she can very well become a good farm dog and keep the coyotes off the home property if you don't have too big a spread.  If you have a couple acres with good exterior perimeter fencing, a secure chicken pen and lock the goats up at night, she will probably keep the coyotes off the property if she has access to do so at night.  Does she try to bark and scare them away now?  If she doesn't try to drive them off now, then I wouldn't try to turn her into a farm guard.  If she has been damaged too the point that she has no confidence to bark at the coyotes you are having trouble with now, or scare them away, and you have had her 3 years, she might never be a farm guard. 
She can still be a lovable family pet.  She is lucky to have you to save her.

If she will go after the coyotes now, you will need a doggy door if she sleeps inside (which is my recommendation if she is still in the bonding process).  Abused dogs (and children) can take years to bond and trust.  Good LGDs won't sleep inside at night and often refuse to enter the house at all even though they love you.  Their primary drive is to stay with the herd or flock.  LGDs have a huge amount of self confidence because they believe themselves able to protect against anything.  A reason many people in a high predator area have several LGDs is to provide back up for the dogs because a single LGD is willing to take on all comers and can get killed or injured if they go up against a cougar, bear, or large coyote pack.  (Also they are really cool dogs. LOL)

Please _don't_ lock her up in the goat pen in an attempt to help her bond to or love the goats.  The possibility that she will injure or kill one while unsupervised is too great.  A sheep or goat killer must be destroyed so don't take a chance with this sweet girl.  I speak from experience, having had a well adjusted sporting breed dog that was raised from a pup suddenly start killing sheep after several years of living amicably with them.  He never showed any interest in them when we were with them, but by the time I realized it was our own dog, not predators, he had killed 6 sheep, several of whom were havily pregnant.  Our monetary losses were staggering, and if he hadn't been a valuable champion co-owned with someone else, I would have had to shoot him.  As it was he was rehomed in the city but with the warning that he could never be off lead again in an area with livestock.  Since he was a hunting dog, this stops his getting his SD rating cold.  This was a dog who was never mistreated, was well socialized, and obedience trained.


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