# Adopting a rescued Livestock Guardian Breed Dog



## Catahoula (Nov 20, 2013)

I am thinking someday I would like a LGD. I especially love the Anatolian Shepherd. I have found an Anatolian Rescue organization but wondering if it is ok to adopt one from them. The problem is most of the dogs are not trained as working dog. If I can find one that is young enough, do you think s/he would bond with my goats/alpaca and may take on his/her breed traits? It seem so 'wasteful' to pick a puppy when there are hundreds of dogs needing a home. ??


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## Southern by choice (Nov 20, 2013)

Many of the dogs end up in the rescues because they _didn't_ have a job to begin with and really are difficult as "pets" in suburbia. Some rescues will not allow any dogs to go to homes where they will be used as livestock guardians... a lot of those are Great Pyrenees rescues though. Age isn't really the biggest factor, temperament is critical though.
of course this isn't across the board but I have found male Anatolians can be very male/male aggressive... just a heads up.


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## Catahoula (Nov 20, 2013)

Exactly...they don't allow dogs to go as livestock guardian or they are really not trained to do so...forcing me to get a puppy or hope to find a already working dog. Then I would hear rescue people venting about getting puppies or breeding more dogs when there are plenty that need homes. Sigh.... I would rather rescue a dog and not have to raise a puppy. Maybe I'll get lucky. Rescue/shelters sometimes get trained working dogs once in awhile...


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## Southern by choice (Nov 20, 2013)

Too bad you are in CO as here in NC there are always mature LGD's that need to find new LGD homes... people can no longer keep goats, unemployment, moving... a working sound LGD is up and gone in less than 24hrs!
Some of these dogs end up at rescues because of the inexperience  and lack of training ... amazing how people think just because the are a LGD breed they can shove them in the field and expect the dog to know and do everything just right! Grrrrrrrrrr!


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## treeclimber233 (Dec 1, 2013)

Do you have a number to one of these rescues?  I am still trying to replace my LGD


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## Southern by choice (Dec 1, 2013)

Here the rescues won't place them, these are all people that are privately rehoming.

I will look in my archives... at one time I had the name of an Anatolian rescue that actually keeps the dogs with livestock and they are rehomed with that purpose.


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## bonbean01 (Dec 1, 2013)

My two cents worth...and I've never had a LGD...adopting a pet that will be just a pet is a good thing...just adopted a little dog myself, and his purpose is just to be a pet.

But, if I was looking for a working breed LGD, that would be a very different thing...I would want one from a respected breeder who knows that breed well and could give me pointers right from the start.  I personally would not have an unknown dog put in with my sheep and hope for the best.

Currently there is someone locally on Craig's list trying to rehome an adult Pyr...saying it is great for protecting livestock, although it has up to now only lived in the city...red flags all over that!  If they don't get any takers, it will become a rescue or brought to an animal shelter.

That's my two cents worth...which isn't worth much these days...although I have no LGDs...love the breeds and follow threads about them and read about them...love the LGD breeds!


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## treeclimber233 (Dec 2, 2013)

Well if the rescue is keeping the LGD with animals I would be able to see them with the animals (goats and chickens I hope).  I would be very wary of someone that does not have dogs with animals trying to tell me they are good guardians.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 2, 2013)

You may want to look at this... a place to start anyway....
http://www.anatoliandog.org/lgdr-poc.htm

they have many breeds it is Livestock Guardians Rescue


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## Four Winds Ranch (Dec 2, 2013)

I wouldn't suggest adopting an adult LGD, unless you can go and see how it acts and what its's job is at it's previous home!!!  
I did it last year    and it was/is definatly a learning experience!!! I would never do it again!   Very, very firm on this point!!!!


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 2, 2013)

We adopted this guy at 18 months old.  I don't know if rescue would be the right word, since he came from a goat home.  But, they rescued him from people who had to sell their livestock.  The people I got him from just didn't need him and he lived with the bucks and we were looking a dog.
You need to make sure they like hay 

We love Mikey


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## Southern by choice (Dec 2, 2013)

Yes, you do need to be careful. However, there are many working good LGD's out there. Many have had to leave farming, people are losing their land, farms, homes. No economy... no jobs... livestock gets sold off and the dogs are left. Big developers buy out the poor farmers and develop the land... all is gone. 

*Treeclimber *weren't you suspicious of foul play with your last LGD? Have you ever figured anything out about it? (Sorry if my memory has served me wrong and that wasn't you)


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## treeclimber233 (Dec 2, 2013)

Yes I think someone opened a gate and let him out.  I had a doe coming into season and separated from my mixed buck.  When I went to the barn that night the gate was open (much wider than I open it) and my goat was with the herd.  (need I say she has not been in season since????)  I think someone heard her hollering and "opened the gate so the poor thing could get back with the herd".  When I get another dog I will start locking the gates so nobody can leave them open.  I am currently putting hotwire around my complete property to stop people from just hoping over the fence and wandering around at my barn.  I am also thinking about putting invisible fence along the fence line to stop any future dog from climbing or digging.  Drift was bad about climbing over one particular gate at the barn.  I did not really care because I had another gate that I closed to keep him in the field and out of the yard.  That night I had put a section of plywood   on top of the gate that he climbed and did not worry about closing the outside gate. If I had closed that gate he would not have been able to get completely out of the field. I already have the invisible fence for my border collie mix so it would not be hard to splice into it and extend it around my field.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 2, 2013)

Were you able to check out the link? Anything worthwhile come up?


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## treeclimber233 (Dec 2, 2013)

I gave it a quick peek. Nothing really caught my eye.  There were some females I looked at but I have been cautioned not to get a female because I already have a female border collie.  She has  some domination issues.   I did see on one link that if I contact her she will look for a dog that  has been a guardian in the past.  So many people are unable to keep their animals and farms it is scarey.  Is it ever going to get better again?


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## Mike CHS (Dec 3, 2013)

I have a novice question to satisfy my curiousity.

How difficult is it to keep an LGD that has been a guard dog in the past as a pet and later revert back into guard dog duty?  We have had two occasions recently where a good working dog was needing rehomed but we won't be on our small farm until next year. In both cases the beautiful creatures were really social but I have no idea how flexible they can be.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 3, 2013)

The difficulty is in actually keeping them as a pet.
I raise my LGD's diffierently than most. All mine are house trained, spend time in the house and will move to any environment I put them in. However, they do not want to be house dogs. We currently have a bitch that had a litter of pups, after she stepped on some and killed them (day2) we moved her in the house with the pups so we wouldn't lose anymore. "Amy" is wonderful in the house and is quite acclimated... sleeps on the couch , will spend hours in the house just fine BUT she lets us know when she wants out... she loves her field and misses it. Now that the pups are 4 weeks yesterday Amy doesn't want to be in... she wants to be out doing her job. They are nocturnal, even the pups by 2 weeks, are up all night.  LGD's LOVE their jobs and get bored easily if they don't have a job. Often the house is too hot for them as they grow heavy thick coats for winter. I would love for one of my Pyrs to be a house dog... just not gonna happen. 
A working dog taken and put into a house for a long period of time will usually be a real PITbehind, get bored, make you miserable.  The dog will be miserable too. Wait til you get your place, then search for your LGD. They are truly amazing animals and this way it will be a positive experience all the way around.


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## Mike CHS (Dec 3, 2013)

Southern by choice said:


> A working dog taken and put into a house for a long period of time will usually be a real PITbehind, get bored, make you miserable.  The dog will be miserable too. Wait til you get your place, then search for your LGD. They are truly amazing animals and this way it will be a positive experience all the way around.


 
That was about what I expected but from reading your posts, I really think I would prefer raising ours like you do yours.  We already have a working Border Collie pup that is being trained and is pretty much of a pet also so we'll wait on the LGD.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 3, 2013)

Mike CHS said:


> That was about what I expected but from reading your posts, I really think I would prefer raising ours like you do yours.  We already have a working Border Collie pup that is being trained and is pretty much of a pet also so we'll wait on the LGD.


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## Allysha1990 (Dec 3, 2013)

I feel your frustration. I want to get a LGD and considered getting one from a shelter, however when I looked into it, all the LGD breed rescues do not let any of their dogs go to homes unless they are going to be indoor dogs... Yes, a Pyrenees (the breed I would like) as an indoor dog in my tiny home, right haha!
I am not keeping my eyes open for a LGD puppy in my area but despite the fact that every farm seems to have one, there are not too many for sale!


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## BrownSheep (Dec 3, 2013)

I think rescues can be a little blind when it comes to the purpose that the dogs were bred for.  I know a lot of people who see a dog ( or sheep for that matter) lying in the snow and think they are being mistreated. When in actuality the animal is far happier lying in the snow vs. in a house. My sheep and saints love lying in the cold in the winter when they both have shelter.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 3, 2013)

Very true!

Some of the rescues do rehome to LGD homes but this can be very tricky as well. I try to help find homes for LGd's here and I can tell you it is not easy. There are 2 dogs now that the people have sold all their goats but 2. After a lot of questions etc both dogs do "occasionally" chase goats. The dogs are 1 and 2 yrs old. It is difficult to determine if these dogs are bored and have no job to do or if these dogs are problem dogs, can they be worked with etc.
The travel time for me to go see the dogs is 2-2 1/2 hrs *one way*.
And what is really frustrating is there is no way I can find them a home under those circumstances. If I could keep the dogs for a few weeks I would know their status and could work with them.


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## Catahoula (Jan 5, 2014)

LOL, right now. I think it is harder to convince my husband to let me have a LGD than finding one through rescue. The last month or so, there have been some sighting of one or two bears in our area. One large black bear was walking through our property. My neighbor had called me to warn me about the bear coming my way so I had time to lock up the goats. Apparently the bear had been up and down through our property for a few times more but I wasn't home or I wasn't aware of it till someone said something. All these other times, the goats and alpaca were out of the barn. Perhaps the bear is just not interested but I have known bears attacking goats in our area. Anyway, I found someone who sold their farm and was in need to find a new home for her dog. She refused me because I only have 4 acres and she wanted the dog to go to a bigger place. I mentioned the dog to my husband and he shook his head... Just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.


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## denimeggs (Jan 22, 2014)

I think that if you have a good mature LGD already, then you can try a young untrained rescue dog because it will have a mentor. Otherwise, no. As far as adults, Four Winds Ranch has a very good point. You don't want to inherit a problem dog, and you do want some kind of return period in which you can see if the dog will be a good fit for your circumstances. 
I do find it odd that most rescues won't let you take a dog if it is not for pet/indoors, they can't seem to understand that that kind of thinking is why they have to rescue so many in the first place. These dogs are not suited for that kind of thing. I had trouble with that when I was originally acquiring dogs.
I'm glad to hear that there are some rescues that specifically place LGDs. I have also seen that some of the actual breed sites offer listings for rehoming LGDs.


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## Pips (Mar 28, 2014)

Southern by choice said:


> Too bad you are in CO as here in NC there are always mature LGD's that need to find new LGD homes... people can no longer keep goats, unemployment, moving... a working sound LGD is up and gone in less than 24hrs!
> Some of these dogs end up at rescues because of the inexperience  and lack of training ... amazing how people think just because the are a LGD breed they can shove them in the field and expect the dog to know and do everything just right! Grrrrrrrrrr!



Southern I do.  It is much preferred to take it step by step with training, but this is usually "not the best blood" breeding by breeders that causes the requirement.  I would never expect to teach my COs any part of guardian work (a little enhancement max), it should be absolutely natural, and if I did then would never buy from the breeder again, or at last check if other people had the same issue from the breeder to see if it was isolated, one bad pup.   Good blood does it all naturally tbh.  However in today's non-LDG breed cycles, breeding not for character but for other attributes, & environments, yes I can see that a lot of puppies would need training on arrival to wake up their instincts.



Mike CHS said:


> I have a novice question to satisfy my curiousity.
> 
> How difficult is it to keep an LGD that has been a guard dog in the past as a pet and later revert back into guard dog duty?  We have had two occasions recently where a good working dog was needing rehomed but we won't be on our small farm until next year. In both cases the beautiful creatures were really social but I have no idea how flexible they can be.



It shouldn't be hard at all tbh.. All LGD breeds were also pets bak when life was a little simpler.  they all know to guard a village & home as well.  The only things I would keep in mind if you keep it as a pet, and has worked as a guardian, is leave it out in the yard (they need space to protect), maybe get a few small animals, like rabbits.  You can give them a smaller job.  It is dependent on the breed however.  We don't have horses and goats any more and my COs are don't care, they like protecting the space and family too. The only thing is have a lot of garden and give them time outside, mine get 8-14 hours now.  But the female sleeps right inside the door in the back so she can hear the rabbit run at night


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## Prairie Farm Woman (Mar 28, 2014)

okay - I am totally new to this but I was sooooo impressed by the thread that I had to join and share. We got our first Anatolian in 2006. He was a lovely rehome from a breeder. The breeder thought of us because they wanted a working home even though Mugsy had not been on a farm before coming here. He was 3 at the time. And was all male. I had heard stories of Anatolians for many years as we had coyote and dog problems in the area. We have sheep, goats and chickens. To be honest I was afraid of him at first. Mugsy changed my mind. (We had to put him down last summer.)
We now have 5 Anatolians. At the moment we have 1 mail and 4 females. 2 years ago we had a litter of 8 puppies. (We kept 2 of the puppies.) We sold them all to good working farms with buy back if they don't work out.  We hear from most of the folks - they are working with goats, sheep and chickens.
They are many things that people tell you about them and then also very little. They require training, loving, friendship, and sometimes attitude adjustments. They can't be allowed to get away with anything because they don't forget anything. They are the best dogs I have ever had and I have had dogs all my life. (I am 60.)


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## Pips (Mar 28, 2014)

@Prairie Farm Woman welcome   I love Kangals.  I think they are absolutely gorgeous.  A few of my friends have them and they are amazing, love me to bits, although never met them as pups save one.  I have to say from all the guardian ancients I would start people on that breed, they are adorable, loving, highly intelligent, although dominant not generally too bad.  tbh guardian breeds, if you can handle them, especially the older blood lines are the best dogs to own.  Absolutely devoted to family, willing to give their life in defence of it, fearless and unfortunately what most people don't see, completely and utterly soft 
"They can't be allowed to get away with anything because they don't forget anything"  True with guardian breeds, they tend to have memories like elephants. 
I am glad you added loving too, bonding through cuddling and general affection is an absolute must with these breeds.
Please post pictures!!


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