Anatolian Guard Dog, Male or Female??

[DonnaBelle]

Hi all,
I have an opportunity to purchase an Anatolian guard dog. The breeder has both male and female puppies.

Could someone offer their opinion on male vs. female?? We also have 3 bird dogs, in a separate pen and kennel next to the goats and of course, where the dog would be.

DH has heard about guard dogs killing other dogs, and is very leery of having a guard dog around his bird dogs.

I need some advice/input regarding these two questions.

DonnaBelle

 

[Roll farms]

Usually, if raised w/ the dogs around, and told "Mine"...they will accept your 'family' dogs...as long as the dogs aren't threatening the goats. We have 2 LGDs and 3 house dogs...no incidents in 8 years, BUT we rarely let the house dogs around the LGD, either.

I would get a male and fix him as soon as he drops his nuggets. I've always preferred male animals to females....just a quirk I have.

Anatolians are typically more aggressive than pyrs. A male intact Anatolian is not for the inexperienced LGD owner, IMHO. He will challenge you for dominance and I guarantee he'll be more likely to hurt your other dogs if left intact.

We've only had 1 female LGD, she's much more laid back, but if you get a female, spay her....you want her mind on the j.o.b., not on getting bred every 6 mos...especially if you're only going to have 1.

RESEARCH all you can about how to introduce them to your dogs / goats. Contrary to popular belief, you can't just toss an LGD pup in the herd and expect miracles. They can and will kill kids in play when young if not taught boundaries and acceptable behavior.

We had an intact Anatolian (used to breed our pyr female) but he made me nervous, he was always trying to be the boss of everything....including the goats. An LGD should be, if not submissive to, then at least 'equal' to his herd (like another goat), not constantly challenging them in everything.

Fixing them will NOT 'ruin' their guarding instinct, IMHO, it enhances it...w/out the distraction of wanting to breed, they're much more focused on the job at hand.

Our male pyr was fixed and an EXCELLENT guardian, and now Gus, our 1/2 An. 1/2 pyr 'pup' (8 mos, 120#) is nuetered and showing real promise.

 

[Ariel301]

That's nice to know that fixing a livestock guard won't ruin it. I have always been told it would. I would love to get one, but didn't want to have puppies all the time if we got a female, which would be our preference.

 

[cmjust0]

Our male, Ivan, still has his "nuggets" at 28mos old and he's a big sweetheart......with us. He loved my wife since day one, though I sorta had to, ahem, 'win him over' since we got him at 7mos of age and he HATED me. He growled and lunged and snapped at me, and he already weighed probably close to 100lbs at the time. We worked it out without me having to lay a hand on him in anger or frustration.

Not that physicality would have been an option anyway, of course, since he probably would have won.



But since we got it all worked out about who's who and where everybody exists in the chain of command, he's not once tried to challenge anyone. We bring him food and love on him, and for that, he seems genuinely grateful and happy to be 'under' us.

Don't get me wrong -- he's tested our patience, and he's occasionally tested my resolve, but he's never truly challenged our authority.

As for the other dogs, Ivan's accepted them as well.....mostly. All but one, in fact.. The one he wants to kill, wants just as badly to kill him. She's extremely dog aggressive, and other dogs know it. Ivan knew it right off the bat, just as he knew our other dogs were no real threat right off the bat.

Ironically, the new LGD Mischa (25% Sarpie, 75% Pyr) hates the same dog. She and Ivan fight her through the fence pretty much on a daily basis..

The "outcast" dog is a border collie, of all breeds.. Go figure.

Otherwise, though, we've accidentally allowed Ivan to mingle with the other dogs a couple of times...he wagged his giant tail and they all played together like it was the greatest thing ever. He knows what's a threat and what isn't, and they aren't.

Still, not something we allow to happen intentionally.. The worry is that if a fight were to break out -- and dogfights happen, on occasion -- he could easily wipe out a few (if not all) the other dogs before we could get it broken up...if breaking it up was even possible.

In terms of aggression, I'd say the average working Sarplaninac is at least equal to the average working Anatolian, with both probably ranking below the average Caucasian Mountain Dog and above the average Pyr on that scale.

I was introduced to a "big" "dangerous" Pyr...Mischa's daddy...and told that even the guy who helps out on that farm regularly can't go in the pen with him.. I was advised not to try to pet him, as he seriously may bite me.

Well, seeing how small he was (relative to what I'm used to, anyway) and how he seemed more skittery than truly aggressive...and knowing that Pyrs are probably the least likely of any LGD to *actually* bite a human...I stuck my hand right over the fence. He came over and sniffed it warily and I pretty much just started petting him right away.. He froze for an uncomfortable moment, but only a moment, and I started scratching under his chin and talked to him a little bit.. The dog really didn't seem to know what to make of me, but afterward kept coming to the fence to visit with his tail wagging.

It was actually pretty funny.. Just as soon as I stuck my hand in the first time, the owner was like "Careful now! He might...oh...well, I guess not."

I can also tell you that I've actually had occasion to pet a couple of working LGD Anatolians to whom I was a complete stranger, too... They came up and investigated me, and it was nerve racking for a minute because they have very good poker faces and were VERY LARGE DOGS. Plus, they were eerily calm and confident in the presence of a potential threat. They convey a sense of "You're no biggie... I'm just going to walk right over here and sniff you, then decide what to do next. I might kill you, or I might not. You'll just have to wait and see what I decide."

Overall, I really like Anatolians.. If we ever get one -- and we may, as we've looked for them in the past -- we'd definitely get a female.

Of course, our plan is to cross one with Ivan and see what comes out.

If I didn't have Ivan, or if something ever happens to him, I'll be looking for an Anatolian.

A male.

With his "nuggets" intact.