English Shepherd as LGD?

[sdcharger]

Does anyone use an English Shepherd as a LGD? Or any other type of multipurpose farm dog? Or can you use a dog like this alongside a more traditional LGD breed without confrontation? How do the dynamics work in your pack if you are using multiple breeds?

Can you have an inside dog go out in the morning and be accepted by the LGD as part of the pack/herd? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I have recently acquired an English Shepherd. I wanted an all around farm dog and that's exactly what Gracie seems to be turning in to! I got her when she was 4 months old and as of now, I've have only had her a few weeks.

I am more than impressed with this dog - she's scary smart! She's shown absolutely zero aggression toward the goats. She's still learning about chickens, lol, but she is a puppy. Just for clarification - she's not harmed a bird on this place - but when she's around young chickens her herding instinct wants to come out. On the rare occasion that the half-grown chicks get into the yard, she wants to 'herd' them back out. As long as the chicks are calm she is calm - when they break and run - she runs with them. She's NEVER laid a tooth or paw on one, but chasing is a behavior that I will not tolerate and after just one or two occurrences I haven't seen it repeated.

In contrast, my awesome Pyr - Maddie - at that same age was responsible for the passing of at least two chickens before she figured out that she should guard them and not play with them to death! But now, as a fully mature LGD - she guards her chickens as well as the goats.

On another note - I recently moved three young bucklings into a new pen and I found out fairly quickly that they really didn't want to be there. They kept squeezing through the gate and would be out of their pen every afternoon when I came home from work. The first day I put them back in Gracie watched intently and followed along. She was on leash for that since it was a first for her. The second day, still on leash, she seemed to instinctively know that the goats needed to go back through the gate, and while she still let me take the lead I could tell that she 'got it' at that point. The third time - I opened the gate and walked back to where the goats were and started to push them toward the gate. She was off-leash and stayed right beside me - but when one of the little guys broke and ran she immediately went into action. She was calm yet determined and she put him right back in his pen!

This breed (or at least this pup) wants nothing more than to please their owners and they (or at least this pup) is doing a great job of it.

She has already shown 'guarding' tendencies. I had an injured buckling and she wanted nothing more than to stay by his side. When the other bucklings in that pen would try to run him off of his feed - she stood between him and the other kids and kept them away so he could eat.

All the research I did into the breed indicated that they are expected to act as the farm pet, protector and watch dog. So far, I think Gracie will fill that role. This breed (ES)seems to be 'people pleasers' and while my Pyr is a sweetheart, her self-imposed purpose in life is to guard livestock. She is people friendly, loves to visit with her humans for a while but she is uncomfortable when away from her herd for long. Without a doubt in my mind I know that my Pyr would defend her herd to the death if ever need be. (thankfully, we don't have large predators in our area and I would never expect her to have to do that)

We introduced the two of them on neutral ground. Maddie (Pyr), at best, tolerated Gracie. She showed no aggression and seemed to understand that Graie is "mine" and not to be harmed. I have since taken Gracie into the pasture with Maddie a few times. Again, Maddie tolerates her, but at this point, has not given into Gracie's clumsy puppy attempts to play.

So, in my long-winded attempt to answer your question (and brag on my dogs, lol) I think an English Shepherd would fit well into the farm hierarchy. But I still expect the full-time guarding duties to be taken on by my Pyr with Gracie (ES) at best, as backup. A lot of that is because of the fencing arrangements and physical lay-out of my place. Gracie lives in the house and yard with forays into the pasture. Maddie is in the pasture full-time with several pens and gates in between the two of them.

At this point, I can honestly say that I'll always want an ES, but I'll always want an LGD also. Please let us know if you get an ES and how it works out!