Livestock Guardian Dogs?? Should I get one? (more pics)

[dianneS]

I'm considering getting a livestock guardian dog. We don't have a huge problem with preditors and I believe that just the mere presence of a large dog would be enough to deter the preditors that we do have. I have lost chickens in the daytime to a fox, we've had a skunk break in the chicken house and I'm afraid that something might try to get my pygmy goats too. I just want to be sure that the breed I choose won't potentially try to harm my baby goats, mini horse or chickens.

I'm considering a 3/4 Karakachan 1/4 Great Pyrenese puppy that is 5 months old and has been raised with goats, chickens, cattle and horses. He's already showing signs of being a great protector.

I'm just not sure if I'll be able to fully trust a dog of that size with my baby goats?

Should I even bother with a dog, or could I be putting my animals at even more of a risk than they currently are? I'm doing a lot of reading on training these dogs, the breeder seems confident that I won't have any problems. I'm still not sure what to do?

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

YES!!!!!!

(sorry I honestly only read the title and had to post, only because we have Great Pyrenese, Great Pyrense/collie cross, Newfoundland/St. Bernard cross, Aust. Shepard/Rat Terrior/blue tick heeler cross, and a boxer/bulldog cross)....so YES you need to get a dog......


now I will go back and actually read your post...lol

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

ok now i've read your post......

I will still say YES....
getting the dog as puppies will also help you get used to the dog as he gets larger....the Great Pyrenese are WONDERFUL dogs...I love ours, they are big goofy block heads at times, but they keep ya laughing too....Ours have done a great job with all the animals..
All kinds of poultry(chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas), horses, goats(pygmy, dairy, and boar), sheep, even the llamas....
the dogs got along great with all the animals.

 

[dianneS]

I'm still concerned about my house dogs though. I have a fear aggressive Papillon that I cannot allow near big dogs.

I've read a lot of good things about LGD's and not too much bad, but I have come across stories of these dogs killing chickens, goats, biting people etc. That scares me. I've never had a dog with an aggressive bone in its body before and I'm just not sure if our preditor problem is a big enough problem to take a chance on a big potentially dangerous dog?

I'm still weighing the pros and cons.

 

[Roll farms]

Here is a link to a site w/ GREAT LGD info.
http://lgd.org/

If you get the dog looking for bad things to happen, bad things will happen.
Have faith in it and in your ability to be patient for 1-2 years as he goes through the puppy phase, until magically he'll wake up one day, realize his purpose and be the best dog ever.

They aren't instant guardians, they aren't miracle workers, and they need help and guidance to get from puppy to LGD.

We have 2 toy poodles who occasionally go into our goat pens, the dogs know they are "mine" and to leave them be. You introduce EVERYTHING to them and let them know they are yours.

Our Pyr male will jump in the air after chicken hawks and helps clean newborns.
We've not lost ONE bird or goat in the years we've had LGD's.
I will never be w/out one again.

 

[big brown horse]

Here is my LGD story, I hope this helps you with your decision...

I started with a 1 year old rescued St. Bernard Pier mix that was turned into a high kill shelter. She was a psyco dog from you know where because she was starved, abused etc. She has no St. Bernard qualities except her markings. (Roll Farms, that is why I was asking you about your pup's markings.)

She is now nicknamed the bouncer, b/c she wont allow anyone into her yard (a fenced in acre) that "isn't on the list."

This dog was a hard nut to crack, but with time we did it. My chickens, ducks, sheep and cat are all safe at night b/c of her. She wasn't raised around livestock, so she had to learn how to adjust and it wasn't easy. Our time and effort paid off 10 fold!!

The dog you are describing sounds like a dream come true with his early experience.

Roll Farms is right though, you have to introduce all new animals and he/she will need help and guidance . I'm not an experienced LGD handler, but I was consistant and firm with her and doled out tons of love when she did as she was told.

I would NEVER own any livestock without a LGD. We live out in the boonies in the foothills of the Olympic mountians and we have never had a problem with preditors...though I have seen my share of coyotes, racoons and brown bears.

Now a "pet" she is not. She doesn't want to come into the house and she is not the mushy type...nope, that is what your lap dog is for. She doesn't even go into her "shed" to sleep. The grass is her dog house. When she sleeps she sleeps with one eye open like a cat.

As a matter of fact, she is out there barking along the fence line as I type this. Coyotes beware!!

Oh, one other thing, Kate is awesome with my daughter and loves smaller kids too. She could care less about adults even me...I don't know if all LGDs are like that or not. I know she would protect my child though no matter what.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. If this pup isn't right for you, I strongly urge you to find another one that is. Having Kate out there allows me to sleep well at night.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

but before you run right out..... (the voice of caution here)

go and read the predator section on BYC..... a LGD is not for everyone. i know you said you have goats but the principals are the same. make sure you are well informed and can handle a big dog. no they are not pets but you still have to be able to handle them. what about your barncats? you are wise to wonder if your little house dog would be in danger so you'd need to make sure you can train your LGD to identify what's yours and what is not. you cant just throw them over the fence and expect everything to work out (some people think this is true). make sure you work with the breeder to find out when the 'guarding' instincts will kick in - for some its 5 months old for some its later.

there is a gal i know who is desperately trying to rehome her LGD b/c it keeps attacking her house dogs. and for every 'golly these are great' there is someone (probably someone with too much dog) who has a horror story.

me - i have two brontosaurus sized GSD who keep our property safe - they work with me everyday with the livestock. but our next dog will be an anatolian just for the critters.

good luck!

 

[dianneS]

I know, for about every five wonderful stories I read about them, I hear one bad one. The odds are greater that they are good dogs not bad, but the "horror stories" really scare the crap out of me!

I have experience training dogs, but haven't had a really big dog in a long time. I've never owned a dog with any tendency toward aggression. Every dog I've ever had, big or small would lick an intruder to death before he would ever bite! My dogs are always super social and friendly too, an aloof dog would take time for me to adjust to.

I'm going to meet these puppies today. Apparently they've been "on the job" for some time and are doing great. I'll feel a lot better about my decision once I get to meet them and experience their personalities. I don't think I'll be deciding today yet, I will need to ruminate on it some more!

 

[big brown horse]

Good luck to you!!

We got lucky with all of our dogs, all rescued St. Bernard mixes, they love our cat. (They were all female, I wonder if that has anything to do with it?)

 

[lilhill]

You DON'T want one that doesn't want you to handle him/her. My LGD trots up to me for a pet every time I go into the goat pens. When I tell her it's enough, she goes over to the middle of the herd and lays down to go on watch again.