Margali's Griffin Wood Ranch

[Baymule]

Do you have a night pen like a corral attached to the barn? Maybe the dogs would stay in that.

My current set up is cowpanel pens with small shelters in them. I put the dogs up at night with the sheep. That gives them more room than a stall in the barn. Yeah, the barn I don’t have. LOL

 

[Margali]

Leo climbs over and Hera digs out / shoves out the gate. And yes, it has hot wire top and bottom. I am so DONE with these dogs.

 

[Baymule]

Is your hot wire hot enough?

 

[Weldman]

Gives me an idea looking at this as I’m curious myself where mine goes.

 

[Margali]

Sometimes it's 2kV other times it's 9kV. 9kV makes him cry like a baby. Just constantly chasing issues like smart ass figuring out he can bury wire with loose dirt from digging a hole.

 

[Margali]

More work on kids bathroom. Towel bar and shower curtain installed.


Door looks like crap but will work. My weights apparently weren't enough. I can caulk screw heads and edge latter if it bugs me.

 

[Weldman]

More work on kids bathroom. Towel bar and shower curtain installed.
View attachment 110649View attachment 110650

Door looks like crap but will work. My weights apparently weren't enough. I can caulk screw heads and edge latter if it bugs me.

I would just fill the gap with some caulking, sand it flat and paint it.

 

[Ridgetop]

Leo climbs over and Hera digs out / shoves out the gate. And yes, it has hot wire top and bottom. I am so DONE with these dogs.

So sorry you are having so much trouble with these dogs. It is unusual for a good Anatolian to leave his/her flock and wander. If they leave to chase off predators, they are usually back in the yard or waiting at the gate once they have run them off. If you have coyotes at the rear of the property singing at night, the Anatolians should not be leaving the property and wandering. They should be patrolling the perimeter. You should hear them barking at various points around the property as they do their rounds and mark territory. Leaving the sheep and going 6 miles away is more a Pyr thing to extend their protected territory. That's the reason why I do not recommend crossing the two breeds. Are you sure that Leonidas is pure Anatolian?

It also depends on the dog's bloodlines since not all Anatolians are from good working lines. Not all Anatolians develop into good guardians either. Another reason to buy from a breeder that watches the litter for LGD ability compared to family dog ability.

If Leonidas is the problem here and enticing Hera to leave the ranch, you might have to rehome him. On the other hand, the previous owners said that Hera would leave the property there occasionally too. Not sure what you can do about this since you did not raise these 2 from puppyhood. This may be a leasrned behavior they have picked up and continued to expand from previous owners. Did Leonidas leave the property before you got him? That might be why they wanted rid of him.

Maybe call Erick Conard about the problem? (512)659-5189. He is always willing to help others and might have some ideas about what is happening.

 

[Margali]

Leo is an Anatolian / Maremma cross. His first family were complete idiots expecting a dog with zero training and no fencing to 1) not cannonball thru the kids 2) not ruin the market garden. So he was on a leader out with sheep whenever the pair grazed. Yes, a LGD for 2 sheep. *eye roll* Leo was doing good on staying in fencing until rainy season taught him he could lean over fence and climb it. He is sheep safe but uninterested in them having bonded more closely to previous families' kids. I'd be okay with that IF he stayed inside the dang fencing without turning it into a pretzel.

Hera is much more frustrating to me. She was a working LGD on the Howell's farm with a group of several dogs to cover the couple hundred sheep. I don't know if it heartbreak from leaving the Howells or what... she doesn't want to engage with or stay with the sheep. She barely tolerates me and the kids. She's easier to contain since she digs/ pushes out but I basically feel like a jailer.

 

[SageHill]

Sounds like a true bond was never really completed with you and your sheep. Got started but fizzled out for whatever reason.
I don’t know LGDs so I could be way off, but that’s my gut feel. Kind of like training a recall on a regular dog and it always comes in the beginning and one thinks they are done with training. Then one day a rabbit shows up and come is a four letter word.