New LGD owner

[eljen]

I know I am opening myself up to tons of criticism but I have ended up with two female littermate anatolian/pyr mixes that I intend to use as LGDs for my boer goats. They are currently 12 weeks old. We have them penned with goats, been working on basic obedience, boundary training, etc. and they have been doing pretty well. Right now I have the pups separated with their own group of goats, but I just set this up yesterday. Does anyone here have advice on how to make it work with two female pups or am I a lost cause?


Also, I hate leaving my poor goats penned up in a dry lot all the time, any advice on how to relieve the situation? They are used to grazing the pastures.

 

[carolinagirl]

Join this forum.... http://www.lgd.org/lgdl.html

It's a list server and is annoying as all get out to use but it seems to have fairly knowledgeable folks there. Also here's a great Pyr forum. Don't know how good it is, I just discovered it. http://www.greatpyr.com/forum/index.php

 

[rockdoveranch]

Join this forum.... http://www.lgd.org/lgdl.html

It's a list server and is annoying as all get out to use but it seems to have fairly knowledgeable folks there. Also here's a great Pyr forum. Don't know how good it is, I just discovered it. http://www.greatpyr.com/forum/index.php

Thanks for the links. I am going to check them out.

 

[terrilhb]

eljen I saw your post on BYC. I am so sorry you felt like you were wrong to post on there. Most people are willing to help. Don't let it scare you away. I read alot of the posts. I am sorry you felt that way. I hope you get the help you need. Good luck. There are alot of people on here with alot of knowledge.

 

[Roll farms]

It sounds like you're doing all the right things so far!

I've found this site helpful:

http://www.lgd.org/library.htm

One thing w/ siblings is to be sure they don't get a 'pack' mentality or bond to eachother and not the goats.
Also, I've heard of lots of cases where adult female LGD, even related ones who've been spayed, where dominance issues become a problem when they're mature.

You *might* have to consider seperating them at some point.

Just remember any puppy can play rough so watch leaving them unsupervised w/ kids for the 1st year or two.

 

[foxywench]

the biggest thing i will suggest is make sure to spend some 1 on 1 time every day with each of them away from the goats and mostly away from eachother...
raising siblings can be done sucessfully but it takes triple the work. you not only have to train each one individually but also together...
you also have to be a veyr dominant being, not agressive of violent (im not a fan of milans methods) but physically dominanting, always stand tall, always make them back up and go around you rather than the other way around ect...

other things i will suggest...
spay as soon as you feel comfortable doing so... i usually like for giant breeds to mature physically (around 2 yrs old) but in this case id probably aim for the 1yr mark instead
same sex agression is very common between intact females and more so between sisters as they mature, so this is something to be aware of and keep an eye on.

oh and fencing obviously, pyrs are well known to be the most wonder lusty of the lgd group.

as long as your strong and stick to "the rules" (whatever rules YOU decide, it doesnt matter what they ar, just be VERY consistent about enforcing them...) and give them some individual time as well you should be ok.

 

[MonsterMalak]

Good luck with your pups.

I would think that having two young pups at one time will be the bigger challenge compared to having two females.

I raise LGDs, and have several in a pasture together. They work out their differences.

You sound like you are already doing the right thing. If they get to playing with the stock to much, you may need to seperate them unless you are there to correct them.

Remember, the puppy stage persist for a while, and can come and go. But most do grow up to be good dogs.

Good LUCK!!!