New pics and a question

[PotterWatch]

Our puppies are doing very well. They do great with the sheep and goats. One is an escape artist but we are working on that. The other day they helped chase away a small pack of dogs that came onto the property. The only issue we have right now is that they sometimes fight with each other. Mostly over food. They don't fight over the food we give them because we are very clear that their food is really our food. It is only an issue when they find something out in the pasture such as a gopher. We are making progress but they are getting big quickly and we really need to nip this in the bud before they are so big we can't physically separate them. Any ideas?

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Gorgeous! Anyone else jealous of those trees?

 

[Southern by choice]

What your LGD's are doing is not only normal but actually can be a good thing. It goes against our "human "instincts to allow them to fight however, they are working dogs. The dominance order must be established and better now when they are young and can't do much damage than when they are older and it has not been established and it can get very ugly. If they are siblings this could, not saying it positively will, but could go on for a long time.
In LGD's they must establish their working order. If it is a team or a pack the Alpha must be established for there to be order in the team or pack. They work best this way. Allowing them to decide who gets the prey as reward helps to establish this. Generally it doesn't take long for this to get worked out. Siblings tend to have a real hard time with this and often father/son does too. You see this more with M/M sibs. The quicker the alpha is established the better things will get. They can make a lot of noise when this is happening and that sounds awful, but when they are young like yours it is usually a lot of noise.
Remember LGD's are not the same as house "pets" think of them in a similar fashion to a pack of wolves...there is always an Alpha, and a pecking order in the way everything is done.

ETA- they are beautiful...but then again what pyr or pyr mix or shar or maremma or anatolian or...well,you get my point, isn't!

how old are they now? I vaguely remember you posting a pic when you first got them home, but I don't remember where it is now.

 

[Shelly May]

I 100% agree with southern by choice, they will work out the peaking order them self and you just have to let in happen,
in the pasture any ways. Dinner time a little difference, you want to make sure they both keep their weight up and are
both healthy. With the pasture caught critters,After the alfa male gets his fill and if anything left, he will let the underdog have what is left in most cases. Again this is advice based on the age of the pups only, I would not do this with Adults.
and yes they are beautiful, the pups and the Trees. Good luck and happy holidays. Owner of now 6 great pyrenees, three
of which are brothers.

 

[dwbonfire]

i agree with souther by choice. im still learning about LGDs but i strongly agree this is normal and you need to allow it to go on rather than seperating them. as said, its better to get through it now than when they are much bigger and can do more damage to eachother. another thing i have learned is when the alpha is scolded by us humans for being dominant, it then makes them want to establish thier dominance even more, which will result in them acting more aggressive as if to really get thier point across. good luck with them they are beautiful!

 

[PotterWatch]

Thanks so much for the replies. That is very helpful. They are four months old now and we couldn't be happier with them. As for the palm trees, y'all can have them. I have never liked palms. I would much rather have something that will provide me with food and some reasonable shade.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Your pups are beautiful! The palm trees certainly are big. They took me by surprise when I saw your photos. I wasn't expecting palm trees on a farm.

Good advice you've been given.

 

[treeclimber233]

I agree with everyone saying just let them fight it out. Another angle on this (someone said not to scold the dominate one) if you scold the "dominate" one in front of the "other" one then the "other" one thinks he is right and fights harder. As long as there is no blood I would not worry about them. They are not pets.

 

[Tony O]

Just wanted to say that I love those palms. I wish I could grow them like that here in Oklahoma.