BlessedWithGoats
Herd Master
That would be neat! I might like to raise them someday, but I would need a lot more LGD experience to make sure I trained them right...
Aww, that's sad.
How old should they be before you let them go to a new home?
Official Poll: What breed of Livestock Guardian Dog do you prefer?
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Aww, that's sad.
How old should they be before you let them go to a new home?
Southern by choice
Herd Master
I can tell you why most send them off at 8 weeks and it has nothing to do with bonding with the livestock or anything like that.
They get very expensive after 8 weeks.
Example-
our feed bill for the pups was $800 last month. That is just the feed!
That did not include the dewormer that I have to give each dog- each pup gets 3days in a row of the dewormer... the bigger the dog the more dewormer... that adds up quick...
Shots... more shots...
in two weeks all pups will then get their rabies....
then add in heartworm preventative
For our pups and the fact that they are very large 45#- 50# at 14wks that adds up.
The other side is the few that do keep them longer for so called "training" do not do a darn thing with them.
Leaving them with parent is not the same thing and actually does a disservice to the pup. Best to move them in with older other stock, not the momma dog.
There are many things that a breeder should do and work on if they are keeping the dog longer.
The majority of the pups we have are staying til 20 weeks, some less and the others longer than that.
They get very expensive after 8 weeks.
Example-
our feed bill for the pups was $800 last month. That is just the feed!
That did not include the dewormer that I have to give each dog- each pup gets 3days in a row of the dewormer... the bigger the dog the more dewormer... that adds up quick...
Shots... more shots...
in two weeks all pups will then get their rabies....
then add in heartworm preventative
For our pups and the fact that they are very large 45#- 50# at 14wks that adds up.
The other side is the few that do keep them longer for so called "training" do not do a darn thing with them.
Leaving them with parent is not the same thing and actually does a disservice to the pup. Best to move them in with older other stock, not the momma dog.
There are many things that a breeder should do and work on if they are keeping the dog longer.
The majority of the pups we have are staying til 20 weeks, some less and the others longer than that.
BlessedWithGoats
Herd Master
Wow! That sure is a lot, but it's worth it to have a well trained dog! I can tell you really care about your pups! (And the older LGD's too!)I can tell you why most send them off at 8 weeks and it has nothing to do with bonding with the livestock or anything like that.
They get very expensive after 8 weeks.
Example-
our feed bill for the pups was $800 last month. That is just the feed!
That did not include the dewormer that I have to give each dog- each pup gets 3days in a row of the dewormer... the bigger the dog the more dewormer... that adds up quick...
Shots... more shots...
in two weeks all pups will then get their rabies....
then add in heartworm preventative
For our pups and the fact that they are very large 45#- 50# at 14wks that adds up.
The other side is the few that do keep them longer for so called "training" do not do a darn thing with them.
Leaving them with parent is not the same thing and actually does a disservice to the pup. Best to move them in with older other stock, not the momma dog.
There are many things that a breeder should do and work on if they are keeping the dog longer.
The majority of the pups we have are staying til 20 weeks, some less and the others longer than that.
Thanks for the helpful info! Learning a lot on here from you all... 
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Pyrs can be very sweet natured - that is why we chose Pyrs as our first guardian dogs. Being a 4-H leader and having young kids who brought their friends home to play with the baby goats, etc. we wanted an LGD that was sweet with people and hard on predators. We had 5 of them, all good dogs but they liked to roam. Their idea of protecting our (then) 1 1/2 acres was to patrol the entire 100 acres surrounding it! While they kept predators away, now our neighborhood has less livestock people and more city people, thus our change to an Anatolian. I called dozens of breeders and owners to check out whether they roam like Pyrs first. Her breeder is Erick Conard and he trains all his pups. His website is Lucky Hit Farms and he has some incredible articles on it about choosing an LGD, training them, etc., as well as what to look for in breeding. He has been breeding and training Anatolians for 30 years and is a fountain of info, wonderful to talk to and just an all around great guy. He started showing his dogs because the show people said that guardians could not be successfully shown. His dogs won the first time out and have continued to win big all over the country. His website is worth a visit just for the articles. He is adamant about placing his dogs in livestock homes. Rika was 18 months when we got her, he had 2 he was keeping for breeding and finally decided to part with her. We couldn't take a puppy because the predators that were killing our sheep would have eaten a little pup! Rika bonded to us on the car trip from Texas to California. She was never around small children and after only 3 introductions she was protecting our 5 grandchildren, ages 1 to 7, from everything including rabbits and crows! LOL She does sometimes try to sneak inside during the day but a stern reminder to "Go to your sheep" sends her back to her job. She is totally allowed to come in at night after the sheep are locked in the barn. She enjoys socializing with us for several hours but always wants to go back outside to continue her guardian duties during the night. Some people can't sleep at night because of barking dogs but for me, my barking LGD is like a sleeping pill! I know she is working and keeping us safe from predators. Rika is the best LGD we have ever had. I don't know whether it is the breed, Erick's bloodlines, or his training, but we sure got lucky when we were referred to him. He is well known by all the Anatolian breeders, and is renowned for his honesty and knowledge of the breed. Even if you don't have one of his dogs, he will help with any training or behavior problems you have. When Rika gets older and needs help, we will totally get another of Erick's dogs. Check out the articles on his website - they are fascinating. Just a warning though - his website is huge so scroll down past all the Anatolian pix to the end and you will find the link to Articles. I still get lost sometimes when on his site! If you have LGDs now, you will recognize a lot of the behaviors, and if you don't, you may not believe that these dogs can act the way they do. If you have sheep and goats, a rabbitry or poultry yard, an LGD is a must! Everyone has their favorite breed, but there is no wrong LGD!
Ridgetop
Herd Master
I can tell you why most send them off at 8 weeks and it has nothing to do with bonding with the livestock or anything like that.
They get very expensive after 8 weeks.
Example-
our feed bill for the pups was $800 last month. That is just the feed!
That did not include the dewormer that I have to give each dog- each pup gets 3days in a row of the dewormer... the bigger the dog the more dewormer... that adds up quick...
Shots... more shots...
in two weeks all pups will then get their rabies....
then add in heartworm preventative
For our pups and the fact that they are very large 45#- 50# at 14wks that adds up.
The other side is the few that do keep them longer for so called "training" do not do a darn thing with them.
Leaving them with parent is not the same thing and actually does a disservice to the pup. Best to move them in with older other stock, not the momma dog.
There are many things that a breeder should do and work on if they are keeping the dog longer.
The majority of the pups we have are staying til 20 weeks, some less and the others longer than that.
Southern by choice:
You are sooo right! Breeders don't dump their pups at 8 weeks, most people don't realize hos big they get by 12 weeks! You have to feed them 3 x a day and shots and worming costs even when you vaccinate them yourself. We bred one litter of Pyrs and they cost a fortune. We had them till 12 weeks. Most were spoken for before birth, and we sold the last 2 at a livestock show. All but one went to livestock homes, and that one I took back from the non-livestock home because she said the dog barked too much and her landlord complained. I placed her in a livestock home where she became an incredible guardian. I stopped breeding after that litter because I worried I wouldn't find livestock homes for the next pups. The first litter was a labor of love - there is no money in it! LGD pups are adorable but it is like having a litter of horses! They grow huge by 10 and 12 weeks! Training the puppy takes an incredible amount of time. You are right about most people just keeping them with mom and thinking she will train them. There are all kinds of puppy play behaviors that need to be watched for and eradicated to make a good guardian. See my previous post referring to Lucky Hit website - Erick trains his puppies carefully, but the resulting dog is not cheap! A properly trained LGD is worth thousands of dollars and that is what you pay for a good one. Not all breeders are honest about what they sell either. LGDs are not like any other dogs - they are almost impossible to obedience train because they think for themselves. After all that is why you have them. If you could smell the predator in the bushes you wouldn't need one. and you can't wait till you see the predator to tell the dog to protect! That can also make them dangerous in the hands of people who don't understand their temperament and what they are bred for. Samantha drawz is right about not all LGDs being for first time owners. When we got our first LGDs I had been training dogs for almost 20 years. It was still hard training our first LGD puppy and he probably became an good guardian in spite of, rather than because of my attempts! LOL
OneFineAcre
Herd Master
We know some local people here in NC who have Pyrs and they have a friend in VA with a male Lucky Hit Ranch Anatolian they have bred their Pyrs too
We know a few people with animals from that crossing that think they are are very good
BantammChick
Loving the herd life
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Great Pyrenees. That is what my dog Bolt is.
TheCuteOrpington
Ridin' The Range
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Great Pyrenees- very sweet, and loyal to me.
Show Sebright
True BYH Addict
I want an Australian shepherd for my animals.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Aussies are great family farm dogs, but are NOT livestock guardian dogs. Livestock guardian dogs are specific to living with and guarding small livestock like sheep and goats. Some can be trained (with effort) to guard poultry. They are not particularly good guardians for cattle or horses for several reasons. They have different ways of guarding depending on breed. They also have different types of breed specific personalities. These breed personalities should not be confused with the different personalities you can find between individual dogs.
Aussies are good family dogs, and also are very good obedience dogs. They can be trained to herd sheep and poultry. They will run off some predators as well as trespassers. They are good watch dogs. They are not good LGDs.
Aussies are good family dogs, and also are very good obedience dogs. They can be trained to herd sheep and poultry. They will run off some predators as well as trespassers. They are good watch dogs. They are not good LGDs.
