Senile Texas Aggie - comic relief for the rest of you

[Bruce]

@Senile_Texas_Aggie probably doesn't want to wind up with 14 new LGD puppies. Bad for the marriage and sanity.

Given Max is already neutered any pups 99 has would be "traveling salesman" mutts.

Are the dogs long or short haired STA? I'm not sure an electric fence by itself will keep them in unless you have a lot of strands maybe a foot apart, 5' high, tightly strung and very hot. You are going to need strong wood post corners properly braced. And more inline braced posts for the gates, can't have too many so you can get into, out of and through the fenced area. I have 1 acre fenced including the pond and I would say that was minimum for a full grown GP.

Of course once you've got proper fencing, no reason not to put up an animal shelter for them and the sheep or goats you'll want to get

 

[rachels.haven]

If you went electric I recommend putting 2-3 wires on nose and near ground leve, maybe 4-6" apart no matter what kind of electric fence you use. Our girl is super hairy, however the nose leads the dog and her nose always hits the fence first. We have electric step in net, around the pigs right now. Her most recent incident with it was when she decided she was going to fence fight the pigs for their pig food. It did not work out for her, but I did get to discover Bailey can yelp loud and run fast. (no food bullies allowed)
With the criteria of at least 4' high and a goal to have the dog tag the wire with it's nose first you should be able to figure something out. Maybe make the lower wires closer together and the higher ones farther apart and save you some wire and time.
Some people also use some kind of electric fence and collar system for their Pyrs, but IDK how expensive that is.

 

[Bruce]

I think it is hard to get the prongs deep enough into the fur of a GP.

 

[rachels.haven]

Most Tennesseans shave them. Too hot and humid and the dogs like it.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

Did Big Foot Do This?

All,

I discovered a cedar tree that had broken off about 8 feet above the ground:

There was no sign of any big limb having hit the tree to cause it to break. Here a picture of another tree just outside of town with similar damage:

I have heard of trees freezing and rupturing but have never knowingly seen any trees where that happened. For you folks where it gets cold in the winter, such as Mr. @Bruce, Miss @farmerjan, Miss @SA Farm, and others, any ideas what caused this? Maybe it was weight from the sleet we had last week (almost 2 inches). I don't know. But the way the trees, especially the cedar tree, looked as if they had been snapped in two has me wondering.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Mini Horses]

I see snow.....any footprints?? I vote " bigfoot".

What's strange is only one tree, among more. Now in picture of cedar, I do see two more bent in same direction, basically. We're those broken at all, any amount? Also a couple others have a lean...do you get winds often, coming across that field into the woods?

We don't get temps that would cause trees to freeze. Other than above and ice weight.....I give bigfoot the credit.

 

[Cecilia's-herd]

Thanks, everyone, for the input. The puppies are a cross between Anatolian and Great Pyrenees. It sounds like we need to plan to have an electric fence of some kind in which to keep them so that they will not roam. Well, that will make it easier knowing that now, rather than setting them free and hoping they would stay put. Maybe I should also check to see just what the laws and ordinances are for Arkansas and Logan county regarding restricting dogs' movement.

I feel you should wait until at least one to spay and neuter. Especially a large dog like an anatolian. If 99 happens to conceive before then I personally would do a spay-abort. I have done it once and I would 100% do it again.My opinion might be controversial but I am willing to defend them. I think it is a great idea to look into your laws and ordinances.

 

[Bruce]

That is the biggest thing Bigfoot can break over in Arkansas??

No idea, but the last tree I cut up (check back some months in my journal as a reminder) was snapped off 12' above the ground. It was 18" in diameter and wasn't rotten. Nothing big fell on it. I have NO idea why it broke off unless it was a big wind. But why it and no others?

 

[Baymule]

STA in my opinion, for what it's worth, letting your dogs run loose where ever they want would be a bad idea. Even though they ARE livestock guard dogs, they still must be trained. With no training, allowed to run loose, they are liable to get into trouble. Trouble being the possibility of chasing livestock. Indeed, my own dogs chased the very sheep they were supposed to be guarding, when young pups. It took training, patience and penning the dog inside the barn where he/she could be with the sheep, but not be able to "play" with them.

In puppy world, they growl, bark and snarl at each other, in play. If it gets too rough the puppy screams YIPE!! Play stops, puppies look worried, they may lick each other in reassurance, because one got 'hurt'. Now put that same play behavior in a field of goats, sheep, poultry or even young calves. The young dog(s) start "playing" with some goats. The goats run because they are scared. Dogs are predators. The young dogs think the goats want to play and they chase them. The dogs catch a goat. It is bleating, they maul it. The problem is, the goat doesn't speak hurt puppy YIPE, the dogs think the goat is having as much fun as they are and they may get carried away and injure or even kill the goat. Now there is a real problem. With 2 dogs, they are their own pack, it was SO much fun, they do it again.

The goats owner sees the fun and shoots the dogs. You are contacted by the sheriff deputy and must pay damages. Since your dogs were on someone else's property, it is all your fault, the owner of the goats was well within the law in shooting your dogs to protect his livestock. There are dead goats and dead dogs, you get a citation, must pay a fine and must pay for the dead goats.

Not a pretty picture.

Please don't let your dogs run loose.

At the farm in Lindale, we fenced it very well with 2"x4" non climb wire to keep our dogs IN and everybody else's OUT. There are people in that area that let their dogs run loose because it is out in the county and their dogs can be "free". There are other people in that area that keep their rifle handy because they don't want those "free" dogs getting in the garbage and making a mess, chasing their chickens, in their pastures chasing livestock--and they practice SSS. Shoot Shovel Shutup.

 

[Cecilia's-herd]

SSS. Shoot Shovel Shutup.

I know a few people around here that do this with hawks and bald eagles...