hermitthrush
Hatching
- May 2, 2016
- 1
- 0
- 7
Can anyone suggest a breeder of LGDs in upstate NY who doesn't charge champion show dog prices?
We've never bought a dog from a breeder... My wife has had dogs all of her life, and in our 30 years of marriage, we've had 3 dogs who showed up and adopted us, and we've adopted our other three dogs from animal shelters. We own over 400 acres. None of our dogs have ever been hit by cars or run away. All of our dogs have lived to be at least 11 (most of them, 13 or more). All of our dogs have been between 40 and 90 lbs. Our 90lb shepherd mix LGD who showed up at our farm 13 years ago when he was about a year old, died about a year ago.
After a coyote killed three chickens a month ago, we decided that we needed to get another big outdoor dog, The National Great Pyrineese Rescue had a young Great Pry mix in foster care less than an hour from our home.
We were shocked when they rejected our adoption request. We told them that we would walk the dog off leash on our own property, and that killed the deal. They don't want their dogs doing the work that they have been bred to do for hundreds or even thousands of years. They want their dogs to live indoors in suburban homes with fenced back yards, and they don't want their dogs to ever be off leash outside of that fenced in quarter acre backyard. They think the dogs will run off if they are off leash ... If the dog is cooped up indoors all day, and it never is off leash outside of a tiny fenced backyard, or course it will run off when it gets a chance! That's because the breed has been bred to be outdoors and free ALL OF THE TIME. The dogs are bred to stay with their flocks roaming tens or hundreds of acres, not stay indoors, with little daily outings into a tiny backyard.
We were shocked that this organization doesn't seem to have any understanding at all of the breed they are dedicated to. We were shocked that they would rather have us go buy a dog from a breeder, and let a Great Pry somewhere in a shelter be euthanized. They wouldn't let us adopt one of their mixed breed dogs (for $475) so that they could rescue another Great Pry and put him into the foster home vacancy that we could have created. I can't imagine what their mission statement says, but they seem to be extremely misguided.
Since we weren't allowed to adopt the 18 month old dog we wanted, we still don't have an LGD, and the coyote came back and killed 3 more chickens today (between 2 and 3PM). It killed Monkie, Beth and another hen. There were a whole lot of Puffball's feathers inside the barn and outside, but it didn't get her. Chickens can sometimes survive a hawk attack, but if a chicken is losing feathers in a coyote attack, the chicken never escapes... unless a person, a dog or a very very brave rooster saves her. Monkie (7 years old) must have attacked that huge coyote (50-60 lbs, we saw him later when he tried to get more) with everything he had, and he saved his beloved Puffball. The feathers at the scene show that he was trying to save Beth as well when he was killed. Maybe some would say that he was only a rooster, but he is our hero, and he is Puffball's hero, and we will never forget him.
Afterwards, we went out with a gun and our 50 lb indoor boxer mix (not an LGD!), Withing a few hundred yards of the barn, she spotted something and took off after it with me taking off after her. Shortly after taking off, she hollered and came back to me with her rear end bleeding. She just isn't bred to be able to intimidate predators.
It seems that all the dogs in the shelters are pit bulls or hounds. We need something with lots of fur and lots of size, that isn't bred to follow its nose for miles on end. So, for the first time in our lives, we are looking for a breeder of LGDs (upstate NY, not too pricey), so we can purchase a puppy or two that we can train to be guardians for our flocks of beloved chickens.
We've never bought a dog from a breeder... My wife has had dogs all of her life, and in our 30 years of marriage, we've had 3 dogs who showed up and adopted us, and we've adopted our other three dogs from animal shelters. We own over 400 acres. None of our dogs have ever been hit by cars or run away. All of our dogs have lived to be at least 11 (most of them, 13 or more). All of our dogs have been between 40 and 90 lbs. Our 90lb shepherd mix LGD who showed up at our farm 13 years ago when he was about a year old, died about a year ago.
After a coyote killed three chickens a month ago, we decided that we needed to get another big outdoor dog, The National Great Pyrineese Rescue had a young Great Pry mix in foster care less than an hour from our home.
We were shocked when they rejected our adoption request. We told them that we would walk the dog off leash on our own property, and that killed the deal. They don't want their dogs doing the work that they have been bred to do for hundreds or even thousands of years. They want their dogs to live indoors in suburban homes with fenced back yards, and they don't want their dogs to ever be off leash outside of that fenced in quarter acre backyard. They think the dogs will run off if they are off leash ... If the dog is cooped up indoors all day, and it never is off leash outside of a tiny fenced backyard, or course it will run off when it gets a chance! That's because the breed has been bred to be outdoors and free ALL OF THE TIME. The dogs are bred to stay with their flocks roaming tens or hundreds of acres, not stay indoors, with little daily outings into a tiny backyard.
We were shocked that this organization doesn't seem to have any understanding at all of the breed they are dedicated to. We were shocked that they would rather have us go buy a dog from a breeder, and let a Great Pry somewhere in a shelter be euthanized. They wouldn't let us adopt one of their mixed breed dogs (for $475) so that they could rescue another Great Pry and put him into the foster home vacancy that we could have created. I can't imagine what their mission statement says, but they seem to be extremely misguided.
Since we weren't allowed to adopt the 18 month old dog we wanted, we still don't have an LGD, and the coyote came back and killed 3 more chickens today (between 2 and 3PM). It killed Monkie, Beth and another hen. There were a whole lot of Puffball's feathers inside the barn and outside, but it didn't get her. Chickens can sometimes survive a hawk attack, but if a chicken is losing feathers in a coyote attack, the chicken never escapes... unless a person, a dog or a very very brave rooster saves her. Monkie (7 years old) must have attacked that huge coyote (50-60 lbs, we saw him later when he tried to get more) with everything he had, and he saved his beloved Puffball. The feathers at the scene show that he was trying to save Beth as well when he was killed. Maybe some would say that he was only a rooster, but he is our hero, and he is Puffball's hero, and we will never forget him.
Afterwards, we went out with a gun and our 50 lb indoor boxer mix (not an LGD!), Withing a few hundred yards of the barn, she spotted something and took off after it with me taking off after her. Shortly after taking off, she hollered and came back to me with her rear end bleeding. She just isn't bred to be able to intimidate predators.
It seems that all the dogs in the shelters are pit bulls or hounds. We need something with lots of fur and lots of size, that isn't bred to follow its nose for miles on end. So, for the first time in our lives, we are looking for a breeder of LGDs (upstate NY, not too pricey), so we can purchase a puppy or two that we can train to be guardians for our flocks of beloved chickens.
