Livestock guardian dog for child with autism?

Chickerdoodle13 said:

The puppy is only six weeks old and you just brought her home. It will take time for her to settle in and she hasnt even reached the critical socialization point yet. She's recently undergone a very traumatizing event (removal from mom) and it can take puppies a while to settle in. While I think six weeks old is too young for a puppy to be removed from mom (I prefer 8 weeks at least), I would recommend getting in touch with a trainer sooner rather than later. I really recommend positive reinforcement as the primary training method, especially since this will be a child's dog.

GPs are not without their challenges, but with proper socialization, they have the potential to be great dogs for children. It would be a good idea to research the breed so you know what to expect (ie. they are not good candidates for off leash life).

I know you want a dog for protection, but it is always a good idea to socialize and desensitize dogs, otherwise the potential for a reactive, aggressive dog is quite real. This becomes a problem when visitors come over and suddenly you have a very large, reactive or aggressive dog that is difficult to manage. I would outline the behaviors you want to train the dog for and then create a plan to help you teach and reinforce those behaviors. Again this is easier with the help of a trainer, especially in the beginning.

Click to expand...

X2 on all counts

Chickerdoodle13 said:

The puppy is only six weeks old and you just brought her home. It will take time for her to settle in and she hasnt even reached the critical socialization point yet. She's recently undergone a very traumatizing event (removal from mom) and it can take puppies a while to settle in. While I think six weeks old is too young for a puppy to be removed from mom (I prefer 8 weeks at least), I would recommend getting in touch with a trainer sooner rather than later. I really recommend positive reinforcement as the primary training method, especially since this will be a child's dog.

GPs are not without their challenges, but with proper socialization, they have the potential to be great dogs for children. It would be a good idea to research the breed so you know what to expect (ie. they are not good candidates for off leash life).

I know you want a dog for protection, but it is always a good idea to socialize and desensitize dogs, otherwise the potential for a reactive, aggressive dog is quite real. This becomes a problem when visitors come over and suddenly you have a very large, reactive or aggressive dog that is difficult to manage. I would outline the behaviors you want to train the dog for and then create a plan to help you teach and reinforce those behaviors. Again this is easier with the help of a trainer, especially in the beginning.

Click to expand...

Ol Grey Mare said:

X2 on all counts

Click to expand...

X3.

She also probably wasn't socialized very well, if at all, and is likely a little scared of people since she has lived with goats and her siblings and mother all her life. Especially since you are a stranger and she just got ripped from her family. Give her some time.

Also I highly recommend socializing.

Our dog is half Black Lab and half Great Pyrenees and he came from a little family farm thing, grew up in a horse stall, his mom guarded goats. So he wasn't really socialized either, besides their son, and we meant to take him to a training class and never did.

Well... we didn't realize how protective the breed was and he goes NUTS when strangers come over. He especially hates anyone in uniform and big vehicles so UPS, mail man, Tru Green (he especially hates them because weird strangers in full body suits walk around with a scary spray-ey thing. Barked for hours, the whole time they were here), police, Fed Ex, etc. Fortunately, being half Lab, he LOVES people so once they come inside, he is fine. But with a full Pyrenees, yours might be a little suspicious at first. I've heard Pyrenees are generally lovable dogs and are great dogs but when they need to be protectibe, they will be. I've even heard of one taking a bear head on and chasing it off the property to protect her family, who didn't even notice the bear. Gator also goes nuts over coyotes, deer, and squirrels. They take their jobs VERY seriously. So that is why it is EXTREMELY important to socialize well and socialize early. And to also teach them the proper procedure for guests. This depends on what you want. You may want a few barks then they settle down when YOU say (Not when they wanna stop), you may want them to lay across the room and be quiet when people come, maybe you want them to interact calmly or want to lock them away (I don't advise this because they should get used to how to behave properly). But I guarantee you do NOT want them lungingat the window, hair raised, barking their aggressive, protective, "danger" bark, and terrorizing people, not calling off when you say so, like my dog. So teach them early. We are working with Gator now and he calls off easily with food and a leash but sometimes it's hard to get a leash on him when he's like that and it is much easier to just teach the proper behavior early on.

He used to ignore dogs but is now reactive with some. I think he just wants to say hi, being half Lab, and is frustrated by the leash, but it still looks scary to people to have a 130 pound dog lunging towards them and barking. He only had one dog he was truly being aggressive towards and that was the neighborhood Lab he HATES and that dog was being aggressive right back. He's mostly fine with my brother though so could be me but even with him, some dogs he freaks out at. And in the car he freaks way more with some dogs and people, we are now working on all of it.

I think he also may have anxiety or lacks confidence and barks or freaks out more to scare scary things away. He barks at everything. And he hates loud noises like pans dropping.

But anyways, all of this is obviously bad behavior and MUCH harder to fix now. I am also not saying that your dog will be like this but we did not realize how protective the breed was and without proper socialization, that can very easily turn very dangerous. Especially being in public.

Socialize, socialize, socialize.

Meet as many people and dogs as you can. Different kinds of people and equipment too. Different surfaces too. Grass, concrete, wood chips, hardwood floors, carpet, rubber, rocks, etc etc. Different toys. Loud noises like pans dropping or yelling. Fast movement. Especially important with kids as well as autism, kids are loud and fast moving. Get her used to people in hats, walkers, canes, crutches, wheel chairs, short people, tall people, different skin colors if possible, woman, men, other kids, etc. Also if you can, since she will be a service dog, see if you can try taking her into some stores too. She needs to get used to that too, should you ever decide to or need to bring her anywhere. This may sound intimidating and you obviously don't need to show her every single thing ever but the idea is to get her used to as many different things as possible. See a new person, dog, and/or place every week. But also make sure she has her vaccinations, you may have to carry her in stores or wait on meeting dogs. She needs to be safe. But the idea is that the more things that she sees, the more confident and the less scared she will be. A confident dog is a happy dog. Also the more things she gets used to now, the better able she will be to determine threats later. Our dog tends to bark at everything and overcompensate on the aggression, he's not really sure what's a threat and what's not but he's going to make **** sure if it IS a threat, he knows it's his property. A true, well bred and well socialized Great Pyrenees, should be able to better discern waht is TRULY a threat and what is not and doesn't necessarily need to bark at everything or be overly aggressive. A few barks should do. But if it is a serious threat, like the bear, they will give their lives and not back down or run away. So this is why socialization is key. And training.

ALSO.

I would add to be sure you socialize her a lot at home too. Have as many guests over as possible and teach her how you want her to behave when guests come over.

This is important because Gator LOVES people when he sees them on walks, etc. But is very territorial and protective of both the house and the car and goes ballistic. From what I've read, many other Great Pyrenees are the same. She needs to learn that as long as you approve of the guest then they are okay and excessive barking or aggression is unacceptable. Again, this is best done early and could turn dangerous if you don't teach her.

BUT.

Great Pyrenees are GREAT dogs and I think perfect for the job. I even know of a couple that are therapy dogs. They are excellent dogs, very loving and gentle with their family and usually love kids. They are essentially giant teddy bears. But they can turn into big ferocious scary bears when protecting their family and/or if they perceive a threat which is why early socialization is so important. They will always be protective of their family but you can help her better discern what the real threats are.

Sorry for my babbling. Hahah

Anyways, good luck with your pup!

Here's a pretty good chart on socialization

https://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/socializing-your-dog-an-illustrated-guide/

And here's a really good article I just found. The title's a little misleading but it explains well how to properly do it and a lot of stuff

http://www.clickertraining.com/dont-socialize-the-dog

ETA:

And here's a really good, detailed, comprehensive checklist and article I found a while ago but had lost. Just found it again.

http://puppytales.com.au/2015/03/11/puppy-socialisation-a-free-downloadable-checklist-for-you/

But be sure to read the other links too.

Hopefully this helps and doesn't overwhelm you

Well. I had a very long and informative post written about how we train service animals to assist those with autism and how we train them to non-aggressively prevent abduction and wandering, but I left my computer unattended and when I returned, the post I'd spent nearly an hour editing, citing and proof reading had been replaced by a series of J's and brackets by my cat. If I find the motivation to retype it I will, but for now I'm going to sulk and try not to have cat for dinner.

For now I'll throw you some links on owner-training service dogs (Which is something I can help walk you through, if you're interested. Just shoot me a PM and I can send you my Email for a more in-depth breakdown of the law and requirements) and some links about how tethering is used to aid those with autism.

Some information about service dogs for autism: http://4pawsforability.org/autism-assistance-dog/

Some info on owner training a service animal: http://servicedogcentral.org/content/owner-training-tips

Some info on service animals in general and how the law regarding them works: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html