Bought an anatolian shepherd pup last night...

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georgialee

georgialee

Songster
10 Years
Apr 9, 2009
2,399
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Knoxville, TN
...and she does NOT want to stay by herself outside. The (older) chicks are in a hutch in the backyard and I tried to leave her out there with them and she just cried and cried. I brought her in. She is the best little pup I have EVER had. She stays right by me when I'm walking and if I stop she'll lay down 'til I start moving again.

She was raised outside in the field with her parents so I don't understand why she feels the need for human companionship (tried leaving one of my other dogs out there with her and she acted like he wasn't even there).

Ideas? Suggestions?

Thanks
smile.png
 
How old is she?

Dogs are pack animals by nature and don't want to be by themselves. Since she has been taken away from her parents, you will become her pack instead, and, hopefully, your chickens.
 
Dogs don't really bond with chickens.
If you have warm blooded livestock, like sheep or goats, you can bond her with them.

Barring that, do NOT encourage her to look to other dogs for company. Bond her with you, do "perimeter patrol" 2x a day and train as usual. Even if you let her sleep inside, most dogs with strong protective instinct will want to be outside at night once they hit adulthood - between 2 and 3. LOL, you cant really expect too much in the way of coyote chasing from her before that point anyway!

Very, very few LGDs will actively protect chickens. What they do is protect the property and the chickens benefit, such as they're after the raccoon because Mr Coon DARED to walk across their ground, rather then that they care about the chickens (dog to english dictionary, chicken; annoying, dog-food stealing squeaky toy I must not play with. ie, not really company)
 
THANK YOU!!!

I took her out back for the third time today, did some chicken chores and left her back there as she didn't seem as distressed (she was inside with us all day today). I just peeked out and she is asleep beside the chicken brooder.
love.gif
 
...and she does NOT want to stay by herself outside. The (older) chicks are in a hutch in the backyard and I tried to leave her out there with them and she just cried and cried. I brought her in. She is the best little pup I have EVER had. She stays right by me when I'm walking and if I stop she'll lay down 'til I start moving again.

If you want a real LGD, you need to leave her outside.

It won't hurt her to cry a little, and that is perfectly normal when a young pup leaves its family for the first time.

She needs to be bonding with the animals and not the people.

The first step in preparing for your LGD is your own mental preparation. You are not getting a pet puppy. Yes, LGDs are dogs, but they’re not like any dog you’ve ever met.
Decide now that the day you bring your puppy home it will go directly to the barn without making a stop at the house.

It definitely shouldn’t spend its first night in the house, no matter how cute, cuddly and forlorn it looks.

Your pup most likely was born in a barn and has spent its whole short life in the company of livestock of some kind.

You won’t be doing it any favors by taking it into a strange place like your house where there is absolutely nothing familiar. By introducing it immediately into the environment where it will spend all its time, you’ll be doing it a big favor.

http://www.bountifulfarm.com/lgd_seminar.htm​
 
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