Livestock guardian dogs

[PeaChick C]

I actually have two Australian Shepherds and one Blue Heeler/Border Collie mix who are great at protecting the birds. Granted, we have had them since they were puppies so they never had any issues learning to chase the birds. They patrol around our place really well, have killed lots and lots of coyotes, racoons, skunks, snakes, etc. I do think they work so well because we have three of them. Not sure one could take on a coyote since they are usually running in groups of three or more. The LGD are good too, Great Pyr are what my friends have but they are just bigger than what I would like and don't live as long, 7 yrs is an average lifespan for giant breeds. Just some thoughts. Good luck!

I second this! We have a Blue Heeler- Aussie Shepherd mix. It took us a year of work to get her trained well. But now she is the BEST thing to protect our birds. As long as it isn't raining she is sure to keep coons, fox, rats, etc at bay. I even trained her to chase off hawks and eagles. She is so eager to please. She will sit and watch the birds of HOURS!

The only habit that was hard to break was newborn ducklings. But gosh darn it, they just sound so much like a squeaky toy!!!

 

[kerry-anne]

I have an 8 month old border collie and got the chickens only a few weeks ago. Straight away she started protecting them in the garden. The only predictors I have here where I live in the UK are cats and foxes. She will chase off cats that are not my own and kept nudging my brothers dog away from the chickens when he came to visit. She had never been trained to do this, it must be instinct in her. She also guards the rabbits and guinea pigs and happily plays with them when they are running around the garden.
But dogs will do what they want, not all are trainable to protect. I have a Siberian husky cross Alaskan malamute who was brought up with cars yet he hated them and went as far as to kill one of my own.

 

[kerry-anne]

**** phone auto correct! Preditors not predictors and cats not cars :|

 

[rainbowhatchery]

Protection dogs and livestock guard dogs have drastically different styles and purposes. I have been in law enforcement for 15 years as well as have a hobby farm with sheep and a small hatchery of about 150 chickens, turkeys and ducks. I had a K9 for almost 13 years who we just lost and was a german shepherd and we now have bandogge mastiff in our home for protection. He is great at his job but would be horrible as a livestock guard dog for numerous reasons and just breed personality traits. To protect our livestock we have Turkish Kangals and they are unmatched in doing their jobs. Our male is 3/4 kangal and 1/4 great pryn and our female is pure kangal. I live in Northern MI and to my knowledge we have never lost a bird to a predator minus a few roosters that decided to start roosting outside of my livestock perimeter fence where the dogs cant go. We have personally seen them chase off a black bear twice and just this summer I found the remains of 2 different posssums inside my perimeter fence. I can go on with a few more stories but for anyone reading this that lives in an area with alot of predators of any size Kangals will not let you down. They need no training and just naturally do their job. Its amazing how they know what animals are supposed to be in the fence and which arent, that still amazes me every time I bring a new critter home and they accept it because I bring it in but are willing to fight and kill something that same night that isnt supposed to be there. They show 0 aggression to our livestock and basically just lay around like big lazy bums all day just watching. My 2 have never been in the house in their life and in the middle of a blizzard they will lay right in the middle of the field to do their job even though they have a barn to go into. Im sort of rambling but we lost chickens to coyotes like mad about 6 years ago and got into the Kangals and started breeding and I just cant express how impressed I am with their ability to do their job and temper, they also make amazing guard dogs for around your home. My male will not let a stranger over our perimeter fence anymore than a coyote but its just astounding how gentle he is with my family and the animals that are aloud to be there, our ducks actually eat out of his dish with him.

 

[CASDOG1]

The some of the traits listed above are not the ideal for guarding poultry, especially when climate is not like in northern Europe. Most LGD's used to guard ruminants are neither fast or agile. Poultry will be victims of snatch and grab by canids in particular that will not stand and fight like a wolf or domestic dog. Additionally, smaller predators like foxes take more birds than the bigger animals, especially if all you have is a big dog patrolling that lacks speed and initiative.

Have you ever seen an LGD in action? My dogs can run 35 mph (yes, I have clocked them), turn on a dime, & leap a 5 foot fence from a standstill. LGDs are every bit as effective against small predators as they are large ones. Mine are excellent ratters & can also catch birds in midair. They regularly catch rabbits & squirrels & are murder on snakes, including venomous ones. They even catch flies, which is sort of ridiculous, like using a .50 sniper rifle to shoot a can. The only reason people think they are clumsy & slow is because they don't spend a lot of time running around for no reason so unless you happen to be present when $h*t goes down, you never see what they can do. It's a very common misconception & every single person who has ever seen them in action is invariably floored at their explosive speed & agility.

LGDs are not for everyone, but lack of ability to catch & pummel any predatory interloper is not one of the reasons why they might not work for any given situation.

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Anna and Co.

 

[centrarchid]

Have you ever seen an LGD in action? My dogs can run 35 mph (yes, I have clocked them), turn on a dime, & leap a 5 foot fence from a standstill. LGDs are every bit as effective against small predators as they are large ones. Mine are excellent ratters & can also catch birds in midair. They regularly catch rabbits & squirrels & are murder on snakes, including venomous ones. They even catch flies, which is sort of ridiculous, like using a .50 sniper rifle to shoot a can. The only reason people think they are clumsy & slow is because they don't spend a lot of time running around for no reason so unless you happen to be present when $h*t goes down, you never see what they can do. It's a very common misconception & every single person who has ever seen them in action is invariably floored at their explosive speed & agility.

LGDs are not for everyone, but lack of ability to catch & pummel any predatory interloper is not one of the reasons why they might not work for any given situation.

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Anna and Co.

I am very familiar with multiple breeds of standard sized LGD that actually work as such with the types of livestock they were developed for. Multiple individuals of each as well. Large size greatly restricts acceleration capacity and endurance when it is hot. Laws of physics apply. I restate very familiar. Additionally I do not breed and sell (peddle) a product I make assertions about.

 

[rainbowhatchery]

You are extremely correct about LGD dogs speed and agility. Ironically my step mother and I were just talking about this yesterday because she breeds Travernes and does protection work. We were talking about how slow my Mastiff is compared to my Kangals. My dogs can cover an acre in a split second, they can move dont doubt that. As was just posted my male will kill anything in the fence and has caught squirrels as well. They are built just like wolves and are still closely related in many ways. They look big but they are actually pretty lean, nowhere near the muscle mass of my mastiff or most other dogs. They are extremely effective against smaller predators, 90% of your issues are with smaller predators usually.

 

[SunnySkies]

My 16 week old GP startled me with how FAST and agile he was when chasing a "predator" the other day. He almost caught it. The fence turned him back just in time.

It was only a squirrel, but I'm pretty sure, after observing him in action, that he won't have trouble with any predator, especially with his sister as backup when he grows up.

His sister surprisingly was not in on the chase, but I don't think she saw it. She is definitely our watcher and more vocal about oddities in the area.

 

[centrarchid]

Post deleted.

 

[lisa760]

I know everyone has their own reasons for choosing all their animals. I chose large dogs for one very specific reason, my biggest "predator" is humans. My dogs serve to protect my animals, from coyotes and neighbor dogs, but realistically, my fences do most of that work. However, I also have crops and people feel so free to hop a 6 foot fence and help themselves to whatever they see. I have mastiffs (Spanish and Pyrenean), they meet people at the fence. No more hopping. On the flip side, I did lose chickens before the dogs were old enough to guard, I can't tell you exactly what was getting them, my best guess was a combination of a bobcat and hawks. Either way, not an issue now. They weigh 120 to 150 pounds, they can catch squirrels, they are fast, but, people should get what works for them. My dogs eat a lot, they also poop a lot, so there are trade offs.