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We got him from Cedaridge Farm in Northern Kentucky.
We set out in search of an LGD when we woke up to the sound of coyotes attacking deer directly across the road from our house, not more than 100yds from our goat barn. There were at least four coyotes, and we found a severely injured fawn in the weeds once the sun came up... Not a pretty sight. Pretty gut wrenching, actually.. She ran away, but left a blood trail as she went..
Needless to say, we knew right then that it was time to get a guardian dog.
I talked to some "goat friends" of ours, and they put us in touch with the nice folks at Cedaridge... They had one male left, but he was already 6mo old and wasn't very sociable. They knew he would make a fine LGD...it was just a matter of finding someone who was willing to work with him and get to know him.
On our first visit, he was just OK enough to take treats from me, but not OK enough for me to pet him.. He half-snapped at me a time or two when I got a little too cozy, but that was to be understood.. He was intimidating -- even at 6mo -- which frankly impressed me. More than anything, though, you could look into his eyes and see that he was a good dog...a smart dog...but he was just weirded out by new people.
Anyway, we decided to give him a shot. They brought him out to our farm maybe a week later, and he demonstrated that he reeeeeeally didn't like me.. At all. He loved my wife right off the bat, but he'd growl and bark and lunge at me.
My wife thought that was pretty funny, btw..
I did some research and what I found was that it wasn't that he hated me...he was actually terrified of me. A guardian dog that's terrified doesn't run away, though -- they bark and lunge and growl. It's a characteristic called "fear aggression." He's all fight, no flight. In addition to a large frame and a big set of chompers, fear aggression is something you want in a guardian dog (especially one that's expected to confront wolves and bears, which Sarpies do in the Sar Mountains of the former Yugoslavia)..
Long story longer, I had to basically teach him -- across a fence, at first -- that he couldn't run me off. He'd bark and bark and bark and lunge and growl and bark some more...but I just wouldn't leave him alone. I couldn't let him "win." Once he figured it out, he'd just move away and lay down -- even though doing so went against every fiber of his being.
It took several days, but I got to where I was able to run him off...which I did, regularly...I had little choice but to chase that poor dog all over the place to reinforce the idea that I was either A) crazy or B) fearless.. I was neither, of course, but he didn't know that...and that was the whole game.
Eventually, as I was the only one giving him food, he got to where he'd come near me. If I put my hands on him, he'd go stone still like he just knew I was going to kill him...but I'd pet him instead.
He decided he kinda liked that in a fairly short period of time.
Today, we're best buds. Every evening when we go feed the goats, he wags his whole big giant body and won't hardly let you around until you give him his lovin's..
Don't let that big waggy tail fool you, though...when there's a threat, he's all business. Nothing gets by that dog -- not even a box turtle, one of which he 'cornered' and barked at until my wife came and removed it from his area.
He's just an amazing dog.. There's simply no other word for it.
So how's that for a very long answer to a very short question?
Thank you for sharing and giving him a chance...I have been privately doing rescue for over 17yrs and so many of my rescues were dogs people would not give a second look to and now I have people asking for a dog "just like" the one I placed with so & so....its a great feeling....I am glad Ivan found his way into your home & heart!!
We got him from Cedaridge Farm in Northern Kentucky.
We set out in search of an LGD when we woke up to the sound of coyotes attacking deer directly across the road from our house, not more than 100yds from our goat barn. There were at least four coyotes, and we found a severely injured fawn in the weeds once the sun came up... Not a pretty sight. Pretty gut wrenching, actually.. She ran away, but left a blood trail as she went..
Needless to say, we knew right then that it was time to get a guardian dog.
I talked to some "goat friends" of ours, and they put us in touch with the nice folks at Cedaridge... They had one male left, but he was already 6mo old and wasn't very sociable. They knew he would make a fine LGD...it was just a matter of finding someone who was willing to work with him and get to know him.
On our first visit, he was just OK enough to take treats from me, but not OK enough for me to pet him.. He half-snapped at me a time or two when I got a little too cozy, but that was to be understood.. He was intimidating -- even at 6mo -- which frankly impressed me. More than anything, though, you could look into his eyes and see that he was a good dog...a smart dog...but he was just weirded out by new people.
Anyway, we decided to give him a shot. They brought him out to our farm maybe a week later, and he demonstrated that he reeeeeeally didn't like me.. At all. He loved my wife right off the bat, but he'd growl and bark and lunge at me.
My wife thought that was pretty funny, btw..
I did some research and what I found was that it wasn't that he hated me...he was actually terrified of me. A guardian dog that's terrified doesn't run away, though -- they bark and lunge and growl. It's a characteristic called "fear aggression." He's all fight, no flight. In addition to a large frame and a big set of chompers, fear aggression is something you want in a guardian dog (especially one that's expected to confront wolves and bears, which Sarpies do in the Sar Mountains of the former Yugoslavia)..
Long story longer, I had to basically teach him -- across a fence, at first -- that he couldn't run me off. He'd bark and bark and bark and lunge and growl and bark some more...but I just wouldn't leave him alone. I couldn't let him "win." Once he figured it out, he'd just move away and lay down -- even though doing so went against every fiber of his being.
It took several days, but I got to where I was able to run him off...which I did, regularly...I had little choice but to chase that poor dog all over the place to reinforce the idea that I was either A) crazy or B) fearless.. I was neither, of course, but he didn't know that...and that was the whole game.
Eventually, as I was the only one giving him food, he got to where he'd come near me. If I put my hands on him, he'd go stone still like he just knew I was going to kill him...but I'd pet him instead.
He decided he kinda liked that in a fairly short period of time.
Today, we're best buds. Every evening when we go feed the goats, he wags his whole big giant body and won't hardly let you around until you give him his lovin's..
Don't let that big waggy tail fool you, though...when there's a threat, he's all business. Nothing gets by that dog -- not even a box turtle, one of which he 'cornered' and barked at until my wife came and removed it from his area.
He's just an amazing dog.. There's simply no other word for it.
So how's that for a very long answer to a very short question?
Thank you for sharing and giving him a chance...I have been privately doing rescue for over 17yrs and so many of my rescues were dogs people would not give a second look to and now I have people asking for a dog "just like" the one I placed with so & so....its a great feeling....I am glad Ivan found his way into your home & heart!!
