Best Bird Watch Dog

[centrarchid]

Your typical LGD will not requiring training in the classical sense. We have nearly a dozen at work where biggest concern was housing pups (singly or in the company of an adult dog) with full adult sheep / goats. With chickens, that may prove to be a different story as even pups can cause harm to adult chickens. For chicken predators such as foxes, coyotes, and even other dogs multiple guardians often warranted unless you have a tiny flock confined to a couple acres or less.

With some dogs, training is needed and can enable performance at poultry guarding level that simply does not exist in LGD's used for sheep / goats. I have done such a lot and it is not a game. Dogs are expensive regardless of pedigree but if properly employed can make free-range poultry much more doable without suffering losses to predators yet take full advantage of available forages.

 

[Triple Willow]

I'm considering a kennel, since I enjoy showing dogs, particularly for agility.

It's just that when I read your comment, all I could think of was an army of tiny, shaggy little mop dogs running over a green pasture like they were Spartans.

It is too easy to get caught up with keeping multiple dogs, when you realize how much time and training is required. It just would not be fair to the Puli.

I am not keeping a large flock, so just one can handle it in my situation.

As for the OP, what kind of style are you interested in? Do you need just a flock guardian or are you looking for a family guard dog as well? How much time do you have to devote to their training? There are dogs to match almost any style of ownership, but the guardian dogs require regular, daily time for training.

I know several people with real LGD's and mixed breeds as LGD's. None of them require regular, daily time for training. A real LGD would be extremely bored with somebody trying to train them to do what comes naturally to them. Out in places where LGD's really earn their keep they might not even see a human for days or longer.

 

[Bluebonnet]

I know several people with real LGD's and mixed breeds as LGD's. None of them require regular, daily time for training. A real LGD would be extremely bored with somebody trying to train them to do what comes naturally to them. Out in places where LGD's really earn their keep they might not even see a human for days or longer.

All I know from experience is that if you do not get the dog in the right habits from the start, any dog can quickly become trouble. They can chew, dig, bite, scratch, bark, chase etc.

I would not leave a dog for days or longer, but I would trust a larger breed or gun dog to be able to survive like that.

Puli are not really that big compared to the rest of the LGD breeds. I would be concerned about them more than I would a breed that is capable of taking down a medium to large sized animal.

Maybe I'm just over protective and maybe Puli are capable of such living, but I would not want to take that risk.

The one I had when I was little was the best little dog ever and I was with her all the time. I could never choose a breed that did not like plenty of attention, but I'm clearly biased.

 

[Triple Willow]

All I know from experience is that if you do not get the dog in the right habits from the start, any dog can quickly become trouble. They can chew, dig, bite, scratch, bark, chase etc.
Yep, haven't seen many puppies that didn't do all of that - some, but not many.
I would not leave a dog for days or longer, but I would trust a larger breed or gun dog to be able to survive like that.
A lot of ranchers leave their LGDs for extended periods of time. They have to.
Puli are not really that big compared to the rest of the LGD breeds. I would be concerned about them more than I would a breed that is capable of taking down a medium to large sized animal.
I've never personally known anybody to use a Puli.
Maybe I'm just over protective and maybe Puli are capable of such living, but I would not want to take that risk.

The one I had when I was little was the best little dog ever and I was with her all the time. I could never choose a breed that did not like plenty of attention, but I'm clearly biased.
The true working LGDs are usually not "pets" ...and usually not in somebody's backyard either I don't guess. But there are exception to everything. Everybody's setup is different.