Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[bruceh]

Typically you will have 2, 3 or more LGD dog if you have a flock of sheep. Never one.

Yes the owner has to be the alpha. No if buts then... This is where most of the problem lies with training of LGD dogs. Most do not understand this aspect. Or some misunderstand as you can treat the dog rough. It's not the same. GP will challenge you even though they are sweet natured. And you need to respond appropriately so that GP recognize that you are his alpha. The broken GP I had for a very short time knew who the alpha was. I also could not risk him killing one of my cats, chicken or attacking my partner because GP thought she, my partner, was going to take away his bond with me. The dog was unpredictable!! A cat could walk by his nose and nothing on one occasion. Next time, he would be like a spring loaded trap and lunge to get at the cat. I could not let my guard down with this particular dog. I just didn't have the right environment to rehab the dog.

On return I said, this dog needs to be the only dog in the household. No small children and no small animals. Once he was rehab'ed he may be fine. But not in the state he was when he came to me or when he returned.

Several GPs are quite effective against a bear! Bear doesn't want to get hurt either. If he really wanted, I'm sure the bear could kill the GPs but at what cost. Bear can't afford to get hurt either and their instinct tell them so.

Yup they have tendencies to roam in what they consider their "territory" and not respect your property line. LOL... You need a 6ft plus tall fence if you want to keep them in your property or train them very well. Even my GP-lab mix will do a perimeter check and bark at every corner of my property in the morning... well come to think of it any time of the day. coyotes are no where to be seen near my property. A year old coon was scoping out a his turf and decided to move on when he realized that there was a GP-lab mix dog on my property and my neighbor has Aussie shepherd. God he is so wound up.

i understand your stand on the dog. giant breed dogs are hard enough without them being mistreated. socializing a broken dog takes months and months. my mastiff rescue is now just at the point of decent behavior. the next steps are social interaction with the others. it will take another 5-6 months to get her to be trusted. the broken dogs are a challenge. i don't blame you one bit. a big out of control dog can inflict injury with intention. my brother and i had my main mastiff out on the leash. within seconds another mastiff broke out of the neighbors front door . james ended up with 9 stitches in his arm. this all took pace within 3 min. of leaving my front door. course the drunken neighbors did not care.

 

[Beekissed]

Therapy dogs have to be clean and very gentle...not that GP aren't gentle but one swing of the hips in their little dance of joy they do when petted will knock an old lady off her feet. They also really want those pets and will shove their massive heads anywhere they can to get the pats to keep coming.

The clean part....GPs are most decidedly an outside dog and their double coat has a distinctive sour smell, both winter and summer. They will shed a full dog about 2-3 times a year. I ain't kiddin. When you get done brushing there is a bushel of fine, silky and very stinky hair. Bathing such a beast is difficult and repeated bathing is not good for their skin. They have very oily hair and it's for a reason...it protects their skin from rain, snow and wind. It also protects them, in some odd way, from getting too hot in the summer. Those who shear these dogs in the summer are doing them a big disservice.

Because of their warm coats they suffer in an inside environment that has steady heat during the winter. They simply do not thrive well inside the house, no matter what folks say....these dogs were designed beautifully to work and live outdoors and this is where they are most healthy and happy.

 

[bruceh]

Actually the GPs are very effective against bears. What you see on TV and movies about bears is pretty much useless. They will not confront two or three large GPs....they hunt bears with dogs all the time. Especially the bears in that area....bear hunting with dogs is a big sport there.

These GPs were so effective against bears that all the neighbors within 5 miles on either side of this farm were also reporting no more bear or coyote losses. Not only that, but all the deer and anything else living in the woods for a 5 mile radius were missing as well!

GPs are TOO effective and they run all night long...the only problem with that is that they should be sticking with the flocks all day and night, not chasing off every bear in a 5 mile radius, getting hit on the road, killing everyone's chickens, etc.

i thought it was 1 dog against a crew of bears. the gp i am not to educated on. i am a mastiff guy.

 

[smyers32]

i thought it was 1 dog against a crew of bears. the gp i am not to educated on. i am a mastiff guy.

Used to work at a horse farm here, the people also breed bullmastiffs, do a lot of showing and I think do well. They had a male go to westminster.
The mofo that bit me: http://www.dalprimobullmastiffs.com/spanky.htm
(not just me either)

 

[Beekissed]

i thought it was 1 dog against a crew of bears. the gp i am not to educated on. i am a mastiff guy.

Bears don't normally move in packs, though you can have a mother and cubs or half grown cubs who will pal around together but they don't normally concert an attack on an opponent. Mostly you will see mama fighting if attacked and cubs fleeing, or the "crew" of half grown cubs fleeing. Mostly bears will run unless cornered or protecting a kill or a cub.

 

[al6517]

I have a Taco dog about the size of six pack that licks my face when I try to nap longer than 10 minutes on the recliner, and is great at barking incessantly from the couch top looking through the window at meadow Larks on the proch. Does that count

 

[TXchickmum]

Years ago, we had a fabulous GP. -husband already had the dog when we got married. That was the best dog! -fabulous out on acreage and guarded the property very well. -sweet, sweet temperament but all business when protecting his territory. The breeder from which my husband purchased his dog utilized one of her dogs as a therapy dog. -worked at a children's hospital. The dog was outstanding in this capacity. She spent countless hours training her dogs.

 

[Beekissed]

We love to hate those kind of dogs!

Small but loud dogs who don't realize how small they really are get under my skin. Probably why I also don't really like bantam breeds of chickens.....

 

[bobbi-j]

We love to hate those kind of dogs!

Small but loud dogs who don't realize how small they really are get under my skin. Probably why I also don't really like bantam breeds of chickens.....

Around here, they're referred to as "rats on a rope".

 

[NickyPick]

I have always wanted a GP, but I just can't see one truly being comfortable down here near Houston. It's not just HOT, its hot and HUMID. From April to October, we live in a sauna. What I do have is rescued Australian Shepherds. Between losing my last one and getting my current one, I got chickens. Melina came from spending her first 3 years locked up in a condo, getting bathed and sheared every 2 weeks and only going out on a leash to do her business. Her owner tried to have her put down for being to hyperactive!!???? When she first arrived, she was absolutely entranced with the chickens - would spend a lot of time staring at them through the coop/run fence. I could tell, that she would catch and kill them if she ever got a chance. Over the last year, we've worked at obedience, boundaries and respect. The horses helped <g> 3 months ago, I started giving the chickens the run of the barn because I noticed that the one stall they did have daily access to, hardly ever needed cleaning, so I figured they could help with the rest of the barn chores (it's working great, too!). I nearly had a heart attack the second week when I went out to check on them and found Melina in the barn aisle, surrounded by chickens, as she cleaned up after them.

She pays them no mind at all! I'm so amazed. Even now, we'll go out to the barn, and she will burst out of the feed room and charge down the aisle to bark at the horses and completely ignores the scattering chickens in her path. I'm not sure when it clicked in her head that she wasn't to touch them, but I'm very glad it did.