Choosing a livestock guardian dog

[kittycat1356]

Hello! I am getting a LGD tomorrow, they are Great Pyrenees Anatolian Shepard mixes, still puppies. How do I know which pup to choose? It's going to be guarding chickens, and other poultry, later possibly goats and sheep. And would a male or female be a better choice??

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[dainerra]

Are the pups currently around livestock? The breeder should be able to tell you which puppies show the best traits around the other animals.
Male vs female is more a personal choice. Males ares easier for many because you don't have to worry about heat cycles or pregnancy. Especially if you decide to wait to alter the dog until they are fully mature to decrease health risks (around 2 years old). If you might add a second dog later, males are also easier. You can add a second male or add a female for the second dog. 2 females are the most difficult to have in most breeds.

 

[kittycat1356]

They are around goats and poultry, I'm going to see them today, I'll probably end up with a male, but I'll definitely ask which he thinks is best. They are with their mother as well, so she's kind of training them too.

 

[kittycat1356]

Okay, I chose my pup and brought him home. He's doing pretty good with the birds, but occasionally he wants to play with them and when they run he follows, which freaks them out more. Any ideas on getting his puppy energy out on something other than my chickens?
He does very well with the chicks and chicken who don't run from him. He is also a pretty quick learner, he knows Sit, Down, and paw.

Also he is very shy, and when I scold him for chasing chickens, his feelings get hurt and he hides in the bushes. ( I just say NO! And tap him on the butt to turn his attention)

I keep him inside at night and mostly outside during the day with me, unless it's raining.

 

[SeasideChef]

Congratulations on your new addition! Great Pyrenees are wonderful dogs. One of my neighbours used to have a female GP and she was a great herding dog, though they had cows and not chickens. She was also a good family dog, friendly with kids.
I have a Sheltie. It is a smaller Collie-like breed. So far she has been very good with all our other animals, including the cat, and has been curious but gentle around the chicks. It'll be interesting to see how she will be when our chicks get older and are finally released into the coop and the yard.

 

[redguinea]

I have a 16 week old maremma and am having trouble with him chasing after chooks and he has killed 4 from being too rough. I think I went wrong by having him in the house at first now he wants to be a pet and not be with the chooks. So I suggest you get a yard for him with the chickens. Mine now sleeps in a smaller in enclosure in the chicken yard at night and during the day in a larger outdoor pen still in the chicken yard. He gets a walk day and night to curb the boredom of being with chickens who dont want to play back. He has a heap of toys and chews to keep him occupied while in the pens but if I let him out with the chooks he's back to chasing them. So I hope he is just going through the puppy stage and will calm down. I dont know how you would go introducing yours to sheep/goats if he is being trained with poultry. I take my boy to visit the sheep and they cant stand him (chase him away) so I think you would need to raise the pup with lambs/kids. I hope this infomation helps.

 

[kittycat1356]

I show him the chickens and let him smell them. He knows they are not toys and knows i dont like when he chases them. He will avoid eye contact with them and try hard to just to avoid being next to them, but when they run out in front of him he kind of just looses it.
He hasnt gotten one yet, and he only half heartily chases them, but would probably bite them and kill one if i wasnt there to correct him. I really think he just needs to play and he probably wouldn't bother with them if he wasnt so bored.

 

[Chicknbootz]

I'm just now seeing this post. Your pup should be a year now? How did training go? Any tips or advise?

 

[MountaingateHomestead]

We recently traded a goat for a Great Pyrenees. We picked Guinness out of the litter because he would not leave the goat herd when all the other puppies did. I linked an adorable video to our puppy.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

coming across an old post wondering how it turned out. Getting a guardian breed from working parents is a good start. You also gain the assistance of raising your pup with your livestock from the breeder. Don't feel any of the guardian breeds were bred for chickens, fowls, birds are hard on all breeds of dogs. Guardian breeds are no different.

Puppys should be contained, restricted and supervised until they are mature enough to be with the livestock and that could be 2 to 3 years old.

Hope it turned out well for everyone. I love mine. they ended up being very aerial alert, they don't allow any wild predators to land on the property. I miss the Great horned owls that use to visit and hunt the rabbits on our property.. Now they perch outside our property on the electric poles and screech at my LGD's lol ...