English Shepherd as Poultry Guardian

[centrarchid]

Now I can hear a juvenile GHO. Hens roosting roof of house need to come in tonight.

 

[centrarchid]

Flo is coming into heat. Fence around barn is up just in time. It will not be long before Pup Pup come in as well. Both will be housed in barn for durations of their estrus events. This may be a draw the neighbors dogs will not be able to resist. Honey will have to defend house area alone. Soon I will get her a nice portable dog house that will be near chicken pens. That way she will not have to be in the garage where she can not hear and smell what is going on. She often like sleeping out in snow anyway, but this way she can stay out of wind when it gets really cold.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Flo is coming into heat. Fence around barn is up just in time. It will not be long before Pup Pup come in as well. Both will be housed in barn for durations of their estrus events. This may be a draw the neighbors dogs will not be able to resist. Honey will have to defend house area alone. Soon I will get her a nice portable dog house that will be near chicken pens. That way she will not have to be in the garage where she can not hear and smell what is going on. She often like sleeping out in snow anyway, but this way she can stay out of wind when it gets really cold.

Are you planning to have Flo or Pup Pup bred this or next time?

 

[centrarchid]

Maybe next year.

 

[centrarchid]

I have been watching those that breed to sell English Shepherds. They do it in a manner that seems odd to me. Pups purchased based on pictures only. Mothers produce multiple litters. Most of the parents and the siblings of pups are not working dogs, rather just pets. Their pups go out the door well before they are of an age I am able to evaluate them. That said, their sales model was more effective than mine. I thought I was being smart keeping pups through 10 to 12 weeks. That is how we did hound dogs and even kept some through 6 months on purpose.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have been watching those that breed to sell English Shepherds. They do it in a manner that seems odd to me. Pups purchased based on pictures only. Mothers produce multiple litters. Most of the parents and the siblings of pups are not working dogs, rather just pets. Their pups go out the door well before they are of an age I am able to evaluate them. That said, their sales model was more effective than mine. I thought I was being smart keeping pups through 10 to 12 weeks. That is how we did hound dogs and even kept some through 6 months on purpose.

I think it's because 8 week puppies are still cute and fluffy and friendly. They feed more on the "aww, it's so cute and fluffy and friendly" emotion of the sale

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Also pups bond better with their new humans between that 8-12 week window. A lot of stuff goes on in those first few month that can make or break pups, and affect their personality. Properly raised pups exposed to all kinds of things are always the best no matter the age.

I suppose it all depends on the purpose of the dogs in the new owners life. I personally wouldn't take a pup past 12 weeks anymore. The fact that I keep multiple dogs also plays into it. A pack will accept a younger pup without too much grumbling. An older pup may have troubles from my experiences.

 

[fisherlady]

The breeder we obtained from is great at evaluating young pup personalities. But she has been doing so for many, many years. Having a working farm with fowl, goats, sheep and sometimes larger livestock helps. She is able to watch how the pups interact with each other, older working dogs and the livestock from the time they are able to follow their mama around the property. Watching these interactions closely, and behavior at feeding and playtime can give great insight on basic personalities of the dogs. Are they pushy? Aggressive about resources, submissive to some but not others? Curious and bold or shy and submissive?
Watching for these traits is half the battle, the other half is extensive conversations with perspective owners. What do they want the dog's role to be? Just a pet? Working small stock, large stock? What type of family dynamic? Boisterous home, quiet one? Many other dogs? What sex dog's? Some pups may challenge older dogs, others are pleasers who get along with everyone. The last criteria is appearance, she won't place a dog to someone who's first requirement is a particular color unless all other factors work. She is very up front about it, she wants the pup to be the right fit.
I am heading to Oklahoma to meet her next week to pick up a 6 month old female. The breeder is having some medical issues to take care of and is downsizing her farm for the near future. She wanted this dog as a future breeder (if her hips score good at 2 yr mark) but found she will have to wait a while so she asked my husband and I to take her. Looking forward to meeting up with her again and meeting a couple other ES folks while there to talk dogs and bringing a new dog back east.
Edit to add... she won't let pups go before 8 weeks, sometimes longer if she is deciding best matches on more specific abilities.

 

[fisherlady]

Personally I would have trouble buying a farm dog from someone who keeps them in a kennel set up with no livestock for evaluation, I wouldn't want a hunting dog from a dog who never hunted or really any working dog from a person that didn't choose their breeding stock from an actual working environment. Those type of breeders usually don't do the breeds any favors and often can create problem dogs that can lead to a decline in the breed. They don't have to be field trial champions, or large farm experts, but they should have exposure to the environment their pups are expected to play a role in and show they are good examples of the breed's workability before they are used for breeding.

 

[centrarchid]

Attributes of greatest interest to me are not directly related to position in pecking order. I want ES that responds to human voice as a point of interest. The pup needs to be interested in novel stimuli and not overly frightened by new stimuli.