Great Pyrenees behavior

[chooks4life]

Quote: ...Sounds not good, at all. It might actually be the best case scenario if he'd gotten them all in one go, though it's still not good. But over time? Even worse.

Your training doesn't sound like the problem, not that I am some expert on it, but I think this one may not work out. If you do persevere please keep this thread updated every now and then, if you have time, I'm sure it would help many people, maybe even me in the not-so-distant future if I get a LGD that isn't working out.

Best wishes.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
The way he is reacting at crate time doesn't mean that he has been abused. It simply means that he has never been crate trained. As for picking off the chicks, that is because he had the opportunity. He has learned that they make tasty snacks so why should he stop. Could he be trained to be around the chickens MAYBE but unlikely at this point that you could ever trust him 100%. Eating in front of a dog isn't going to make them not food aggressive. It's more likely that he has simply learned that you aren't some big meanie who is going to take away his dinner so he is comfortable with you there. For the most part, teaching a pup about being a flock guardian is a matter of getting them used to the animals. He is a baby so, right now, he is more likely to want to play with them. Pups playing with animals leads to serious injury to one or both parties. The most important part of training (and the error you made with the chickens) is that he got the opportunity to hurt them.

 

[dainerra]

also, trying a dog on a runner will actually increase aggressive behaviors towards people and other animals.

 

[centrarchid]

The OP's pup is salvageable, very much so. Dainera's earlier assertion about lack of maturity stands. The training of a Great Pyrenees as done with animals it is bred to guard (sheep / goats) is not appropriate with chickens. The eating of birds will not be a long-term problem either. Make so dog is not able to get at vulnerable birds for and then directly over see interactions for a while where you behave as the adult dog would do and discipline pup when it behaves improperly. The Great Pyrenees does not have the same train-ability as most dogs but you will still be able to restrict from some behaviors but still allow it to be a pup.

I wish I were near you as I would take such a dog off your hands in a flash and having it guard poultry and sheep within a year. I said year because it takes time.

 

[chooks4life]

The OP's pup is salvageable, very much so. Dainera's earlier assertion about lack of maturity stands. The training of a Great Pyrenees as done with animals it is bred to guard (sheep / goats) is not appropriate with chickens. The eating of birds will not be a long-term problem either. Make so dog is not able to get at vulnerable birds for and then directly over see interactions for a while where you behave as the adult dog would do and discipline pup when it behaves improperly. The Great Pyrenees does not have the same train-ability as most dogs but you will still be able to restrict from some behaviors but still allow it to be a pup.

I wish I were near you as I would take such a dog off your hands in a flash and having it guard poultry and sheep within a year. I said year because it takes time.

Interesting, can you elaborate on how you would train it? That's the main issue here it seems.

Best wishes.

 

[centrarchid]

Confine dog in a larger enclosure next to chickens. Get at least rudimentary control over it using standard puppy training techniques. Pup needs to understand concept that you can tell it not to do certain things. It will not be providing protection anyway yet. Everyday possibly get it out with birds while on leash at first then take it on patrol of perimeter it is to guard. On such patrols periodically take it back into flock but discourage improper attention given to birds and nests. Goal is to habituate dog to birds and its surroundings. By fall have all birds roosting in dog-tight locations and that is when dog can be released at night. About a year after that the birds need not be so protected by their roosting quarters. Objective for me is to have chickens be able to incubate broods in field on ground without threat from wildlife or dog itself. Guarding chickens does not come natural for such a dog but it can do it. You do not get good guarding until dog is pushing two years which applies will all dog types I am familiar with, not just LGD's.

The dog needs to get out and about. The enclosure part should not be over done otherwise dog will have poor ranging habits later. If it were me I would have dog commingled with large cull roosters all the time so he can spend out his bad habits on them and they tend to be calmer which facilitates training.

Do not keep dog in house. Keep it out near charges.

To help train dog, keep you ears peeled for problems caused by predators (i.e. fox or hawk visit) and release dog on them when they occur. Do not let dog get into something like a raccoon until at least year as that can cause dog fear issues later if he / she gets whipped. You want dog to be able to kill fighter outright, no fair fights should be desired. This latter concern usually addressed by adult dogs so you are a second best stand in.

 

[chooks4life]

lol, that actually sounds just like how I train my other dogs, which aren't LGDs at all. Thanks for sharing.

I have wondered about LGDs and poultry, since they are supposed to guard larger animals, but I know Maremmas are used for poultry quite often. Even llamas are.

Best wishes.

 

[rockingbearanch]

fyi, The last update I had was that he is far away from chickens with a suburban family and doing well. They have another gp.

 

[chooks4life]

Thanks for the update. Hope he continues to do well.

Best wishes.