Guard dogs with low prey drive?

[Red Mangrove]

I'm in a very unique situation here and I'm having a hard time finding an appropriate breed of dog for my land. In short, I own an acre of land on a spring in Florida in an area that's unfortunately developed a very bad meth problem. Moving isn't an option as I'm already heavily invested and have a beautiful homestead here.

Several homes in my area have already been burglarized. One man had his entire AC unit stolen while he was away from home, and another had every piece of copper ripped from the walls of his house. These zombies are very bad, and I would have been burglarized already had I not been home and vigilant.

A guard dog would be a tremendous aid, but I'm not sure if the breed I need exists. It needs to be friendly with children and chickens, aggressive to strangers, and it can't be a high roaming breed like most LGDs. Pyrenees are beautiful but they need far more land than my one acre provides given their high degree of roaming.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Maremma sound perfect but they're almost impossible to find.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

These zombies are very bad, and I would have been burglarized already had I not been home and vigilant.

They aren't scared of dogs and will harm them.. my dogs were pepper sprayed behind my own fence by the squatters that helped themselves to the forclosed house across the street while law enforcement did nothing about it.

While my other neighbor was gone grocery shopping had their dogs herded into a room and the door closed while the "burglars" did as they pleased. They also just open the gates let the dogs out (to possibly be ran over) and then go about their shady business. Mind you I was armed 24 hours a day due to home invasions being the reality. For me, the dogs were just an alarm to give me time to.. be alert and prepared. Before this house.. in an apartment while waiting to close escrow.. we were burglarized while I was gone to the dog park at 10 am in broad daylight.. They got more than 10,000 worth of items including TV's, firearms, lap tops, kids piggy banks.. etc. The loss was the LEAST hurtfull.. feeling violated was awful. Cops caught them the next day, some firearms were recovered, nothing else was replaced.. the charges were dismissed for plea to something else. They also ransacked the place. Come to find out, 3 prior tenants to that apartment were all burglarized! The dog I was gone to dog park with was right about a year old and got ran over by a tow truck in front of me that week, as the leash had been lost in the frenzy and something caused him to bolt which was not usually a problem. Subsequently, I got 3 dogs (not all at the same time).. so if I took one out 2 others could be at home with company/backup.. and have them take turns for who gets to go out.

My queensland heeler (puppy from the prior dog's pregnant dog friend at the time of his passing) was a great family dog and protected the poulty.. also wouldn't back down when the gang members who would flex their attitude and start coming toward the dogs (to test them). My other dogs (a bully and a hound cross) retreated.. while continually barking.. but retreated none the less. The hond had the hardest time with prey drive and small chicks. The bully, not so much but very human oriented. The healer had a fair amount of stranger danger while easily allowing invited guests, also allowed other farm animals their space *maybe* herding some but without nipping.. cats, pigs, goats. He even protected them from his other dog friends who would show intrest when visiting. SO trustworthy, solid, confident and protective but not agressive, resiliant. No real health issues.. (he had a benign fatty tumor for years and was starting to experience "sun downers" at 13.5 when we felt it was time to say goodbye). Of course all are individuals and YOUR relationship, that connection matters.. so getting the right one AND putting in the time still counts regardless of breed. Biggest draw back on the Healer front for me.. the high pitched bark, especially when they're excited. It's not deep like some other breeds. But it does have plenty of varriation to discern what they're communicating, if you're familiar enough to know them. Also it was never excessive or relentless for no reason.

I hated healers when I was a kid.. due to family members who thought nipping was cool and getting bit every time I turned my back on that dog or tried to walk away. But with proper training.. many breeds can work. Without proper training.. even alleged LGD breeds may not work out. I affectionately refer to my motley crew as LPD's.. livestock predator dogs.. Seriously though.. I've taught many dogs including visiting ones from a range of breeds to respect the fowl.

Will you be keeping this dog in your house to protect your items or outside to protect your livestock? Outside.. they aren't much good to the guns, TV, jewelry, etc. I'd rather come home to a house burglarized than a brutalized or dead family member which dogs are. Just for conversation.. I'm sure you'll get lot's of other feedback.

Florida heat and humidity.. would be a key factor in breed selection for me. Or that is to say that weather always is.

I'll admit.. I been looking at Merama also.. they're SO dang cute. Not right for my lifestyle though.. so sticking with Labs, for now. Regarding being hard to find.. have you already looked at clubs breeder directory type stuff?

https://www.maremmaclub.com/maremmasheepdogbreederdirectory.html

I DO feel ya, deeply.. we just happened to hit the housing market right and have another eventual destination already planned (9-ish years ago). But with gunfire ringing from nearby apartment complexes as my daughter walked home from highschool.. something had to give.. We made a huge amount of sacrifice for the move.. hubby rented a room and commuted home 7 hours each way on weekends.. for about 2years until finally being hired locally, once the politics played out and the employer (CDCR) (nursing management) was caught "discriminating", nepetism, and not filling positions despite having qualified applicants. Then of course, he still had to work with them once hired on.

I don't think a dog changes it.. meth is everywhere. Even here, there's just less people and infrastructure here.. making a litle less of it over all. This statement in support of you staying where you

I guess I'm gonna vote for Queensland Heeler.. WITH training and proper outlets for puppy energy, etc.

We did have a fantastic Austrailian Shephard when I was a kid and I do think they're beautiful.. but seems more "roaming" type and less stranger danger.. I remember Blue clearing a 6 foot fence.. and he found his way home once in less than a week, after being left at the gas station more than 30 miles away on the regular trip to the methadone clinic for my "parents", so he was at least soewhat familiar with the route but I'm no less impressed.

Funny enough.. in videos on how "domestic" (untrained to attack) dogs react when someone breaks in.. most the big dogs run for the hills and some even greet them and do tricks for treats and the little dogs (chihuahua's) are the ones that stand their ground (some, not all).. the burglar almost always got what they were after either way. Of course a chi would never be a real threat to an invader regardelss..

In the end, the squatters are gone, nice families have bought and moved in. If you stay long and firm.. the changes will take place and it's come full circle! Hope it happens sooner than later for you!

I do still think dogs *can* be a good "detterent" and many are crimes of opportunity. I do love me a good E fence!

Hmm, I rarely leave the house and have extreem anxiety about doing so.. I know that burglary (coupled with childhood tramua) plays into my fear response but living on guard is not really living.

Sorry so long and maybe jumbled, also a lot about myself.

Hope it does give some things to consider.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

A high prey drive is part of being a guard dog and a big part of why they are good at what they do. However, if they are raised correctly starting from their breeding to how their breeder handles them to how you train them can alter what they see as prey. For instance I have an Akita that I bought from a reputable breed who focused on breeding for temperament, health, conformation and ensured their dogs had proper handling from the start. My girl is absolutely amazing and does well with other dogs/ animals that she has been properly introduced to. She is also great with people as long as one of us living in the house introduces her to the new person initially. She is a big cuddle bug and even people who were bitten by large dogs as a kid have actually come around to liking dogs because of her. However, her guarding abilities are second to none. Four examples of how she guarded my family:

1. One day I answered the door and a man was there. He asked if he could cut a tree down off of our property. I politely said “No thank you we will take care of it ourselves. Have a nice day.” When I went to close the door he shoved his boot in the door and put his hand on it. My Akita came bolting to the door like a bat out of hell growling and she was about to tear this man apart. He screamed that she was an Akita and then took off to his car as fast as he could. That man never came back again. Ever since that day when I answer the door she will sit right there by the door waiting for me until I either close the door or introduce her to anyone who is visiting. We have a semi-open floor plan and she sleeps right where all of the rooms meet facing the side of the house where the exterior doors are.

2. She recognizes all of the delivery drivers/mailmen and will just watch through the window quietly when they come. One time a fed ex driver came at 6am while it was still dark out and was completely out of the usual schedule time (10am-2pm). She let out what we call her “danger bark” which is much different than her regular bark. This bark is so loud/deep that you almost feel it in your chest and even in the deepest sleep it will wake you up in an instant. She has only ever used this bark when she perceived someone as a danger. Anyways it’s 6am on a Saturday morning and she does her alarm bark. My husband and I jump out of bed. He grabs the gun runs out to the living room and there she is in here ready to attack stance growling at the front door.

3. We were at a family event and she was laying down beside my chair. All of the kids were running around and another family members jack russel who is always grumpy started growling at the kids every time they ran by (the kids were not even in the jack russels personal space unless you call 10ft away still in their bubble). I mentioned it to my cousin, but they said “oh it’s fine”. Then when the kids ran by again the jack Russel lunged at my son. My Akita caught the jack Russel mid air lunge and threw this little dog like a T-Rex scene in Jurassic park. The jack Russel was put away after that and my Akita walked over to where all of the kids were running in circles and sat in the middle.

4. She knows my kids bus schedule. About 10 minutes before they get on the bus she will go to the window and wait. She watches them get on the bus and as soon as the bus pulls out of the driveway she leaves the window. In the afternoon again about 10 minutes before their bus usually arrives she goes to the window, watches them get off the bus and walk inside where she greets them. Then she goes and lays down somewhere else in the house.

Now I am not saying get an Akita because they are certainly not for everyone, but what I am saying is that if you do your research and find a breed that is suited to your skill level (or have an experienced trainer involved) you can find a good guard dog. The biggest thing with guard dog breeds is making sure you are working with a sane, well handled dog before you get them and immediately start work with that high prey drive by exposing them to what you want them to see as friendly at a young age.

 

[Geena]

I'm in a very unique situation here and I'm having a hard time finding an appropriate breed of dog for my land. In short, I own an acre of land on a spring in Florida in an area that's unfortunately developed a very bad meth problem. Moving isn't an option as I'm already heavily invested and have a beautiful homestead here.

Several homes in my area have already been burglarized. One man had his entire AC unit stolen while he was away from home, and another had every piece of copper ripped from the walls of his house. These zombies are very bad, and I would have been burglarized already had I not been home and vigilant.

A guard dog would be a tremendous aid, but I'm not sure if the breed I need exists. It needs to be friendly with children and chickens, aggressive to strangers, and it can't be a high roaming breed like most LGDs. Pyrenees are beautiful but they need far more land than my one acre provides given their high degree of roaming.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Maremma sound perfect but they're almost impossible to find.

What a hard spot to be in, I really feel for you. A lot of breeds are good with children and small animals and will also bark to alert you of unusual goings on. Dogs that will actually engage and fend off zombies are all going to be high prey drive breeds that require a lot more supervision and training. Most any breed of dog is going to need to be fenced in to keep them on your property.

 

[bhaugh]

I'd consider an Anatolian shepherd or a kangal. Both breeds are good with their own family, are lgd's, and vicious with strangers esp kangals. But kangals are harder to find and I'd go purebred on them vs mixed with something else. Kangals will take down wolves and big game so you must be a STRONG leader or this will not be the breed for you. Plan to pay a bit for Kangals.
As someone who has trained dogs for years (myself), a law enforcement handler once made a comment that a dog's job was to alert and hopefully slow an oncoming attack to give the human time to prepare. Other than that, anything else was gravy. Killing a human on your property from a dog could be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Both breeds I mentioned have the capability to do that.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

A well bred Old English bulldog. They’ll tear a stranger up and protect the flock, but be friendly to those who tell them to be friendly to.

 

[TXchickmum]

https://shadyacresrosharon.wordpress.com/2019/05/29/cane-corso-as-livestock-guardian/

This breed might be applicable to your needs. I have a small Yorkie, and his "lady" friend is a Cane Corso. She is non-aggressive toward him; however, she is fiercely protective of her territory. Training is crucial for this breed, but it can fit the bill for what you're seeking.

 

[Lardson]

I'm in a very unique situation here and I'm having a hard time finding an appropriate breed of dog for my land. In short, I own an acre of land on a spring in Florida in an area that's unfortunately developed a very bad meth problem. Moving isn't an option as I'm already heavily invested and have a beautiful homestead here.

Several homes in my area have already been burglarized. One man had his entire AC unit stolen while he was away from home, and another had every piece of copper ripped from the walls of his house. These zombies are very bad, and I would have been burglarized already had I not been home and vigilant.

A guard dog would be a tremendous aid, but I'm not sure if the breed I need exists. It needs to be friendly with children and chickens, aggressive to strangers, and it can't be a high roaming breed like most LGDs. Pyrenees are beautiful but they need far more land than my one acre provides given their high degree of roaming.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Maremma sound perfect but they're almost impossible to find.

I would get a Great perineese (not sure if I spelled that right) they are difficult as puppies but eventually they mature and soon enough it will be sleeping with your chickens.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

So sorry, what a terrible situation, hope it changes! We have a lot of theft in our area due to mountain ski vacation rentals, remote area. Your acre is fenced, correct? I have always had very intimidating looking and acting dogs, that are good with kids and animals but I worry that they might not really take down a human if needed...... Not many people would challenge my 175 pound Leonberger or Newfoundland but I wouldnt want my dogs in a position to be harmed. I have a nieghbor who's dog was poisoned via a steak for a break in. Electric fencing and security camera's is certainly good defense in addition to dogs. Good breeds have been mentioned but all need serious training. Cane Corso, Akita, Caucasian Shepard, Kangal. The investment of these giant breeds alone (purchase price, training, food, vet bills) will not make you want them to be in harm's way and no dog should be expected to just live as outdoor guard dog only, but again I think that it's my Leonberger's very baratone bark, growl and look that keeps general riff raff away.

 

[Paz]

I would give a short answer: all Sweiss mountain dogs are great guarders with a low hunt drive. They are very territorial inside their territory and never hunt. They’re also large and scary