Guardian Dog- Questions for Owners of them

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Hi,

So I have some questions that I am hoping those of you who own Guardian dogs can answer.

We have a small homestead. Poultry & 2 pet rabbits with the typical cats & dogs.

Our one female dog killed a chicken last summer. The youngest of the 3 dogs might try to harm chickens if they free-range. But he's nowhere near the prey drive of my husky-lab. I did try to work with her some. (Sadly have too much on my plate to be able to dedicate 1hr or so each day to training her.)

We have talked about getting a guardian dog to protect the flock.
But I know very little about them so to speak in terms of working. I know Great Pyrenees seem to be the most popular breed. With Anatolian 2nd.
Questions:
1. What is the best breed for raising with chickens/ducks/geese/turkeys/etc..??
2. Will the dog guard the animals from my older dog who wants to attack them?
3. We live where it gets high 90's in summer time with very little shade; would that affect a thicker haired breed dog?
4. What training is required to teach them? Or do they instinctively know to just protect if they're raised with them?
5. Any advice or thoughts you like to share, please do! lol

Thanks in advance!

 

[NatJ]

I don't have personal experience with guardian dogs, but I have read enough about them to have answers to some of the most common questions.

They DO require training and supervision, especially at first. It's pretty common for the guardian dog to kill some chickens (or other livestock) when it's a playful puppy, and when it's a "teenager" testing things out. This does not happen with every such dog, but it shows up fairly often in questions and discussions. I don't know all the details, but at a minimum they need to learn that playing with the livestock is not permitted. They are commonly considered to need two years to mature, which is a long time to be supervising a puppy!

If you don't have time to work regularly on training the dog you already have that is a problem, you probably don't have enough time to raise & supervise a guardian dog either. Buying an adult would save you the two years of puppy raising, but you would still need to devote quite a bit of time to getting it settled in, and supervising it for a while as it learns what the rules are at your place.

If you get a guardian breed as a puppy, it will certainly not protect the poultry from your other dogs while it is a puppy. It might protect them after it grows up, but it might not. That will probably be affected by whether it considers the other dog dominant to it, and by whether the other dog teaches the guardian that chicken-chasing is fun. Also, what kind of "protect" would you want it to do? It might bark or growl, but the older dog might ignore that and kill chickens anyway. Would you want the guardian dog to kill or injure the older dog? That is a real possibility in some situations.

For breed, one that is available to you, where the parents are already guarding poultry, would probably be the best choice. Each breed has some dogs that would work for your purpose, and some that would not. So getting a dog that already does the job would be great except that such dogs are usually not for sale. Getting a puppy from parents who are doing the job is often possible, and gives a good chance of getting a puppy with the right background to work well if you raise & train it right.

I don't know about the temperature. But if you find someone local with guardian dogs, you can ask them about their dogs and the heat.

Given what you've described, I think you would be happier with better fences instead of trying to get a guardian dog. But that's just my guess, and I may be completely wrong.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

I don't have personal experience with guardian dogs, but I have read enough about them to have answers to some of the most common questions.

They DO require training and supervision, especially at first. It's pretty common for the guardian dog to kill some chickens (or other livestock) when it's a playful puppy, and when it's a "teenager" testing things out. This does not happen with every such dog, but it shows up fairly often in questions and discussions. I don't know all the details, but at a minimum they need to learn that playing with the livestock is not permitted. They are commonly considered to need two years to mature, which is a long time to be supervising a puppy!

If you don't have time to work regularly on training the dog you already have that is a problem, you probably don't have enough time to raise & supervise a guardian dog either. Buying an adult would save you the two years of puppy raising, but you would still need to devote quite a bit of time to getting it settled in, and supervising it for a while as it learns what the rules are at your place.

If you get a guardian breed as a puppy, it will certainly not protect the poultry from your other dogs while it is a puppy. It might protect them after it grows up, but it might not. That will probably be affected by whether it considers the other dog dominant to it, and by whether the other dog teaches the guardian that chicken-chasing is fun. Also, what kind of "protect" would you want it to do? It might bark or growl, but the older dog might ignore that and kill chickens anyway. Would you want the guardian dog to kill or injure the older dog? That is a real possibility in some situations.

For breed, one that is available to you, where the parents are already guarding poultry, would probably be the best choice. Each breed has some dogs that would work for your purpose, and some that would not. So getting a dog that already does the job would be great except that such dogs are usually not for sale. Getting a puppy from parents who are doing the job is often possible, and gives a good chance of getting a puppy with the right background to work well if you raise & train it right.

I don't know about the temperature. But if you find someone local with guardian dogs, you can ask them about their dogs and the heat.

Given what you've described, I think you would be happier with better fences instead of trying to get a guardian dog. But that's just my guess, and I may be completely wrong.

Thanks for your thoughts.
This is just a research topic atm as we aren't in a place to feed another dog. lol Not unless it becomes necessary to protect our flock that is.
But we have discussed it here & there. Hence my questions.

I see quite a lot of GP's for sale around me, just seems to me they would get really hot in our summers but enjoy our winters. But granted, we have a husky/lab & she's adapted. (But so enjoys the cool/cold.)

Actually we would LOVE to have access & be able to afford fencing. lol We could then fence off the dogs from the fowl & have no worries but that's not an option atm. And I am just too soft I guess to let my chickens free range & chance the dog killing one. I know some can, just not us.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks for your thoughts.
This is just a research topic atm

I'm a big fan of researching new ideas well in advance

That way I (or you) have time to think about the information, instead of trying to make a decision in a hurry.

I see quite a lot of GP's for sale around me, just seems to me they would get really hot in our summers but enjoy our winters. But granted, we have a husky/lab & she's adapted. (But so enjoys the cool/cold.)

You might call up one of the people selling them, and ask how they do in the summer. That would tell you about those specific dogs, of that breed, in the climate you have. Whether they live outside or whether they come into an air conditioned human house would be quite useful to know, since you would be looking for one that could stay outdoors where the poultry are.

Actually we would LOVE to have access & be able to afford fencing. lol We could then fence off the dogs from the fowl & have no worries but that's not an option atm. And I am just too soft I guess to let my chickens free range & chance the dog killing one. I know some can, just not us.

In a situation like that, I would not let chickens free range either. Chickens can do fine in a safe run.

If your current dogs stay out of the chicken run, then that could work as a long-term solution. If your dogs break into the chicken run, you might consider adding an electric fence outside whatever fence it already has.

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

Hi,

So I have some questions that I am hoping those of you who own Guardian dogs can answer.

We have a small homestead. Poultry & 2 pet rabbits with the typical cats & dogs.

Our one female dog killed a chicken last summer. The youngest of the 3 dogs might try to harm chickens if they free-range. But he's nowhere near the prey drive of my husky-lab. I did try to work with her some. (Sadly have too much on my plate to be able to dedicate 1hr or so each day to training her.)

We have talked about getting a guardian dog to protect the flock.
But I know very little about them so to speak in terms of working. I know Great Pyrenees seem to be the most popular breed. With Anatolian 2nd.
Questions:
1. What is the best breed for raising with chickens/ducks/geese/turkeys/etc..??
2. Will the dog guard the animals from my older dog who wants to attack them?
3. We live where it gets high 90's in summer time with very little shade; would that affect a thicker haired breed dog?
4. What training is required to teach them? Or do they instinctively know to just protect if they're raised with them?
5. Any advice or thoughts you like to share, please do! lol

Thanks in advance!

Ours arrived yesterday (by surprise TO ME) so I got to reading about the Pyr. I found out Pyrenees have a double coat and we should NOT be cutting on their fur. I'll try and find the article/info where I found this. It was titled something like 10 Myths about the Pyrenees.

Ahh, found it:

Myths About Great Pyrenees

 

[NatJ]

I found out Pyrenees has an undercoat and should NOT be cutting on their hair. They do fine in the summer due to that undercoating.

I would put the last bit a little differently: they shed out that undercoat for the summer to stay cool. So it's not the undercoat keeping them cool, it's the undercoat being gone that helps keep them cool. And then of course they grow it back for the next winter.

Yes, combing or brushing out the undercoat as it sheds, as that article says, can make a big difference for any dog. I don't have any direct experience with Pyrenees, but I've had other dogs with a thick undercoat, and an amazing amount can come out in the spring!

The wikipedia article on dog grooming has a photo of a Newfoundland laying next to it's combed-out undercoat: the pile of hair is about as big as the dog!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_grooming

 

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

I would put the last bit a little differently: they shed out that undercoat for the summer to stay cool. So it's not the undercoat keeping them cool, it's the undercoat being gone that helps keep them cool. And then of course they grow it back for the next winter.

Yes, combing or brushing out the undercoat as it sheds, as that article says, can make a big difference for any dog. I don't have any direct experience with Pyrenees, but I've had other dogs with a thick undercoat, and an amazing amount can come out in the spring!

The wikipedia article on dog grooming has a photo of a Newfoundland laying next to it's combed-out undercoat: the pile of hair is about as big as the dog!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_grooming

Yup, what Nat said.

Hopefully the member asking about them sees his correction.

 

[Bhubbard]

I own 2 big Anatolian/Karacachan mixes they are fluffy. The males coat is long and he is big. 185lbs last checked maybe 200 now. They “blow” their coats once a year. Looks like it’s snowing in goat pasture when it happens and they look homeless …. I brush him some but mainly just help pull it off in chunks as it sheds off then give him a good brushing.

 

[Bhubbard]

Hi,

So I have some questions that I am hoping those of you who own Guardian dogs can answer.

We have a small homestead. Poultry & 2 pet rabbits with the typical cats & dogs.

Our one female dog killed a chicken last summer. The youngest of the 3 dogs might try to harm chickens if they free-range. But he's nowhere near the prey drive of my husky-lab. I did try to work with her some. (Sadly have too much on my plate to be able to dedicate 1hr or so each day to training her.)

We have talked about getting a guardian dog to protect the flock.
But I know very little about them so to speak in terms of working. I know Great Pyrenees seem to be the most popular breed. With Anatolian 2nd.
Questions:
1. What is the best breed for raising with chickens/ducks/geese/turkeys/etc..??
2. Will the dog guard the animals from my older dog who wants to attack them?
3. We live where it gets high 90's in summer time with very little shade; would that affect a thicker haired breed dog?
4. What training is required to teach them? Or do they instinctively know to just protect if they're raised with them?
5. Any advice or thoughts you like to share, please do! lol

Thanks in advance!

We do not let our two “house” dogs play with the LGD. I trained them with Ecollars and correction with tone or shock. You must get recall down with them. They can jump I have a 8 ft fence now because our one could clear the 6ft fence. If they come no matter what you are doing good if they escape to try and gain more land to watch over. Get them with animals they are protecting to bond with ASAP.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Ours arrived yesterday (by surprise TO ME) so I got to reading about the Pyr. I found out Pyrenees have a double coat and we should NOT be cutting on their fur. I'll try and find the article/info where I found this. It was titled something like 10 Myths about the Pyrenees.

Ahh, found it:

Myths About Great Pyrenees

Do tell; surprise to you? lol

Yes, we have a husky/lab. She blows her fur bad in summer/spring. We "make" another dog with her fuzz. lol