how to protect my chickens

[centrarchid]

I've heard quite a few people that prefer akbash. The farmer we got our pup from said he traded from pyre to akbash because. The pyr was "too lazy ". I'm Interested in seeing how our pup turns out. So far he's. A hellion.

I work alongside several sheep and goat farmers and many of those have some sort of extenstion role. Consensus I see building is that Great Pyrenees are handily the easiest to acquire but are lethargic (lazy). Some of the lethargic quality comes from improper upbringing but some also comes from poor health which may in part be due to genetics. To me they seem arthritic.

 

[Shelshanam]

I work alongside several sheep and goat farmers and many of those have some sort of extenstion role. Consensus I see building is that Great Pyrenees are handily the easiest to acquire but are lethargic (lazy). Some of the lethargic quality comes from improper upbringing but some also comes from poor health which may in part be due to genetics. To me they seem arthritic.

I wish my mostly Great Pyrenees was lazy!@ Seriously I have a muddy track around almost 5 fenced acres at the fence line from his patrol routine! He runs that fence line constantly. But he also keeps his goats in constant sight and if they are grazing in one spot he will stop and drop and looks rather lazy since he is just watching over them.

I had read that the larger LGD should be given a moderate protein diet if they are still puppies because you don't want them growing too quick. Well I don't think that person met my Sam who needs a ton of food to keep up with his exercise routine! He is 10 months old and I'm feeding twice the recommended amount of a 27% feed trying to keep some weight on him (he is worm free so that is not the issue). He is just very active and keenly aware of what is going on in his world.

And another poster said that a lot of LDG's are either people or other dog aggressive. I must of hit the LGD jackpot, My guy is a little shy until I introduce him to someone and then he is fine with them. I also had to introduce him to the neighbor dogs who are in an adjoining yard to my pasture and to my ankle sniffer house dogs in case they ran out to the pasture. He perfectly understands who is the enemy and who is friendly. He learns so quick and is so eager to please it's almost scary.

So my personal belief is for livestock you get a dog who is breed to be around them, and can live without constant human contact and learns to bond to the animals. You also educate yourself on the training and how this is not a pet but a fully working farm dog who is meant to be outside no matter what the weather. I also prefer the mixes on the LGD's as like I said Sam is 3/4 GP and 1/4 Marema, He seems to be one of the lucky ones who picked up the good points of both breeds.

 

[centrarchid]

At 10 months of age he is still a pup and not settled in. I can not pass judgment on any dog until after it has been fully mature for a least a year or. It is then that full potential for aggression is realized and puppy energy abates. To be frank, quality of the dog must be baed upon lifetime performance and no single individual can repressent a breed or cross.

 

[furbabymum]

I work alongside several sheep and goat farmers and many of those have some sort of extenstion role. Consensus I see building is that Great Pyrenees are handily the easiest to acquire but are lethargic (lazy). Some of the lethargic quality comes from improper upbringing but some also comes from poor health which may in part be due to genetics. To me they seem arthritic.

When I took mine (which is actually a pyr/akbash cross) to the vet she said it was the first one she'd seen that wasn't overweight. It's probably a huge combination of genetics, training and handling. At almost 4 years of age I'd say he's a pretty good dog. Ill trained in guarding livestock but perfect when it comes to taking care of the business he was trained for.

Anyway, our akbash is OBSESSED with chewing on the other dogs. Ignores his toys and such and exclusively chews on the other dogs. He's a bit of a pain in the butt at the moment.