Hello, 1st of all, I wrote a book , sorry.
Let me give you some background as well as purpose, why I am thinking of adding a LGD to the family, just me & my man, in our 60s, no kids, but there are neighbors close by now with 7 yrs olds. Mostly, it's just to protect my small 2 acre parcel & also for companionship.
It's been 20 yrs since I had my sweet Rottweilers (120lb) & a wonderful Red Doberman that some idiot abandoned in a park. I lived on a tiny 1/4 acre then, ran a parrot rescue in my home & only had Homing Pigeons then, but those 3 dogs were so gentle, even when little Budgies or Cockatiels landed on them & preened their fur. I tend to love larger dogs, they are awesome to hug & only bark when there's an actual reason to. I grew up with German Shepherds throughout my childhood, but I do recall the shedding aspect, as well as high energy, so I do prefer a calmer, laid back & less furry type, but will rise to occasion if me or my flock are threatened.
Currentlly, outside I have Homing Pigeons, egg laying Chickens & Guineas, not free ranging due to predators, & indoors I have Doves, Cockatiels, & a Canary. I live in Delaware, by the beaches, it can get cold, like in the 20s a few months during winter & hot 100 degrees in July & we have high humidity, but not too bad overall, cooler springs & warmer autumns. This is the migratory route so we have many hawks & falcons visiting daily. Other critters in my yard are fox, racoon, deer, skunk, opossum, groundhog, wild turkey, sometimes pond hopping otters. It used to be very rural, lots of farmland here, but it's unfortunately changing rapidly now. What was once mostly farmland is being built up, homes & duplexes on tiny lots, tons of traffic now. My 2 acre parcel used to be alone, but now I have neighbors on 3 sides, still adjacent to 80 acres I back up to, where they plant corn or soy, but I have no idea when that will change, just that inevitably & unfortunately, it will. I realize I will need to fence this place in.
There are now constant tourists driving, walking or riding bicycles down this private gravel road & right onto my property. I've come home from work more than once to find strangers milling about, admiring my flock, but while they wave, smile & want to strike up conversations, I Am Not Amused. They're trespassing & I let them know it. They're oblivious to the Private Property, No Trespassing signs where a stupid new public walking/biking path now meets our private road, & ignore the 2 large sings I have right in my front yard. I have Guineas, 40 egg laying hens & 10 roosters, all in predator proof pens, as we also have abundant foxes here. Neighbors feed the foxes, oh & their yards are fenced in, so yeah, the foxes constantly hang out in MY yard. Fortunately, the foxes & I have had a synergy since I moved here 2006, they've never gone after or dug holes to get at my flock (wouldn't work anyway, I dug 2 feet down & installed digproof barriers), & they do keep the rodent population under control. Friends 30 miles west of me have terrible rat issues, the only rat I've seen here was a dead one. I see foxes do their pounce & come up with a rodent in their mouth quite often, moles, voles, mice, they are good mousers, better than the neighbor's lazy cats. One older vixen seems to like me, she started following me a few years ago, as I walked down the road to fetch mail. I installed a firepit & she lays down at the firepit by me & plays with moths when I water plants. I have no clue why she thinks she is my dog, I never encouraged it. She even keeps a respectful distance from flock, & believe me I've watched her. She even accompanied me on walks when I was dog sitting for friends, staying about 6 feet behind us. BUT, can't say the same thing about other foxes, there are usually 3 adults year round, but when they have kits, those brats are crazy before they grow up & go find their own turf elsewhere. I'd rather they hung out in the cornfields, not right in my yard. I am getting tired of scooping piles of fox poop...they seem to enjoy pooping right where we usually walk lol. I guess you can tell I do enjoy nature in general, though. A dog that understood boundary, protect family, flock & own property, but outside of the boundary, live & let live. A bark or 2 is ok, but Don't need to bark your head off just at the mere sight, just bark once so they see ya, then watch & let them prance on. You only need to raise a rucus if someone is trespassing, human or critter.
So...initially I wanted to just keep the foxes out in the cornfields & interrupt hawks dive bombing my birds & keep groundhogs from taking up residence under sheds. But now...many new neighbors, with dogs, several roaming cats & a couple with chickens & 2 with horses of their own...but just beyond this 6 resident private lane, it's now houses & duplexes, tons of people jammed on tiny lots. Civilization is closing in, a damn public path leading directly to the beaches giving morons a direct route to trespass off of the public path, they go where they don't belong (ripped up historic train train tracks to install that freaking path...who does that?! )
So...now the prospective dog can't roam even on this private road, because many of these jackasses would claim that a dog bit them & sue me even if it didn't happen. Yup, that's the kind of idiots moving here now. Idiots even fed the neighbor's horses food that Thoroughbreds should never eat. If I can fix my place to sell & move to a 20 acre secluded spot, trust me, I will, but I can't right now.
When I had dogs, they were always with me, outside with me during the day but inside while I was at work or asleep at night. Since most predators are more active at night, that has changed my thoughts about a mostly indoor dog...Can't protect at night if you're not out there. I've liked having dogs with me, but obviously not glued to me. The dog would be home guarding the flock when I go to work & be outside unless it's raining or too cold or snowing.
I am fond of Rottweilers, Red Dobermans, Bernese Mountain temperament but not so much fur, Australian Cattle Dogs but not sure if they're too energetic for my small place. I think a Maremma may work but alot of fur. Even when I had Rotties, they were brushed daily & got weekly baths. I do have allergies & asthma. I'm leaning towards a Red Doberman because the one I had was such a sweet girl, & her coat was sleek & amazing. She never bothered my birds in the house or the pigeons outside, but I did not have chickens then. Armenian Gampr sounds like a very nice dog, especially with smaller livestock. I guess it may just depend upon the individual dog...a friend had Golden Retrievers, they were rescues & their personalities differed quite a bit, one was fearful & skittish, one was very friendly & outgoing & a 3rd was untrustworthy & would bite. True breeding and genetics are important but training & whatever happened to a pup in its youth matters greatly, too.
You have so much knowledge about various breeds, some I had never even heard of before. I know I will need to fence my place in. What do you think?
Let me give you some background as well as purpose, why I am thinking of adding a LGD to the family, just me & my man, in our 60s, no kids, but there are neighbors close by now with 7 yrs olds. Mostly, it's just to protect my small 2 acre parcel & also for companionship.
It's been 20 yrs since I had my sweet Rottweilers (120lb) & a wonderful Red Doberman that some idiot abandoned in a park. I lived on a tiny 1/4 acre then, ran a parrot rescue in my home & only had Homing Pigeons then, but those 3 dogs were so gentle, even when little Budgies or Cockatiels landed on them & preened their fur. I tend to love larger dogs, they are awesome to hug & only bark when there's an actual reason to. I grew up with German Shepherds throughout my childhood, but I do recall the shedding aspect, as well as high energy, so I do prefer a calmer, laid back & less furry type, but will rise to occasion if me or my flock are threatened.
Currentlly, outside I have Homing Pigeons, egg laying Chickens & Guineas, not free ranging due to predators, & indoors I have Doves, Cockatiels, & a Canary. I live in Delaware, by the beaches, it can get cold, like in the 20s a few months during winter & hot 100 degrees in July & we have high humidity, but not too bad overall, cooler springs & warmer autumns. This is the migratory route so we have many hawks & falcons visiting daily. Other critters in my yard are fox, racoon, deer, skunk, opossum, groundhog, wild turkey, sometimes pond hopping otters. It used to be very rural, lots of farmland here, but it's unfortunately changing rapidly now. What was once mostly farmland is being built up, homes & duplexes on tiny lots, tons of traffic now. My 2 acre parcel used to be alone, but now I have neighbors on 3 sides, still adjacent to 80 acres I back up to, where they plant corn or soy, but I have no idea when that will change, just that inevitably & unfortunately, it will. I realize I will need to fence this place in.
There are now constant tourists driving, walking or riding bicycles down this private gravel road & right onto my property. I've come home from work more than once to find strangers milling about, admiring my flock, but while they wave, smile & want to strike up conversations, I Am Not Amused. They're trespassing & I let them know it. They're oblivious to the Private Property, No Trespassing signs where a stupid new public walking/biking path now meets our private road, & ignore the 2 large sings I have right in my front yard. I have Guineas, 40 egg laying hens & 10 roosters, all in predator proof pens, as we also have abundant foxes here. Neighbors feed the foxes, oh & their yards are fenced in, so yeah, the foxes constantly hang out in MY yard. Fortunately, the foxes & I have had a synergy since I moved here 2006, they've never gone after or dug holes to get at my flock (wouldn't work anyway, I dug 2 feet down & installed digproof barriers), & they do keep the rodent population under control. Friends 30 miles west of me have terrible rat issues, the only rat I've seen here was a dead one. I see foxes do their pounce & come up with a rodent in their mouth quite often, moles, voles, mice, they are good mousers, better than the neighbor's lazy cats. One older vixen seems to like me, she started following me a few years ago, as I walked down the road to fetch mail. I installed a firepit & she lays down at the firepit by me & plays with moths when I water plants. I have no clue why she thinks she is my dog, I never encouraged it. She even keeps a respectful distance from flock, & believe me I've watched her. She even accompanied me on walks when I was dog sitting for friends, staying about 6 feet behind us. BUT, can't say the same thing about other foxes, there are usually 3 adults year round, but when they have kits, those brats are crazy before they grow up & go find their own turf elsewhere. I'd rather they hung out in the cornfields, not right in my yard. I am getting tired of scooping piles of fox poop...they seem to enjoy pooping right where we usually walk lol. I guess you can tell I do enjoy nature in general, though. A dog that understood boundary, protect family, flock & own property, but outside of the boundary, live & let live. A bark or 2 is ok, but Don't need to bark your head off just at the mere sight, just bark once so they see ya, then watch & let them prance on. You only need to raise a rucus if someone is trespassing, human or critter.
So...initially I wanted to just keep the foxes out in the cornfields & interrupt hawks dive bombing my birds & keep groundhogs from taking up residence under sheds. But now...many new neighbors, with dogs, several roaming cats & a couple with chickens & 2 with horses of their own...but just beyond this 6 resident private lane, it's now houses & duplexes, tons of people jammed on tiny lots. Civilization is closing in, a damn public path leading directly to the beaches giving morons a direct route to trespass off of the public path, they go where they don't belong (ripped up historic train train tracks to install that freaking path...who does that?! )
So...now the prospective dog can't roam even on this private road, because many of these jackasses would claim that a dog bit them & sue me even if it didn't happen. Yup, that's the kind of idiots moving here now. Idiots even fed the neighbor's horses food that Thoroughbreds should never eat. If I can fix my place to sell & move to a 20 acre secluded spot, trust me, I will, but I can't right now.
When I had dogs, they were always with me, outside with me during the day but inside while I was at work or asleep at night. Since most predators are more active at night, that has changed my thoughts about a mostly indoor dog...Can't protect at night if you're not out there. I've liked having dogs with me, but obviously not glued to me. The dog would be home guarding the flock when I go to work & be outside unless it's raining or too cold or snowing.
I am fond of Rottweilers, Red Dobermans, Bernese Mountain temperament but not so much fur, Australian Cattle Dogs but not sure if they're too energetic for my small place. I think a Maremma may work but alot of fur. Even when I had Rotties, they were brushed daily & got weekly baths. I do have allergies & asthma. I'm leaning towards a Red Doberman because the one I had was such a sweet girl, & her coat was sleek & amazing. She never bothered my birds in the house or the pigeons outside, but I did not have chickens then. Armenian Gampr sounds like a very nice dog, especially with smaller livestock. I guess it may just depend upon the individual dog...a friend had Golden Retrievers, they were rescues & their personalities differed quite a bit, one was fearful & skittish, one was very friendly & outgoing & a 3rd was untrustworthy & would bite. True breeding and genetics are important but training & whatever happened to a pup in its youth matters greatly, too.
You have so much knowledge about various breeds, some I had never even heard of before. I know I will need to fence my place in. What do you think?
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