LGD’s?

[tribalacres]

Does anyone train LGD’s or have LGD’s? That I could ask some questions to? We are growing our homestead and farm and just have run into issues with training or the do’s/don’ts. Thank you in advance.

 

[sylviethecochin]

You might want to read one of centrarchid's threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/english-shepherd-as-poultry-guardian.1008645/

 

[tribalacres]

You might want to read one of centrarchid's threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/english-shepherd-as-poultry-guardian.1008645/

Thank you so much. When I searched LGD it was just people asking about what breed to get. This helps tremendously. Thank you.

 

[RiverOtter]

I have experience with LGDs, what do you want to know?

 

[tribalacres]

Hey, sorry for the delayed response. We thought we figured it out. We got two three year olds Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd that we thought would be a great addition to our farm. They are brother and sister and they wouldn’t separate them. They guarded goats but the past year due to the wife having a baby have been living in an apartment. They killed one of our birds and a pig. We enclosed their pen, hired a trainer, and then tonight they broke out, jumped in our pig pen and seriously injured a pig. Our hearts are sad, but we just don’t know what to do. Is this typical behavior? How do we stop it. We got them June 5, we keep them locked up per the trainer but tonight they got out and were found in the pig pen after us hearing squealing.

 

[RiverOtter]

If you don't have goats, sell them to someone who does. Do insist they stay together, do make sure they get a working home - this mean they won't be sleeping inside, etc.

Here's the thing about LGDs that most people don't get - they were bred for centuries to bond with sheep or goats and protect them, all alone, without humans, on large acreage. They do that by first barking at, then killing, whatever they can reach that is not a sheep or goat.

So yes, this is absolutely typical, breed appropriate behavior. LGDs do not bond with poultry or pigs, barn cats, neighbor dogs ... Pretty much anything that isn't a flock animal of roughly their size.

If raised with them from puppyhood they may learn to tolerate them. They will protect them only to the extent that they will bark at, then kill, anything else in their territory (which is everywhere they can see/reach), but will let them live.

To your LGDs, pigs are Not Flock, an nothing that is Not Flock is allowed to live in their territory.

They are like Alaskan Huskies (the dogs that run the Iditarod) or working line coonhounds, trained attack dogs - absolutely irreplaceable in the right situation, but not pets and not for every situation.

 

[tribalacres]

If you don't have goats, sell them to someone who does. Do insist they stay together, do make sure they get a working home - this mean they won't be sleeping inside, etc.

Here's the thing about LGDs that most people don't get - they were bred for centuries to bond with sheep or goats and protect them, all alone, without humans, on large acreage. They do that by first barking at, then killing, whatever they can reach that is not a sheep or goat.

So yes, this is absolutely typical, breed appropriate behavior. LGDs do not bond with poultry or pigs, barn cats, neighbor dogs ... Pretty much anything that isn't a flock animal of roughly their size.

If raised with them from puppyhood they may learn to tolerate them. They will protect them only to the extent that they will bark at, then kill, anything else in their territory (which is everywhere they can see/reach), but will let them live.

To your LGDs, pigs are Not Flock, an nothing that is Not Flock is allowed to live in their territory.

They are like Alaskan Huskies (the dogs that run the Iditarod) or working line coonhounds, trained attack dogs - absolutely irreplaceable in the right situation, but not pets and not for every situation.

Thank you for your reply.

You're answers are super helpful.

We have goats but we also have babies, so my thing is do I just take that chance and decide it’s going to be for the greater good. We were just told that they needed to be locked up to get used to their surroundings.

I kept them longer locked up due to the killings and have spent time with them in each pen. Per others, it seems as if a lot have varied opinions.

I don't fault Them because I totally Understand their job. We have plenty of acres to be guarded but didn’t want to risk them getting out to neighbors who are people and ranchers.

 

[RiverOtter]

A lot of people don't know how to work with LGDs, even trainers. An many more have met a pet line or poorly bred LGD, and think that those one or two dogs are, or should be, representative of the group as a whole.

How many acres is your goat pasture? Are the dogs penned with the goats now? If not, where are they penned, and why did you choose there? What kind of fence are they behind?
How many acres and goats did the dogs have before the apartment? What other animals have they ever been exposed to?
What is their daily routine?

 

[chickens really]

So you bought two dogs from a city apartment? I believe you bought two dogs with no experience in protecting a herd. Livestock guardian breeds are not really pets and have minds of their own. Not easy to train for inexperienced owners. I think you bought someone else's problem. I would not keep them.

 

[AllenK RGV]

So you bought two dogs from a city apartment? I believe you bought two dogs with no experience in protecting a herd. Livestock guardian breeds are not really pets and have minds of their own. Not easy to train for inexperienced owners. I think you bought someone else's problem. I would not keep them.

I wouldn't say that. I don't have a single bred to purpose LGD here(Mallinois, Lab, Heeler, Rottie, and Pit) they are all LGDs. They only need to be taught the importance of where your livestock are in the list of priorities. Sure my LGD's thieve chicken food and eggs. They do however, protect the property from other predators and leave the chicken in peace. I pity any dog that crawls under my fence to meet my pack or a poor pack of coyotes that show up here. They do give me tons of 3 AM wakeups telling me the door needs opened so they can patrol.

Some day I am going to install a dog door so I am not a part of their enforcement actions.