LGDs-Is There a Short-Haired One?

[xke4]

I had an Akbash 5 years ago. Great dog. Low energy so easy to have in the house even tho he weighed 125 lbs. Did not have a huge appetite. Very laid back but when called into action, could run like a gazelle. Short coat. Like a very large Lab with a curly tail.

 

[Beekissed]

I have a Choc. lab/BC mix that has extremely short hair(excellent LGD, BTW)....maybe you can get the type of dog you want and turn him into a LGD!

 

[speckledhen]

I'm not sure we'll ever get another dog, but if we do, I want this one to be a different type. We've rescued three dogs in our life together, but all were the couch potato type, one with a strong prey drive, not the livestock proector at all. I would want the type who can stay outside more (we have a covered porch with outlets and could put out a folded electric blanket on the deck for a dog to stay out in cold weather). I was raised with Dobermans and all three of our dogs in the last 20 years have been very short coated dogs, which I prefer.

 

[MandyH]

Cyn, the vet told me that long haired dogs actually shed LESS than short haired dogs. Has something to do with the length of the hair and how often it regrows. Anyway, thought you might like that 2 cents, that's about all I got!

 

[speckledhen]

I've heard that and I do remember my Dobes and my late great Cody I lost this year shedding a good bit. Guess it's not all that much of an issue if the dog is a LGD, who must stay outside most of the time. I like the look of Maremmas. Hey, Eggchel, you have those, right?

 

[SterlingAcres]

My grandparents had German Shepards for their livestock. They do have short coat varieties.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
I have one of those and he has long hair, more than 3 inches.

He's never had a bath (well the day we brought him home he did and that was over a year 1/2 ago) and he's never been brushed. Dirt falls right off, even after he's been rolling in the mud for days (he's a stricktly outside dog). I do cut the little mats behind his ears every couple months because he likes it and we did just cut some hair off his tail while he was distracted because he was starting to look like he had dreds. But other than that he is about as low maintenance as a long haired dog gets.

 

[Foxhound lady]

Anatoilians or Kuvauz are medium coated dogs. They are great guradian dogs. Our local zoo uses them to calm down the cheetahs if that tell you anything.

Any and all dogs need a bath and brushing to maintain skin health

Long haired dogs shed more than short hair dogs but because of the coat lenght the hair get tangled in the coat instead of falling out.

I'm a dog groomer in my everyday life

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

anatolians are the best! I have a 1/2 anatolian with a medium coat. He does shed out the double layer in the summer but he also gets pretty furry in the winter...

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Most LGDs that are true working dogs do not have that kind of contact with people and are left out with the livestock 24/7. Now my guy isn't one of those strict working dogs - but I will go out on a limb and say you'd definately get bitten if you tried to give him a bath.

He's got a very personal opinion about his own circle of space and won't tolerate "man-handling" of ANY sort. He's really not a pet like my other dogs, though he is a generally friendly dog to most people, even strangers, if left to his own devices and has the opportunity to form his own opinions.

It is probably a good thing that he ended up with me as I tend to let my dogs be themselves in a way that might make some people uncomfortable.

In another family where his independant personality wasn't valued or was mistaken for something other than instinct of his breeding, he would probably have been left at the pound long ago. He is very good with children and extremely protective of my donkeys of all things. He would like to taste the 4H bunnies, but I really can't fault him for such an instinct. He's not very interested in protecting the waterfowl directly - i.e. if he got into the aviary I wouldn't put bets on him not being accidentally destructive - but hedoes keep predators away from the perimeter fences just because he can't stop himself from doing so.

A good romp in the snow/rain/mud puddle is the same thing as a trip to the groomers in his eyes. I think anyone who looks at his picture can see that his coat appears tip top for a strict outside dog.

And just FYI to anyone interested in these LGD dogs - they BARK A LOT.

At EVERYTHING!

He lays on the top of a hill and looks out like a king over his kingdom. The slightest movement and forget it - he's barking for hours.