Livestock Guardian Dogs

[zazouse]

A true guardian dog of livestock will live outside with the herd. This will required a durable long hair coat in most all instances. GP would be my first choice as a guardian of sheep! Dogs don't make good poultry guards but there are several short haired dog breeds that would be great to watch over things and sound the alarm. Keep the poultry fenced from the dogs and look at the shelters for a dog. There are plenty of great dogs that would work for you!

I have great Pyrenees and great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepard crosses and i can tell you they do make a great poultry guardian without a dought, it has come natural to my dogs to watch the flocks as i do and they take their job very serious, i also have other breeds that serve a different purpose but all of them watch out for the birds here and i have 100's that are totally free ranged no pens here except for brooders.

 

[centrarchid]

I go for speedy smart dogs that are integrated with fencing that serves to isolate flocks of juveniles. Birds are spread over several acres and more advanced flocks are fully free-range until adulthood. Dogs use birds as alarm system. Dogs must be able access pens when needed. I also employ vegetation as cover for all life-stages and with some flocks adult roosters are used to provide protection for chicks and juveniles that otherwise would be targeted by hawks. Most predator pressure I deal with is nocturnal and risks are seasonal so short hair of dogs is not an issue.

Female to left is now adult.




Scoob with female mink caught between yards.


Owl captured by dogs in garage when it tried to get into brooder. Surprisingly they did not harm owl.


Electrified poultry netting is setup in high grass to protect juveniles until they are too big for Coopers Hawks to pack off without landing. High grass also provides protection from sunlight.



Winter quarters for broodfowl. Dogs go out when birds alarmed but otherwise dogs inside. They can hear everything. Pens kept close together with electrified fencing to make predators really work just to get at pens. Fencing and pens also deny predators escape route from dogs.

 

[4 the Birds]

Great pictures of dogs working well with birds. Also great testimonies from people with success!!

 

[mountaindog66]

I'm currently training a Bernese Mountain Dog as a deterrent. Main predators come at night and our barn is fort knox (or will be once it is complete ) right now the birds sleep in a baby barn and free range all day. Luckily we have very low predator rate, but I do believe our dogs deter them.


We're so blessed with this one. He is 19 weeks and was awesome with the poultry from day one.




Here are a few pictures of him 'hanging' ;with the birds.


Some info on the breed.

Oh did I mention that we have never tied Henry. He has only left the property following our darn poodle who is not allowed out at the same time. He does not wander.

We have had a Great Pyr and could not keep her contained. After the fire, we decided to choose a farm dog more suitable to our lifestyle.

Your boy Henry is beautiful! I've had Berners for a long time, adore them. My boy Baxter (at left in my avatar) was not trained around chickens though, and sees them as prey. You are training Henry right and he will do fine that way, exactly what I would do if starting out with a puppy today. Enjoy him! I am new to BYC, BTW (just introduced myself in New Members section). I saw your thread about your farm rebuild, very sorry for your losses this past winter, but congrats on your new barn raising, it looks wonderful. --Terry

 

[aoxa]

Your boy Henry is beautiful! I've had Berners for a long time, adore them. My boy Baxter (at left in my avatar) was not trained around chickens though, and sees them as prey. You are training Henry right and he will do fine that way, exactly what I would do if starting out with a puppy today. Enjoy him! I am new to BYC, BTW (just introduced myself in New Members section). I saw your thread about your farm rebuild, very sorry for your losses this past winter, but congrats on your new barn raising, it looks wonderful. --Terry

Thank you Terry

He's doing fabulous and is a big clumsy oaf right now. His tail can give me bruises I swear. He's growing so fast and I love how the breed does not wander.




Look ma, I helped clear up the fallen branches. You're welcome.


We started him right away with the livestock. He was so gentle. Now the rabbits run and he takes chase, but is way too slow. He just wants to play. I know that's not a good thing, and I've taken to correcting him every time. Somehow he thinks me chasing him is a game as well. Trying to get him to stop chasing the rabbits.. he'll putt his butt up the air and play "Catch me if you can!" Which I can't.. unless I have treats...

Oh he always comes if I'm not trying to correct him. It seems only when I'm trying to stop him from doing something naughty (like chasing bunnies or eating the chickens' scraps).

Also, he will eat ANYTHING..

 

[mountaindog66]

Thank you Terry

He's doing fabulous and is a big clumsy oaf right now. His tail can give me bruises I swear. He's growing so fast and I love how the breed does not wander.




Look ma, I helped clear up the fallen branches. You're welcome.


We started him right away with the livestock. He was so gentle. Now the rabbits run and he takes chase, but is way too slow. He just wants to play. I know that's not a good thing, and I've taken to correcting him every time. Somehow he thinks me chasing him is a game as well. Trying to get him to stop chasing the rabbits.. he'll putt his butt up the air and play "Catch me if you can!" Which I can't.. unless I have treats...

Oh he always comes if I'm not trying to correct him. It seems only when I'm trying to stop him from doing something naughty (like chasing bunnies or eating the chickens' scraps).

Also, he will eat ANYTHING..

I love the paw on the bunny, so expressive! I just love the Berner boys, they are especially so sweet, real mushes. Henry is really adorable and looks a lot like my Baxter, who also has a bottomless pit of a stomach. At 120 lbs we really work to keep Baxter's weight down so he doesn't develop any joint issues (he was up to 140 lbs at one point, didn't look overweight, but vet said to get his weight down and she was right). He is 7 years old now and we count every day/month/year with him - esp. from here on out - as a gift.

He and my older female (Holly, who has passed on) never wandered either, they did feel attached to our property were very protective of it. Baxter is very much a home-body. We can leave gates open, doors open, and he'll never wander off. His presence all these years has definitely deterred bears and other predators from coming directly into our yard, I assume it is also just the smell of the dogs that works in that regard. We live on a quiet, dead-end road that gets lots of dog-walkers and joggers, and even then Baxter will not follow them or leave the property, he will bark if a stranger enters our property to warn us, but not for too long.

I find the breed to be very intelligent, it did not take me long at all to teach them all the commands, and they are VERY sensitive, so you need to use gentle, positive training techniques, never harsh, or they will just be crushed - at least that has been my experience.

 

[peteyfoozer]

I would love to get a Berner as my companion and service dog, but I don't think I could cope with the short lifespan, particularly at the high prices they command. Heartbreak AND financial stress make a formidable pair!

 

[aoxa]

I would love to get a Berner as my companion and service dog, but I don't think I could cope with the short lifespan, particularly at the high prices they command. Heartbreak AND financial stress make a formidable pair!

You can acquire from a line with less % of cancers. This is what I did. Henry's mother is 8 years old, and father is 7. Both active and very healthy. She's had Berners live to 13 years old in her pack.

 

[centrarchid]

You can acquire from a line with less % of cancers. This is what I did. Henry's mother is 8 years old, and father is 7. Both active and very healthy. She's had Berners live to 13 years old in her pack.

How long do they have capacity to work? That been another consideration for me. Some of the big dogs I have been looking at were slowing down a lot well before they pass on.

 

[aoxa]

How long do they have capacity to work? That been another consideration for me. Some of the big dogs I have been looking at were slowing down a lot well before they pass on.

Well their dogs were obviously in great condition. Running around with no arthritis at 8 years old.

If you get a good line, they aren't any slower than say a Great Pyr or a Maremma. Both of those breeds have a life expectancy of 10-11 years.

They are the same size (roughly) full grown as both of these dogs, yet they are better at staying in a certain area without heavy fencing. They take just as long to mature (sigh), but are not as independent as a Great Pyr. They seek out human interaction much more. They are also better with other household dogs. So if you have house dogs, they may be a better fit.

We have two small house dogs - a miniature poodle and a corgi mix. We could not have these two around our previous LGD who was Great Pyr x Maremma because she would injure them. Henry is now quite a bit larger and is very good with them.

I've yet to have any predator experience.

My corgi is awesome with predators. Love him. Wish he could be 5 times bigger so he could be my LGD.