Livestock Guardian Dogs

[centrarchid]

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.

The Great Pyrenees I see seem to really slow down by the time they are six years old. That gives only about four years of reliability once the 2 years of maturation are taken into account. We have some Akbash running about they seem to age much better are much more athletic and able to do rounds at higher temperatures.

 

[aoxa]

The Great Pyrenees I see seem to really slow down by the time they are six years old. That gives only about four years of reliability once the 2 years of maturation are taken into account. We have some Akbash running about they seem to age much better are much more athletic and able to do rounds at higher temperatures.

Again, if you get them from lines where arthritis is not a huge issue early on, it might make a big difference in any breed. Not a sure fire means of eradicating it of course, but would help lower chances of them slowing down this early.

 

[centrarchid]

Locally most folks have been using Great Pyrenees as LGD’s with a few using Anatolians or Commadores. Some of the seasoned goat / sheep producers have been switch over to Akbash or at least the version of it that exist in the US. Reasons I have heard have not been specific but many have been dissatisfied by the Great Pyrenees. From what I have seen the Akbash are more gracile and have coats that vary with season. They handle cold just fine like the Great Pyrenees but during summer months the coat thins out helping to control heat stress. The Akbash is also the most mobile of the standard LGD’s which is extremely important to me when poultry are the livestock of concern. None of these breeds or other similarly sized and proportioned breeds where developed for chickens so what it is best for sheep / goats does not mean much for deciding who is best for chickens. This is especially true when social groups for chickens behave very differently and predators targeting those groups have option to snatch and grab which predators of sheep / goats generally cannot do. Additionally, the predators poultry people deal with are smaller, faster, and less likely to stand and fight. This means outright size and fighting ability needs to be balanced with characteristics of dog that enable contending with smaller predators. From what I have seen, that means more speed. Great Pyrenees, Anitolians, and Commadores do not have the speed of the Ackbash. I have not seen the other LGD’s breeds in person, especially the higher dollar versions but they appear similar to slower LGD’s I am familiar with. This even ignores any health issues.

 

[aoxa]

Locally most folks have been using Great Pyrenees as LGD’s with a few using Anatolians or Commadores. Some of the seasoned goat / sheep producers have been switch over to Akbash or at least the version of it that exist in the US. Reasons I have heard have not been specific but many have been dissatisfied by the Great Pyrenees. From what I have seen the Akbash are more gracile and have coats that vary with season. They handle cold just fine like the Great Pyrenees but during summer months the coat thins out helping to control heat stress. The Akbash is also the most mobile of the standard LGD’s which is extremely important to me when poultry are the livestock of concern. None of these breeds or other similarly sized and proportioned breeds where developed for chickens so what it is best for sheep / goats does not mean much for deciding who is best for chickens. This is especially true when social groups for chickens behave very differently and predators targeting those groups have option to snatch and grab which predators of sheep / goats generally cannot do. Additionally, the predators poultry people deal with are smaller, faster, and less likely to stand and fight. This means outright size and fighting ability needs to be balanced with characteristics of dog that enable contending with smaller predators. From what I have seen, that means more speed. Great Pyrenees, Anitolians, and Commadores do not have the speed of the Ackbash. I have not seen the other LGD’s breeds in person, especially the higher dollar versions but they appear similar to slower LGD’s I am familiar with. This even ignores any health issues.

How common are the Akbash? I have never heard of them before today.

I wanted a Komondor as our next LGD, but again - extremely rare.

 

[peteyfoozer]

My Maremmas are great with our house dogs, in fact, the front of our place is 'neutral territory' as there are a lot of bird hunters who come here to the ranch with their dogs. The Maremmas have amazing discretion and don't harrass any animals unless they try to get in the pastures with the stock. I would like a Berner as a service dog for myself, however, as I understand that they have been herding dogs and I could use the help with sheep and chickens. The LGD's are great at leading stock somewhere, but they don't drive or herd at all

 

[aoxa]

My Maremmas are great with our house dogs, in fact, the front of our place is 'neutral territory' as there are a lot of bird hunters who come here to the ranch with their dogs. The Maremmas have amazing discretion and don't harrass any animals unless they try to get in the pastures with the stock. I would like a Berner as a service dog for myself, however, as I understand that they have been herding dogs and I could use the help with sheep and chickens. The LGD's are great at leading stock somewhere, but they don't drive or herd at all

The few people I've talked to with them say that if those house dogs are hard headed (mine are) it will not be a good relationship. But if you have chilled back dogs, it may not be a big issue. A dog herding a Maremma's sheep may really tick it off though.. :S

PS: Corgi's are amazing herding dogs. Koda's herd of choice: Children. They are so disorderly.


Here is that 8 year old father of Henry. Gorgeous boy. 120 pounds, and full of energy. These guys work with horses, but they've raised chickens as well.

 

[centrarchid]

How common are the Akbash? I have never heard of them before today.

I wanted a Komondor as our next LGD, but again - extremely rare.

Locally (Central Missouri) they can be found. My place of work does not like to pay a lot for dogs so price at least occasionally is low. I will check more into availability. They are not AKC recognized so they may not hit radar of those wanting papered dogs. They originate from western Turkey. Those I have seen are sound. I will try to find female we have near lab and get a photograph of her. She and her herd get moved around a lot.

If I had to re-dog, then these Akbash would be my first choice. I am able to see multiple LGD breeds in action on same farm so feel confident in comparing.

 

[Speckled01]

I have two Great Pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd mixes that were rescued as pups from the local shelter. I didn't know what they were and knew they would be big and hairy. so I found a yahoo group that talks about LSGD (livestock guardian dogs). they are very supportive and a wealth of information. My boys are house dogs. The real working dogs stay with the flock. They do need training. My guys are great with my guineas. They don't chase, but they do roam. A lot of the folks on the listserv talk about fencing and how to keep the dogs within their boundaries. They are big dogs LSGD- mine are 96 and 85 lbs respectively.

 

[pwoller]

Bullmastiff!

 

[mountaindog66]

Locally most folks have been using Great Pyrenees as LGD’s with a few using Anatolians or Commadores. Some of the seasoned goat / sheep producers have been switch over to Akbash or at least the version of it that exist in the US. Reasons I have heard have not been specific but many have been dissatisfied by the Great Pyrenees. From what I have seen the Akbash are more gracile and have coats that vary with season. They handle cold just fine like the Great Pyrenees but during summer months the coat thins out helping to control heat stress. The Akbash is also the most mobile of the standard LGD’s which is extremely important to me when poultry are the livestock of concern. None of these breeds or other similarly sized and proportioned breeds where developed for chickens so what it is best for sheep / goats does not mean much for deciding who is best for chickens. This is especially true when social groups for chickens behave very differently and predators targeting those groups have option to snatch and grab which predators of sheep / goats generally cannot do. Additionally, the predators poultry people deal with are smaller, faster, and less likely to stand and fight. This means outright size and fighting ability needs to be balanced with characteristics of dog that enable contending with smaller predators. From what I have seen, that means more speed. Great Pyrenees, Anitolians, and Commadores do not have the speed of the Ackbash. I have not seen the other LGD’s breeds in person, especially the higher dollar versions but they appear similar to slower LGD’s I am familiar with. This even ignores any health issues.

Some good points about what type of protection you need from a LGD.

I would say that Bernese Mt Dogs are best as family pets first, and guarding secondary. Berners want to be with their families in the home at night, so if your animals are locked up securely at night, they'd be great as they can be inside at night with you, but they'll enjoy guarding and patrolling their home territory during the day. They were also bred for droving cattle in the Alps, so have a driving instinct.

Other breeds that are more aloof and bred just for guarding, like Maremmas, are obviously OK to leave out at night with the farm animals as many of you know who have them.

Another breed to consider for speediness and guarding as well as herding ability are English Shepherds, I understand they are excellent LGDs and are more on the order of border collie size, not sure about any health issues though.