Livestock guardian dogs

[SunnySkies]

Well, that's interesting. I surely hope that will not be the case with my Pyrenees. I am hoping that feeding her a grain free diet will prevent the issues you have mentioned above, especially joint issues. Mine is a working dog also and early spaying did not seem to affect her growth. She weighs in at 120lbs. How early can large dogs like this become pregnant?

When they go through their first estrus cycle and therefore could conceive varies from dog to dog. In one LGD group I'm in, several owners had dogs cycle at 7 months. Mine is 10 months. Others don't cycle until they are 12+ months.

Grain free doesn't make a difference. It's the calcium level you should be concerned about. Too little, too much....either way can impact their orthopedic development. Joint health also has a genetic component, not just nutrition. Hip dysplasia is known to be genetic, which is why breeders should be doing Penn Hip or OFA certification before breeding their dogs, and one cannot determine hip normality until the dog is 2.

Joint health does not seem to be impacted by early alter...but early alter might contribute to ligament injuries, bone cancer and soft tissue cancers in breeds like the Golden and Rott (those are the breeds under study).

Weight is not an indicator of muscle mass. I see plenty of dogs that are 100 lbs but are overweight.

 

[MrsBachbach]

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.c...d-beyond/is-early-neutering-hurting-pets.aspx

After reading that I have to wonder, if hormones are the reason for the problems in early spay and neuter, can female dogs and cats not have tubes tied and in males something snipped? Or are they significantly built differently?

 

[centrarchid]

After reading that I have to wonder, if hormones are the reason for the problems in early spay and neuter, can female dogs and cats not have tubes tied and in males something snipped? Or are they significantly built differently?

Behavior suppression is often as important as fertility control.

 

[Spanishchick]

Behavior suppression is often as important as fertility control.

especially with more than 1 male dog. They can fight if they're not castrated.

 

[SavageDestiny]

especially with more than 1 male dog. They can fight if they're not castrated.

They can fight altered too. Plenty of altered males (and females) are dog aggressive. Actually, neutered males tend to be the ones who start fights with unneutered males. Altering really doesn't do THAT much to change behavior. It's certainly not a magic fix for aggression.

 

[centrarchid]

Behavior more related to breeding. Breeding animals more prone to distraction and roaming during periods of sexual activity. Females also lure in males from elsewhere.

 

[Spanishchick]

Speaking of guard dogs my jack russel terrier has really surprised me. He's stopped chasing the chickens and today a chick flew out of the brooder and he barked and barked until we came. I'm speachless. He's a small pup.

 

[SunnySkies]

After reading that I have to wonder, if hormones are the reason for the problems in early spay and neuter, can female dogs and cats not have tubes tied and in males something snipped? Or are they significantly built differently?

It would not be something you want to do for cats. Tubal ligation, which I'm seeing promoted by some groups, does NOT stop ovulation, which means a queen cat would howl and carry on every few days until she is "bred" and while she would not conceive, it wouldn't solve those behavior issues. Male cats would fight and fight and spray and be totally obnoxious.

I have seen vasectomies done in male dogs. The male dogs I've seen died of testicular cancer and had terrible perineal hernias by the end of their lives, conditions both completely related to testosterone levels. When I was a tech, we had a patient that was a female from Europe, and she was intact but had had an ovarioectomy. She developed a severe pyometra, so we spayed her, and then later she developed mammary cancer. I know the numbers are small, but personal experience changed how I view those procedures. And I wouldn't do them on my own dogs, not when I see dogs with mammary cancer and perineal hernias far more often than I see dogs with hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma.

 

[centrarchid]

Dogs got a muskrat in fenn between yards. Not threat to birds but causes damage to ponds and attracts mink.

 

[Chickn Mama]

I use a BozShepherd/Kangal on my 300+ Acer ranch, he is socialized with ppl but his job is to protect the livestock he is with miniature cattle ,potbelly pig, free range chickens and ducks. It takes alot of work but the pay off is worth it. I sleep good at night knowing my critters are safe under his watchful eye. He will not tolerate large birds to land or wild hogs to cross into our ranch he takes his job seriously. When looking to purchase a guardian dog make sure you go to a breeder who raises the dogs AS GUARDIANS and go with livestock guardian breeds ONLY. They have been bred for 1000s of years to do the job. While many have success using there pet dogs of various breeds there has also been much heartache along with trying to use the incorrect breed..after all if you want to have a dog pull a sled your not going to use a pug , if you want a duck retrieving dog your not going to purchase a English bulldog ECT ECT ECT... Use the correct tool for the job.