Livestock guardian dogs

[Bigwig]

Does anybody on this site use a Komondor to guard their flock?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Does anybody on this site use a Komondor to guard their flock?

I see a lot of them or crosses on the Facebook lgd pages

 

[mcbrown7513]

I know my opinion will not be worth much in this forum. However, my best success with LGD is by using 2 beagles and 2 pitbull terrier that have been thoroughly trained and loved. The Beatles like to range freely with my hens that wander around and the pits like to stay near the main flock. The Beatles take care of the smaller critters and the pits are good for the larger predators. The largest predator I have seen near my land is wild hog. The pits take down a few every year. No coyotes or wolves here. Haven't heard or seen bear, wild cat, etc in this area either. Therefore, my pet pups, that are outside continuosly, do the job I ask of them.

 

[MrsBachbach]

I know my opinion will not be worth much in this forum. However, my best success with LGD is by using 2 beagles and 2 pitbull terrier that have been thoroughly trained and loved. The Beatles like to range freely with my hens that wander around and the pits like to stay near the main flock. The Beatles take care of the smaller critters and the pits are good for the larger predators. The largest predator I have seen near my land is wild hog. The pits take down a few every year. No coyotes or wolves here. Haven't heard or seen bear, wild cat, etc in this area either. Therefore, my pet pups, that are outside continuosly, do the job I ask of them.

And some likely will, if they consider your livestock part of the pack. Even so, lesser pack members sometimes get hurt by the alphas if they feel someone is out of line. Really depends on the individual dogs as far as results go.

 

[mcbrown7513]

My point exactly. I was trying to impress a well trained dog with the proper personality is a good way to protect your flock. Breed is less of a consideration than the individual canine. And I also said that this is what works for me. Everyone needs to evaluate their situation.

 

[dickhuhn]

This is one of our two guardians (eating some meat in the snow) for the chickens and everything else:



Both together distract anything looking into getting some of our chickens...;-)

 

[dickhuhn]

I find great pry not fierce enough, anything that has been used as show dog or being bred as pets i just wont use. I prefer dogs that nothing but working dogs in their backround. With a good dog I expect to not lose 1 hen or anything. Also they should be able to dispatch predators without hurting themselves so we dont have to take them to the vet which will make it more expensive. Their kills should be clean and quick.

Real livestock guardian dog do not "kill clean and quick", it seems you watched to many Hollywood movies? Good lgds are much to clever and will never simply attack some predator, but mostly distract them by barking, which can be quite different depending on the kind of predator.

Yes if nothing helps they will fight to protect their livestock, but in 99,999% of cases the predator will be driven away by the lgds barking, as the risk of being hurt is simply to big for them. Just as the lgd does, attempting to fight quickly will not let the dog get old. In addition lgds usually work in a team, never alone.

For chickens one can get away with two of them. They do not like to be alone. for sure those great working dogs are with mankind more or less forever. They are very intelligent, but being used to work without man, they make their own decisions and hardly follow quick commands, at least it must make sense to them then they will usually follow. after one or more seconds thinking about what you want. ;-)

Another misconception in this thread, those dogs would be expensive as they'd eat much, but shepherds were always poor, so they couldn't use dogs that ate much. Resulting in lgds that despite their weight/size consume very little. Ours eat only things meat/bones/etc (+ ones in a while cooked vegetables/etc.) you get for free at local butchers.

I was never a big fan of dogs, but love our lgds, as they are so different from usual dogs, although most people used to dogs might not like them, if one is out for agility or alike, forget it. They might return a ball or some stick ones, if just to show you they can, but that's it. They are mostly interested in protecting and will leave the best meal if there is work, especially if it gets dark their attention will multiply.

Most of those big white lgds seem closely related?

 

[Phoenixxx]

Real livestock guardian dog do not "kill clean and quick", it seems you watched to many Hollywood movies? Good lgds are much to clever and will never simply attack some predator, but mostly distract them by barking, which can be quite different depending on the kind of predator.

Yes if nothing helps they will fight to protect their livestock, but in 99,999% of cases the predator will be driven away by the lgds barking, as the risk of being hurt is simply to big for them. Just as the lgd does, attempting to fight quickly will not let the dog get old. In addition lgds usually work in a team, never alone.

For chickens one can get away with two of them. They do not like to be alone. for sure those great working dogs are with mankind more or less forever. They are very intelligent, but being used to work without man, they make their own decisions and hardly follow quick commands, at least it must make sense to them then they will usually follow. after one or more seconds thinking about what you want. ;-)

Another misconception in this thread, those dogs would be expensive as they'd eat much, but shepherds were always poor, so they couldn't use dogs that ate much. Resulting in lgds that despite their weight/size consume very little. Ours eat only things meat/bones/etc (+ ones in a while cooked vegetables/etc.) you get for free at local butchers.

I was never a big fan of dogs, but love our lgds, as they are so different from usual dogs, although most people used to dogs might not like them, if one is out for agility or alike, forget it. They might return a ball or some stick ones, if just to show you they can, but that's it. They are mostly interested in protecting and will leave the best meal if there is work, especially if it gets dark their attention will multiply.

Most of those big white lgds seem closely related?

I know about the barking - and so do my neighbours, I'm sure! I eventually wound up with a kuvasz puppy. And yes, she looks like some of the other breeds - I believe a few, if not most, of the white-coated breeds were developed from the kuvasz. I love her to pieces, she does double-duty as both a pet and a guardian. She guards the chickens and the house, often posting herself on the hill in-between the two so she can watch both simultaneously. I could tell stories for hours, but yeah, definitely a different kind of dog, I don't think I'll ever get anything but these awesome giant breeds again

 

[centrarchid]

When I see the use of the term "real" preceding "livestock guarding dog" I get wary as seen such talk before and not been impressed with the attitude and facts supporting it. We employ a good number of them to protect herds of goats and sheep used for research. Herds defended, 25 to 100 head each, likely are larger than those owned by most posters here yet herd size too small to support additional cost of dog if operation was to be profitable. Dogs are usually operated singly excepting with larger herds kept on 20+ acre paddocks. There are not enough butchers around to provide free offal especially when others have interest in the same product. Pack size over last few years has been roughly halved with about half of the herds currently not being accompanied by dogs. Fencing keeps domestic / feral dogs out and coyotes have not gone after even young sheep / goats for some time.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Real livestock guardian dog do not "kill clean and quick", it seems you watched to many Hollywood movies? Good lgds are much to clever and will never simply attack some predator, but mostly distract them by barking, which can be quite different depending on the kind of predator.

Yes if nothing helps they will fight to protect their livestock, but in 99,999% of cases the predator will be driven away by the lgds barking, as the risk of being hurt is simply to big for them. Just as the lgd does, attempting to fight quickly will not let the dog get old. In addition lgds usually work in a team, never alone.

For chickens one can get away with two of them. They do not like to be alone. for sure those great working dogs are with mankind more or less forever. They are very intelligent, but being used to work without man, they make their own decisions and hardly follow quick commands, at least it must make sense to them then they will usually follow. after one or more seconds thinking about what you want. ;-)

Another misconception in this thread, those dogs would be expensive as they'd eat much, but shepherds were always poor, so they couldn't use dogs that ate much. Resulting in lgds that despite their weight/size consume very little. Ours eat only things meat/bones/etc (+ ones in a while cooked vegetables/etc.) you get for free at local butchers.

I was never a big fan of dogs, but love our lgds, as they are so different from usual dogs, although most people used to dogs might not like them, if one is out for agility or alike, forget it. They might return a ball or some stick ones, if just to show you they can, but that's it. They are mostly interested in protecting and will leave the best meal if there is work, especially if it gets dark their attention will multiply.

Most of those big white lgds seem closely related?

Yes, seems to be a big misconception. With the exception of the growing stage, I have found my LGD, a great pyrenees, eats next to nothing. I think I overfeed her! She could lose 10lbs right now without negative side effects. She gets a folgers size can of dry food a day. A quality food, not grain based, but a small amount considering size. I've even seen her on occasion sticking her mouth in a chicken feed bowl (i guess she figures if the chickens can eat hers, she can try theirs). I think if she were a herd watcher she would likely learn to consume the goat poop. I've seen her eat afterbirth from neighbors calves, calf poop, etc. They seem to adapt to their charges. I think these dogs were bred to be large yet not consume much. I'm sure shepards of old knew what they required when developing these breeds. Something formidable, intelligent, with low energy requirements, cold weather resistant, and with a high degree of protective maternal instinct. I love mine. She is great and cost me less than the price of a ewe. I've always had a dog on the property and if I'm going to feed one, this is an ideal choice.