Livestock guardian dogs

[mossyroo]

Thanks we'll see how fast she learns

It would be great if they learned as fast as they grew.

 

[zookeepersgirl]

I had a Border Collie mix that protected and herded my chickens, we almost never had a predator problem. She was the best dog ever!

 

[jmoss1975]

In my experience Great Pyrenees don't do as effective of a job as other breeds. I like a 1/2 Pyrenees, 1/4 Maremma and 1/4 Anatolian You end up with a smaller dog that doesn't eat as much.

 

[Birdydeb]

I beg to differ. While the jury is still out on how my two will react loose with my flock there is no doubt in my mind that nothing is going to mess with the chickens in their pen without us knowing about it. I have two Great Pyrenees, a male and a female. The male was raised with chickens and ducks and never bothered them. My female was raised by us from a puppy. Right now and until I get the flock outside, both are exposed to my chicks in the laundry room. Including my female is fed twice a day in her crate and has a crate sitting on top of her that's has my chicks in it. It was serendipity....I never really planned it that way but both are getting exposure to the chicks inside 24/7 with no restriction beyond the fact that the chicks are in a crate. Neither have paid any concerning behavior to them. Pyrenees are said to be about 50/50 with poultry meaning about 50% take their job guarding the flock seriously and don't harm the flock. We are hoping we are in that 50%. But even if we aren't I absolutely trust these two to always let me know if something is up in the yard. Our two don't sit and bark at every noise they hear but it took effort on our part to "fine tune" them to only alert if something is amiss. And they do it very, very well with my female alerting the other week because my neighbor's beagle had escaped and was headed for the highway. If she hadn't been relentless I wouldn't have noticed and caught him in time. They know which animals belong in the fields behind us and no longer bark at anything that belongs. They watch CONSTANTLY. They have never been wrong once they start their relentless barking over something they have seen or HEARD. Never. It has always been something. Lately it has been stray dogs. I think many times GP's get a bad rap and show up in rescue,etc. because people think they can toss a pup in a field or yard and instinct will just kick in. Well, it is impossible to stop a GP from guarding but not working with the dog at all just sets the dog up to guard who or what he wants whenever he wants...and allows for bad behaviors. You can't stop them from guarding anymore than you can stop the herding breeds from herding. When you get a Great Pyrenees you really need to understand their nature and behavior. And you must like hair! LOL I absolutely love dogs and I thought my German Shepherds and Collies were incredibly smart but there is no smarter dog than a GP. A GP will out think you if you are not careful. LOL And in comparison to other 100+ dogs they don't eat much because of their slow metabolism. My two each get two cups morning and night. A lot in comparison to a small dog but not a lot in comparison to other large breeds. My 50 pound lab mix gets 3 cups a day. None of my dogs are skinny and none are fat. My vet says all three are pretty much perfect weight.

 

[Birdydeb]

Great pyr can shut down easy in the face of danger its a breeding issue. Breeds become too popular they get watered down to fit city living and their work ethic becomes very poor.
[/quote]

I nearly spit my drink out when I read this. Are you freaking serious! Oh my gosh! I guess my female Pyr was "shut down" when she went after the bear in my front yard. I guess they both are "shutting down" when they charge after any threat they see. I don't know which Great Pyrenees you have been in contact with but I can promise you.....NOTHING and I mean NOTHING gets on my property when my two are patrolling. You obviously do not know Great Pyrenees like you think you do.

 

[muskratp]

We researched several breeds before settling on a Maremma. Yes, GP's are exceptional LGD's but, like other LGD breeds, usually only when they have been born in and raised in a working environment. Because GP's are also now an AKC breed, what happens is that you get those who show GP's on the show circuit where they are classed as 'working dogs' due to their breed but are not actively a working dog per se. Those dogs then are then bred and pups sold to buyers who don't know that just because it is an LGD breed, if the pup does not have the training with livestock from their dam (which does not start until around week 9), although they will have the natural instinct to guard, they can often fail, and even injur, livestock and can then end up as rescues or house pets, and then the cycle often repeats. Fortunately working dogs here in the US are making a comeback, so it is just up to the person buying to know if it is a true working dog they are looking for, they must get it from working dog parents. If it is companion dog only, then working dog parents are not as important.

 

[muskratp]

Been there, done that. First one LGD, then two, now 4 (got to have 1 for each pasture you know...or maybe 1 pair for each pasture

 

[Therese 11]

If you are looking for a dog to protect your chickens certainly would pick a german shepard they would protect your flock. And they would protect your yard from stray animals. Therese

 

[Alex1010]

If you are looking for a dog to protect  your chickens certainly would pick a german shepard they would protect your flock. And they would protect your yard from stray animals. Therese

I have a puppy that's about 4 months old and she's great!

 

[adjduncan]

Looking for ideas: we want to build a fence for our cow and possibly the goats too. But we want the LGDs to be able to enter the field and leave to be able to protect the animals inside the pasture as well as in the front area of our property. We also have a large chicken coop in the area we are
planning on fencing off. We don't want to limit either of the dogs to just one area. We like for them to be able to travel the entire property. However, we have been trying to brainstorm a passage or gate the dogs can use but the cow/potbelly pigs/ and perhaps goats cannot exit. Is this an impossible idea? Does such a design exist? Folks I need your brilliant ideas please!