Looking for farm dog in IN

[chickentrains]

An interesting thing about pit bulls is in years past they were called nanny dogs and were used to guard and protect children. I don't know what happened to the breed but something sure has.

The American Pit bull terrier was uses as a BULL baiting dog in PITS. Hense PIT BULL. They where not nanny dogs, they never where. Don't EVER leave your child alone with a dog, desipite the breed. They where also used in dog fighting, and any dog that showed aggression towards humans was culled.

Learn the breed before spreading information thats not true, please.

 

[THEChIcKeNwhisperer354]

The American Pit bull terrier was uses as a BULL baiting dog in PITS. Hense PIT BULL. They where not nanny dogs, they never where. Don't EVER leave your child alone with a dog, desipite the breed. They where also used in dog fighting, and any dog that showed aggression towards humans was culled.

Learn the breed before spreading information thats not true, please.

There the closest thing you can get to a wolf or coyot thats not a wolf or coyot

 

[KingD]

..

There the closest thing you can get to a wolf or coyot thats not a wolf or coyot

Ummm that's not really true is it.
The closest thing to a wolf is probably something like a saarloos wolfdog. I'd love one of them! So cool!

 

[cassie]

Actually, that is not a fact. But it is made up propaganda spread by pit fans who want to keep trying to convince people that they are great dogs. There are pits that are good with people. Many less that are good with other dogs and even those have snapped and all of a sudden gone from nice play into kill mode. They were bred to kill other dogs. They are a pit fighting dog, not a kid nanny. Maybe, in many more years, they will breed out the genes that cause it to attack other pets when some invisible switch is thrown but very few breeders are actually trying to do so.

I was referring to references I came across in some antique dog books I had, and not from any recent propaganda by current pit fans. These books were printed in the 1800's. There were some wonderful stories and pictures of dogs with children. I do remember thinking it was odd knowing what I do about what pit bulls were bred for. I can't go back to the books now because I sold them when I moved out of California.

 

[cassie]

The American Pit bull terrier was uses as a BULL baiting dog in PITS. Hense PIT BULL. They where not nanny dogs, they never where. Don't EVER leave your child alone with a dog, desipite the breed. They where also used in dog fighting, and any dog that showed aggression towards humans was culled.

Learn the breed before spreading information thats not true, please.

I was quoting what I read in the antique dog books I once owned.

 

[KingD]

But that is part wolf. I said the closest you can get to a wolf without it being a wolf.

A wolfdog is not a wolf. It's just the name they gave it. It's German shepherd and Siberian wolf bred together decades ago.
Anyway, I'm not gonna argue with you anymore.

 

[THEChIcKeNwhisperer354]

A wolfdog is not a wolf. It's just the name they gave it. It's German shepherd and Siberian wolf bred together decades ago.
Anyway, I'm not gonna argue with you anymore.

Its still related to wolfs...

 

[Goosebaby]

If you can get an Aussie, golden retriever, or a mix of those two I highly recommend them as decent farm dogs.
Golden’s have their spastic years 1 - 3 but if you have the patience to get past that you’ll have an excellent mom/dad dog of your flock, my old golden Bear treated the geese like they were his kids and protected the yard.
I’ve had good luck training my Aussie, and Aussie Golden mix to break up gander fights, if you teach them young not to be predatory towards birds they never develop that trait and only make sure everyone behaves. The other plus is that they’re the best ratters I’ve ever seen.

My other current farm dog is a Boerboel, I would recommend them as a farm dog because #1 highly intelligent, I haven’t had to teach him not to be predatory towards the birds, he just gets they’re his family because Boerboels are specifically bred to be farm dogs. #2 Boerboels are so massive and deep voiced hardly anything predatory wants to come in the yard anymore. #3 He’s very well behaved.
Reasons I would NOT recommend a Boerboel is #1 the price. #2 they’re starting to get popular and because of their looks “large mastiff type” they’re starting to be bred by scums as “attack dogs” and not every Boerboel is a real Boerboel now. If you see a breeder showing off how “aggressive” their dogs are, avoid.

Note that not every individual in a breed has the same attributes, some swear by German shepherds as flock guardians, the three I knew were bird killers. People consider Labs as the typical family dog, my parent’s lab tried to kill me. People are terrified of Ovcharkas, I grew up with one, no issues. It all comes down to personality which is hard to gage, but if you find one with a family history of being around livestock you’ve got a good chance of having an excellent dog.

Also it may be an unpopular opinion but if you know what you’re doing you don’t have to fix your dog. My two females 9 & 8 years old aren’t fixed. My Boerboel isn’t fixed. My Golden who passed away wasn’t fixed. The only dog I had that was fixed passed away due to complications of being fixed. If your female is going into heat just keep them inside, supervise them when out, it can be annoying for some but it isn’t that hard to keep them from breeding. Not fixing a female can lead to hormone issues that can cause cancer, but fixing them can do the same, so it’s up to you to judge wether it’s worth it based on that.

 

[MissE]

I would suggest a German Shepherd if you want my completely biased option. Great farm dogs, and can be trained to respect small animals, however like with any dog, if you don't do the proper training, you need good fencing. Stay away from the American lines and look into German working lines. In Germany, these dogs cannot be bred and have the name German Shepherd Dog without being able to earn a title showing the dog can do what it is bred to do. This helps avoid some of the temperament and health issues you find in the American lines. A female WL GSD's breed standard will fall into the size limits you are looking for.

Many of the other good farm dogs I would recommend are bigger than what you are looking for.

Fixing them is a completely personal choice. My male is not fixed. My female is, but didn't meet the breed standard, so we chose to have her spayed.

 

[Goosebaby]

I would suggest a German Shepherd if you want my completely biased option. Great farm dogs, and can be trained to respect small animals, however like with any dog, if you don't do the proper training, you need good fencing. Stay away from the American lines and look into German working lines. In Germany, these dogs cannot be bred and have the name German Shepherd Dog without being able to earn a title showing the dog can do what it is bred to do. This helps avoid some of the temperament and health issues you find in the American lines. A female WL GSD's breed standard will fall into the size limits you are looking for.

Many of the other good farm dogs I would recommend are bigger than what you are looking for.

Fixing them is a completely personal choice. My male is not fixed. My female is, but didn't meet the breed standard, so we chose to have her spayed.

The European lines are generally the big boned ones that don’t drag their back ends like nervous wrecks also.