My 4yo great pyr ate a chicken..

[AKsmama]

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You aren't expecting much out of two puppies then, are you?

Have you not done any research at all? ANY LGD is not considered truly grown and matured until 18 months to 2 years old. Expecting your 4 month old puppies to automatically guard your livestock, just because they happen to be an LGD breed, is plain ridiculous. People like you are the reason why shelters and rescues are full of perfectly good dogs.

 

[Peck Johnson]

Quote:
You aren't expecting much out of two puppies then, are you?

Have you not done any research at all? ANY LGD is not considered truly grown and matured until 18 months to 2 years old. Expecting your 4 month old puppies to automatically guard your livestock, just because they happen to be an LGD breed, is plain ridiculous. People like you are the reason why shelters and rescues are full of perfectly good dogs.

Agreed, at almost 3 years old, our Maremma still acts like a puppy sometimes. 4 months is way too early to tell. Sad how many LGD end up in rescues. Some people get them because they seem so cute and then expect it to them to be like a regular dog only to find out they got more then they bargained for. But to expect a puppy to have mature guarding habits, no way. I think that ColbyNTX must be joking or exaggerating about that.

 

[ColbyNTX]

Don't be silly, yes i'm exaggerating! One of the earlier post said you could never leave a 4 month old pyreneese unattended with chickens. That is crazy! If I can not leave it with chickens at 4 months old then I can never trust the dog. I don't expect these pups at 7&9 weeks or even 4 months to protect the flock but I do expect them to live with my birds and I do have a job and can not be with them 24/7. This is not my first pyreneese and usually by 5 1/2 months they do a pretty darn good job of protecting the flock. I know they can not fight off a pack of cyotes but their bark will keep them away. Also they keep the coons, opossums, skunks and bobcats away just from their bark. This may not be everybodies experence but it has been mine. Also, I have never taken a dog to a shelter and have only had to rehome a few(never a pyrenees) but when I did, they were sold at a high price to make sure they go to a good home. I also send them with 1 year of heartworm preventitive and perscription flea control and current on shots. If I have a 4 month old dog that is attacking my birds and I can not get him to stop, he will be gone to a new home and the new home will be told that it kills chickens.

 

[AKsmama]

Sorry to go off on you like that, but you cannot tell exaggeration over the internet. You really sounded serious and it burned my behind just a bit.

 

[terrilhb]

I am sorry your dog killed one of your chickens.

Can you try to work with it more so it can learn? I hope so. I have 4 dogs and they protect my chickens and goats. My 4 dogs are designer dogs.

We start the chickens out with all the dogs when they are babies. Of course when they are still so small we don't leave the dogs with them alone when they are so small. I hope your dog learns. Good luck.

Here is a picture of 1of my dogs with the chicks.

All my dogs are rescue dogs.

 

[annep]

My hubby and I are going to take the weekend to train her better. It's going to be constant..We want the chickens to free range around our yard when spring comes but we need to be able to trust the dog..We had a fox get our last bunch, and that was heartbreaking..That's why we got the pyr..She's been so good at keeping the foxes away..I also heard there's a coyote in the neighborhood..I have been sick all week, and the one day that I was down, and hubby went back to work, she got her...such the bummer..She's a very, very good dog..I just think some good training will help..

 

[RedReiner]

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which does no good...dog doesnt care if there is a rotting carcass hanging off his neck. they are not human and are not disgusted by gross things. Your dog happily rolls in crap, dead animals, anything that stinks and by human standards are gross. tying a chicken around its neck doesnt even phase it. Just because you are disgusted with something that gross does not mean your dog is! Just makes your dog stink.
I would guess your Pyr was not raised with livestock? sorry it killed your chicken...hopefully it gets the message and leaves them alone with more training.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I bet you can teach it that they are part of the family. It was protecting the yard because it was use to seeing the birds in the pen and now they were in its yard.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

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I wish you success.

It will take longer than a weekend, however. Great Pyr's are much like children - you have to be on your toes all the time and be consistent with your discipline. Hopefully things will work out for you.

 

[NanaLantana]

I have 2 mini Eskimo dogs which have to put up with my chickens. They view the young ones as game, but won't bother grown ones. It's all that flitting around that gets them excited! I watch them a lot when the youngsters are free ranging, and am always reminding them, "No chickens for you!" They absolutely know what that means! They've never killed - yet -