New pup

[Ace_king_brahma]

My uncle was being thoughtful and gave me a Saint bernard puppy for protecting my animals. I'm curious as to if they make effective lgds. I know they are used as herding dogs but I read up on them soon as the puppy came to stay with me and it is a lot of training to be done for them in other areas. One of the things I did not like when I read was they have to be properly socialized with children so that they recognise them as something to protect and not prey. I'm worried that the dog will be more of a threat to the kids, the chickens and cats than the raccoons and possums.

 

[little_grey_bantam]

Quote:
Remember, dogs live in packs. Let the dog know that your children are part of the pack. Try to feed the dog after dinner and let the kids feed him. Usually with food aggressive dogs, you can feed them out of your hand until they realize, YOU = leader-will-kick-butt-if-dog-is-pain-in-ass.

Anyways, I wouldn't worry to much, just make sure you WANT this dog... this is a 10+ year responsibility... if you don't want it, give it back to your uncle

Shouldn't plop a dog on someone like that! :%Pr

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

The pup is here to stay...the girlfriend is already in love with her. And if I did give her back she won't go far at all....right next door. So either way I'll have the dog around. And I put my foot down on all three of them wanting the dog to be a housedog. But my uncle did volunteer to help train her to be protective of the chickens as he had with his own dog. Thanks for the advice the main worry I have is the dog around the children.

 

[Ibicella]

St. B's are really intelligent and easy going dogs, and really good with children in general. Most of their danger comes from the fact they are huge and they have "Big Dog Syndrome"....meaning, they don't KNOW they are huge. So it's really easy for them to hurt somebody if you don't teach them good obedience and socialization while they are puppies.

Not sure about using them as an LGD. I guess you'll just have to find out. Your dog might take to it, might not.

Anyways, congratulations on the new puffball!

 

[chickenjones]

Hi. I just wanted to share my St. Bernard experience. We had two growing up- a male and a female. They were WONDERFUL. We rode them around like they were horses. Nicest dogs. They have an awesome bark that terrified all visitors even if they were just saying hello. We got them as 3 month old puppies and they were raised around other dogs (all smaller than them) and kids of all ages in the neighborhood. We never had to get them special training to be good around kids or animals.

I would not give in to them being house dogs. My mom started letting them in the kitchen because it is really hot and humid in Houston and the long haired st. bernard was melting in the heat. They were both hot. But the kitchen led to other areas. I have pictures of them both trying to sit on my step-dad's lap! They shed alot and that is bad for your house as well- oh and the drool! haha. They are great outside dogs if you have good shade and tons of water. We had fans hooked up as well from the garage for them.

I don't think ours would have hurt a flea, but I bet you could train them to do anything. They were very smart! I will say the breeder we got them from told us that if you had one that even snapped at you or the kids you should put it down, because then it couldn't be trusted. I don't know what that means but it didn't stop my parents from buying two from him and they turned out great. Good luck to you!

ChickenJones

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

Thanks I will keep this all in mind! Yeah....I'm set on the dog living outside. She has already nipped up a phone charger and peed the house. And she won't be much of a help if she is trained to help out around protecting the livestock if she in the house instead of where she needs to be. She's about a little under 3 months old atm so I let her in the house for now. But honestly I've tried guard dogs with no luck and wound up shooting harmful critters more times than I ever saw any of the dogs ever even try to chase a coon or possum away which was about never.