Official LGD Owners Thread!

[Promiselandfarm]

Labs are great but they are bird dogs as are pointers and setters.
Edited to say I have no bias against them I grew up with them... as my dad and grand-dads raised them as they were all avid hunters. They were always trying to see who could have the better dogs.

 

[Promiselandfarm]

I still have my favs as does everyone...if anyone is looking for registered CKC GPs I have some that will ready to go to new homes with two sets of shots and de-wormings done by the 17 or 18th of this month...

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
My "bird dogs" who live with the flock 24/7.....

 

[Mugen]

Cute puppies and nice looking dog there! Somebody dropped a puppy into our mail box yesterday. My wife brought the puppy home and now is nursing her. So, we are going to have 3 LGDs and a mutt. God bless my wife! She's been through a lot since I'm away.

 

[Grey Bird Farm]

I'm looking into LGDs and I have a few questions.

1- How do you know how many you need? Can one work alone or do they prefer a working companion? We're talking about 30 chickens, 2-3 goats 2-3 sheep and a few hogs... not a big op. Can one dog handle all that?

2- Next question, I've noticed that quite a few people seem to stagger the aquisition of their dogs. 6 months apart or maybe a year or two. Is this only based on an increaded need later on OR is there something to allowing 1 dog to bond to a flock before a 2nd dog enters?

3- Is there a source/rescue anywhere for adult LGDs in situations where maybe a farm was lost or an owner dies and the dogs no longer have a farm? Can dogs be relocated to existing flocks or does some member of their original charge need to accompany them?

4- Do LGDs only guard the animals that they are in with or will nieghboring fields of animals on the same property also be protected? Would you put multiple dogs in different fields with different animal groups? How does it work?

Thanks so much for any info/experience out there.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I'm looking into LGDs and I have a few questions.

This will answer most of your questions:

http://www.bountifulfarm.com/lgd_seminar.htm​

 

[Grey Bird Farm]

I read through the whole thing which was really informative and will be bookmarked immediately!
I'll ask my unanswered questions later when I contact a breeder. It seems like they could be breed specific.
Thanks

Quote:
This will answer most of your questions:

http://www.bountifulfarm.com/lgd_seminar.htm

 

[Beekissed]

Labs are great but they are bird dogs as are pointers and setters.
Edited to say I have no bias against them I grew up with them... as my dad and grand-dads raised them as they were all avid hunters. They were always trying to see who could have the better dogs.

They sure are...who better to guard birds? This one has been laying next to the carcass of my oldest hen I had to butcher some days ago due to egg tumors...and he's been lying with her for days, after first trying to put her back in the coop. He whines if we try to remove her from his care. This isn't the first time he has done this and he will walk with a dead chick in his mouth for days, trying to put it back in the coop. Those are HIS chickens and he grows quite upset when I start to process birds...will pace, whine and finally lay off at a distance and give me a dirty look.

Each of my Lab and Lab mix dogs were extremely solicitous of their charges, be they rabbits, sheep or chickens. They will lick their wounds, guard them and even go on point if a rabbit gets out and is in hiding, just to show us where it is, alert the house if a lamb is being born, play with them, etc. My first Lab would even herd cattle...he was very silent and methodical with it but he moved those beasts like no other cattle dog I'd seen. He would also track wounded game for us.

 

[PluckyClucker99]

I live in Wisconsin and am looking for a reliable LGD that is able to stay within our unfenced 40 acre rural farm. He also must be friendly enough to tolerate children (over 6 years old). Any breed recommendations?

 

[Kyonarai]

I've been researching LGD in the hopes of purchasing one in the future. I'm leaning toward the Great Pyrenees.

I really think the CMD is gorgeous and a fantastic guardian, but I'm concerned about the balance of protection and temperament. National Geographic did a segment on them and it's clear that it requires a specific type of owner to work well with this type of dog.

I believe that guy doesn't understand how to handle even a mildly aggressive dog, much less than one like that. I'm surprised the breeder would let the dog go to a suburban home like that. That type of dog is much better suited to wide open spaces and less human traffic. I encourage anybody considering this breed to really study up on it and ensure they are really capable of handling that kind of dog well. You will not be able to have people over unless you are meticulous about socializing the dog with friends and neighbors. It can be very isolating to have a dog like that.

Ok. Taking a deep breath here so I don't come off as a *****...
But look, the CMD(Really it should be Caucasian Shepherd, as it is in every other country, Ovcharka means "shepherd's dog") is NOT supposed to be like in that video. That owner is nothing short of a idiot and the breeder is even worse. I have a beautiful, even tempered male imported from Croatia and he is NOTHING like that dog. Neither are his parents. This is the reason I will never buy a Caucasian Shepherd from the US, even though I live here. Everyone here keeps advertising their "big, high drive russian dogs" and I'm like...They're from Georgia, and they're supposed to be livestock guardians, not attack dogs. ***.

My dog is alert to strangers, but he's not crazy and he's not a menace. He watches people to see if they are a threat. This is the same dog who jumped in front of me to defend me when he was 10 weeks old from someone he thought was a threat, and immediately stopped as soon as I said it was okay. Properly bred Caucasian Shepherds are smart and fearless, and equally fierce, but only when it is necessary. Not because someone walks up to you and says hi.