PLANNED POULTRY GUARDING DOG

[centrarchid]

FUN WITH PARVO

Pup (Lucy) was diagnosed yesterday with Parvovirus. She was producing bloody stools and vomiting a lot. She is with our very trusted vet and pup is already on upswing. Treatment for parvo is very expensive and has a high mortality rate if not treated. We got lucky this round but vet bill is going to make that free pup cost as much as one that was on the high end for her breed if registered. Next we will be quicker with vacination but vet indicated we were in that narrow window where maternal antibodies where waining and the vaccination, if applied in the timely manner would not have come into full affect. Pup had numerous exposures with potential vectors and actually chewed on a few. Contact with predators next time will be delayed until a later age.

 

[LavendarFeather]

So sorry to hear you're having to deal with parvo. It's an awful virus, but I've had a few pups that came into my care who had it, and with treatment they ALL recovered and were fine (after a couple weeks in the hospital). The main thing seems to be to keep administering fluids since they lose so much.

 

[centrarchid]

Vet indicated I will need to supply fluids as needed via subcutaneous injections. Pup was able hold down a small amount of feed and water as of yesterday evening which was extremely favorable sign. Pup is going to have to eat some really bland looking food out of a can that resembles a bad cheese.

 

[LavendarFeather]

Happy to hear that she's making progress! That's great that you are comfortable giving SubQ fluids. I never learned how to do that. Lucy is a lucky girl to have a devoted family.

 

[centrarchid]

She will be coming home tonight. I give the equivalent of subcutaneous injections to fish regularly and it is a lot easier than intravenously.

 

[aoxa]

I've just spent an hour going over this thread. I currently have a LGD (Maremma x Great Pyr) juvenile (almost 7 months) and she is still a work in progress. Ignores the poultry as far as I can tell, but we do not leave her unattended with them yet. So far she has warned us of stray dogs, but is not loose - so therefore can not pursue the predator. Funny enough, my Corgi mix (45 pounds max) tackled a stray beagle who had pursued my chickens. Never had to train him for a minute. He was automatically attached to the birds.

Most predators are really just stray dogs/cats so far. I find this surprising as we live in a very rural setting. Maybe it's just luck right now.

I look forward to my LGD being full grown and ready to guard without worry. We do not have a fenced in property, but plan to get electric fence before she reaches maturity. Any particular fence you would suggest?

 

[centrarchid]

I've just spent an hour going over this thread. I currently have a LGD (Maremma x Great Pyr) juvenile (almost 7 months) and she is still a work in progress. Ignores the poultry as far as I can tell, but we do not leave her unattended with them yet. So far she has warned us of stray dogs, but is not loose - so therefore can not pursue the predator. Funny enough, my Corgi mix (45 pounds max) tackled a stray beagle who had pursued my chickens. Never had to train him for a minute. He was automatically attached to the birds.
Most predators are really just stray dogs/cats so far. I find this surprising as we live in a very rural setting. Maybe it's just luck right now.
I look forward to my LGD being full grown and ready to guard without worry. We do not have a fenced in property, but plan to get electric fence before she reaches maturity. Any particular fence you would suggest?

My experience with fencing is to either confine or exclude cattle, horses, hogs and herons so will be getting out of my comfort zone. In past I expected dog to defeat all those fencing types so they could do their job which was usually hunting small game. I am going to try 3 strands of electrical wire, first at 6" from ground and next two at 9" intervals. Hope is it will exclude naive dogs, contain future sheep and goats, but allow my dogs to get through in pursuit of fox or coyote attempting snatch and grab.

The smaller dogs, labrador on down are easy and repressent bulk of dogs. Its those occasional big and in my case pit dogs that real worry. Dogs dealt with other day could not be handled even by your dog when fully mature, at least not without help.

Keep you dog from getting into critters like raccoons until she is a good year old or more, otherwise she will be afraid of tackling one even though in reality could dispatch one faster than mine. Coons are tough buggers, especially during winter when in good fat.

 

[aoxa]

My experience with fencing is to either confine or exclude cattle, horses, hogs and herons so will be getting out of my comfort zone. In past I expected dog to defeat all those fencing types so they could do their job which was usually hunting small game. I am going to try 3 strands of electrical wire, first at 6" from ground and next two at 9" intervals. Hope is it will exclude naive dogs, contain future sheep and goats, but allow my dogs to get through in pursuit of fox or coyote attempting snatch and grab. The smaller dogs, labrador on down are easy and repressent bulk of dogs. Its those occasional big and in my case pit dogs that real worry. Dogs dealt with other day could not be handled even by your dog when fully mature, at least not without help. Keep you dog from getting into critters like raccoons until she is a good year old or more, otherwise she will be afraid of tackling one even though in reality could dispatch one faster than mine. Coons are tough buggers, especially during winter when in good fat.

Thank you, that is good advice. I have been through many moments when I regretted the decision altogether. It is a lot of work. I hope people reading this and considering an LGD as an option will understand that. Training her exclusively on poultry is really difficult. She doesn't seem attached like she would be to larger livestock (goats, sheep, etc). She was born and raised with sheep/ewes until I brought her home @ 10 weeks old. The farm only had one stray rooster. Having her get past the fence is not an option. We are located on a busy route to the beach, and that would be asking for her to be run over. My fiance has already had to chase the oaf and stop cars (in her underwear - why she was doing chores in her underwear is beyond me!). I wish there was an option where she could go far back but not up to the street. Any idea how to accommodate that?

Here is an idea of what our property looks like from halfway to the barn. We own a lot of wooded area. That's where the birds spend the majority of their time. No neighbours at all to the right for miles. There is a neighbour directly to the left that hates dogs. She can not go on to their property. I would love to use electric fencing way far back in the woods. The area is not as thick as it looks. We only have about 5 acres total. I am not 100% sure on that. We plan on purchasing more wooded land and eventually clearing some of it. Thoughts? Advice? Tips?

 

[centrarchid]

Look into silvapasturing (spelling may not be correct). That means leaving some of the larger trees in place but allow some herbaceous undergrowth. Such will reduce fencing maintenance effort and provide flock with cooler refuge during heat of day. If you have good secure roosting sites, then leave wildlife trees like suitable for raccoon dens and even hawks standing.

Woven wire about four feet high with either barbed or hot wire on top should confine a dog that has not already learned to clear such. Just outside my office we have several paddocks iwth either sheep or goats and we can keep in Great Pyrenees, English sheep dog, and even a psychotic Anitolian so long as they do not get too excited about a threat to herd.

I will make a photograph to show shortly.

 

[aoxa]

Look into silvapasturing (spelling may not be correct).  That means leaving some of the larger trees in place but allow some herbaceous undergrowth.  Such will reduce fencing maintenance effort and provide flock with cooler refuge during heat of day.  If you have good secure roosting sites, then leave wildlife trees like suitable for raccoon dens and even hawks standing.

Woven wire about four feet high with either barbed or hot wire on top should confine a dog that has not already learned to clear such.  Just outside my office we have several paddocks iwth either sheep or goats and we can keep in Great Pyrenees, English sheep dog, and even a psychotic Anitolian so long as they do not get too excited about a threat to herd.

I will make a photograph to show shortly.

Thank you for being so helpful. This is all new to me, and I am eager to learn.

My corgi is a wonderful herder and protector. If only he wasn't so darn small. Right now he outruns the LGD in speed, and has been great at putting her in her place when she gets rambunctious around the birds. If only he could teach her not to take off.

My roosting sites are inside the barn which is secured at night.