Playing with/exercising Livestock Gaurdian Dog

[RoostyRoo]

Hi there.

I have an 8 week old Great Pyrenees I just recently brought home to act as a LGD for our growing flock of chickens (currently about 20).

I am following the recommendations I read and keeping him in a bonding pen next to the chickens and taking him out for supervised socialization with the chickens.

He has so much energy though, that he wants to play with the chickens and he hates being alone in his bonding pen. He wants to be out in the larger space with the chickens.

I am walking him twice a day, doing 20 minute training sessions with some play (avoiding tug of war, chase, fetch when possible), and doing chicken socialization. With all of that he is still full of energy and I think my heavy interaction with him is bonding him more to me than the chickens.

Any advice? How can I wear him out and help him get the proper exercise without teaching him bad habits or having him overly bond with me?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Squawkers]

I love dog training but have no experience with LGDs! Maybe these can help you out!

@MyParadiseFalls
@Pampered chicken girl

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I don’t know if this helps cause my dog is definitely not an LGD but she does have an asinine amount of energy. I take her for little hikes and that helps her chill. She was once interested in chasing chickens but I solved that and now she leaves them alone but I don’t think she would protect them. A good hike really mellows her out.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

I personally don't have experience with training an actual lgd, I have experience training lgd breeds but not to be actual guardians. That Said, my advice is that this is a young puppy. Heavy exercise for more then 30 minutes at a time isn't recommended for his joints. But continue exercising him in whatever ways you are. Multiple shorter sessions a day if possible. Provide some mental exercise too, pyrs are smart and need proper mental stimulation

 

[RoostyRoo]

I personally don't have experience with training an actual lgd, I have experience training lgd breeds but not to be actual guardians. That Said, my advice is that this is a young puppy. Heavy exercise for more than 30 minutes at a time isn't recommended for his joints. But continue exercising him in whatever ways you are. Multiple shorter sessions a day if possible. Provide some mental exercise too, pyrs are smart and need proper mental stimulation

Thank you for your advice! Do you have any recommendations for mental exercise? He doesn’t seem to be very interested in toys or treats. The only toys he seems to like are tennis balls and ropes but I’ve heard those shouldn’t be offered because they can cause problems with teeth or be dangerous.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Thank you for your advice! Do you have any recommendations for mental exercise? He doesn’t seem to be very interested in toys or treats. The only toys he seems to like are tennis balls and ropes but I’ve heard those shouldn’t be offered because they can cause problems with teeth or be dangerous.

They make puzzles you can buy, snd you make make your own. Youtube had some videos on that. Hide his food around and make him search puzzles or snuffle Mats for it. Even throwing some treats in the lawn for him to look for can be helpful. What kind of treats are you trying? Sometimes you have to experiment with different kinds, I know my pyr can be picky

 

[RoostyRoo]

Do you have any thoughts for non-food based mental enrichment? Weve tried lots of different brands and flavors of treats like peanut butter flavored, blueberry, bacon, etc. and he likes them. He’ll eat them, he’s just not very food motivated so, for instance, he won’t try to get the treats out of any treat hiding toys we’ve tried unless it’s pure human peanut butter (but I know we probably shouldn’t feed him much of that)

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Do you have any thoughts for non-food based mental enrichment? Weve tried lots of different brands and flavors of treats like peanut butter flavored, blueberry, bacon, etc. and he likes them. He’ll eat them, he’s just not very food motivated so, for instance, he won’t try to get the treats out of any treat hiding toys we’ve tried unless it’s pure human peanut butter (but I know we probably shouldn’t feed him much of that)

Have you tried the peanut butter that is 100% peanuts. That's safe.
Basic training is great mental exercise but it may cause him to bond to you more. It's hard to mentally exercise without treats and without him bonding to you unfortunately

 

[Squawkers]

If he is toy motivated throwing the toy in tall grasses is a great way for dogs to use their brain and nose to find it.