Should I get a livestock guardian dog?

[Bear Foot Farm]

I'm not sure why, but I was told never to breed my dog to a Maremma or buy one that is the two breeds mixed

There's no logical reason why that would be any different than any other cross breed.​

 

[dianneS]

It makes no sense to me either. Perhaps someone had a bad experience with a Karakachan/Maremma mix and it gave that combo a bad rep.

The two breeds are so similar, I couldn't see why they would mix poorly? The Karakachans are so rare, even the breeders don't know that much about them, and are sort of learning as they go.

 

[4brnvldrs4life]

We use them. Trial and Error. You will figuer it out.

 

[maxharl]

We live in upper Michigan on a 30 acre farm that is zoned agricultural. Four years ago we purchased two Great Pyrenees to protect our chickens and horses after our neighbors dogs were chasing our horses and killed 10 of our chickens. Later a raccoon killed 16 chickens in their chicken house over a two week period. After we bought out GP we have had no losses. Now our neighbor( ironically the one who owns the murderous dogs! )Has complained of our dogs keeping her up at night! The police has been here and we are having to lock them up in the barn at night. Wondering if anyone has had this problem and the best way to handle this situation.

 

[Beekissed]

We live in upper Michigan on a 30 acre farm that is zoned agricultural. Four years ago we purchased two Great Pyrenees to protect our chickens and horses after our neighbors dogs were chasing our horses and killed 10 of our chickens. Later a raccoon killed 16 chickens in their chicken house over a two week period. After we bought out GP we have had no losses. Now our neighbor( ironically the one who owns the murderous dogs! )Has complained of our dogs keeping her up at night! The police has been here and we are having to lock them up in the barn at night. Wondering if anyone has had this problem and the best way to handle this situation.

If you cannot present the breed traits to the police and get them to see that the barking is the dogs doing their job and is no different than a cow bawling or rooster crowing. If the dogs live in close to the house you can correct them for prolonged barking...I did it to my GP mix and also do it to my current dog. I allow a reasonable amount of barking to warn the potential predator of their presence and for display purposes but then I curtail the rest...just voice commands to stop and then follow through if they do not comply.

Over time they get to understanding that you will only allow a certain amount of bark per predator/situation and you can eliminate a lot of the excess chatter out there in the dark.

 

[maxharl]

They are not close enough to correct unfortunately. But they are not really all that close to her either! 100+ yards a treeline and a few of their outbuilding are between our pasture and their house! The only time she complained about barking to me was 6-8 months ago and i offered to buy a fan, noise machine or earplugs but she has declined. Most of our interactions have been friendly. I have taken her eggs, treated her scraped ( I am a nurse ) after her dogs pulled her down a boat ramp. Even after her dogs killed our chickens we declined payment just requesting the put up a kennel/ fence to contain their dogs. So I don't know! I can't find any exemption for working dogs in out township ordinance. I will keep them up for now. Winter is kind of slow for bad critters! Most are hibernating! But spring and summer I want my dogs back out! I have seen them run off coyote and a bear that was in my front yard in the middle of the night . Hopefully I will get an idea of what I need to do or who I need to talk to for them to exempt working dogs.

 

[Beekissed]

Worst come to worst you can invest in a few shock collars you can dial down and give mild correction with from a distance. Shame to bust their chops for working but there is working and then there is over working....constant barking while the dog is standing in one place for extended periods of time is, IMO, excessive. If they are on the move and barking vigorously around the border, then that's an active threat they are bouncing off the property...but just barking at a deer moving over against the far hill, I usually don't allow.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I would depend how much they are barking I suppose. I can understand her frustration if the dogs are barking all night. If it's just here and there, then I don't see as much of a problem. But people will be people

I don't really care for shock collars. I find it difficult to control exactly how much shock they are getting, and I've seen burns from even the lowest setting. I think it is also more difficult for people to understand how to use them correctly, so they are correcting for the proper thing. Other dogs just don't respond to them at all.

You can look into citronella collars instead if you decide to go that route. They can be pretty effective, though some dogs are smart enough to get around them. Is there any way you can bring them closer to the house for a bit?

 

[maxharl]

I am keeping them in the barn for the foreseeable future but when spring comes and our snow starts melting and the bears, raccoons wake up I will feel much better having them out. I am planning to gather some info and hopefully present the info to a town meeting or the county commissioner to get an exemption. Livestock guardians are just now starting to be more common as coyote and wolf are more common also bear and mountain lions! Our university just did a research project the last few years showing the benefit of these wonderful dogs! So hopefully I will have a good result. ?!? I still want to be a good neighbor but I want to protect my animals, my property and family too.