Should I get a livestock guardian dog?

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
So which is it? Did you get the puppy at eight weeks of age, or three and one half months (6 months less 2 1/2 months or 14 weeks)? That makes a really big difference.

From https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229624

Bought this purebred Great Pyrenees girl about 2 1/2 months ago to guard my animals. She is now about 6 months of age and she has done great with my cats, horses, geese, ducks and even a few free ranging chickens up until now.

 

[Terri]

So here's my 2 cents, I have four dogs, only one raised with the chickens, I let my dogs and my chickens out together now. It took 4 months to train the pitX to associate the chickens with the pack. It was 15 minutes 5 times a day, but now i trust her completely. When a chicken comes up to her she roll over on her back and is very surmissive. The Rooster is controlled by the youngest dog, she hates conflict.

all it takes is training

 

[Bizzybirdy]

So which is it? Did you get the puppy at eight weeks of age, or three and one half months (6 months less 2 1/2 months or 14 weeks)? That makes a really big difference.

From https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229624

Bought this purebred Great Pyrenees girl about 2 1/2 months ago to guard my animals. She is now about 6 months of age and she has done great with my cats, horses, geese, ducks and even a few free ranging chickens up until now.

I got her at about age 8 weeks and she is now ABOUT 6 months of age....GIVE OR TAKE A FEW DAYS.

SORRY I DID NOT HAVE MY CALCULATOR OUT OR HER PURCHASE PAPERS IN FRONT OF ME WHEN I POSTED.​

 

[dianneS]

Just for the record, I'm planning on this being a goat dog primarily, the chickens will benefit from his presence, but he won't directly be guarding them.

That is the situation these dogs are in now. They are in with goats, part of the herd and doing a great job. The chickens wander free-range, sometimes in the goat pens, but most of the time not. The dogs keep the predators away from the goats that in turn keeps them away from the chickens too.

That is the way it will work here. I know how hard it is to train a dog to be a chicken dog. This pup has been with chickens since birth, and doesn't bother them. I'm not expecting him to "guard" chickens full-time, just provide a deterrent for any predators that come around my chicken house. It should work. The breeder has had her dog three years and hasn't lost a bird yet and her dog is not a "chicken dog" he's a goat dog.

 

[vicki2x2]

This is what we have done. Our boy is in with our goats. Most of our predators couldn't hurt our goats, we have the most problems with coons, hawks, owls and fox and they are picking off our ducks and chickens. However, I knew it would be safer to put a 5 month old pup in with the goats then with the chickens plus all my chickens are in separate coops, so where would I put him? They're not really big enough for a big dog and then he would only be with one group. The geese would have just been cruel to a pup, so the goats were the best choice for now. As the above poster said, it was enough to keep most predators at bay. Since he has arrived, we haven't lost any stock to anything.

I have the goats and Remi in the big field where I can keep any eye on them. If anything goes on, I can yell out the window or step out the back door and remind him of his manners. He is pretty good, that is usually all it takes for him to stop any unwanted behaviors. It is like "oh yeah, not supposed to do that!" He is now 7 months, oh boy, puppies!

 

[wjallen05]

I have two LGDs and I LOVE them. They have saved my goats a few times from predators. I hear coyotes in our lower pasture often, but they have never come near the house thanks to my Pyrs. My female killed a skunk that kept trying to get to the chickens. My Aussie got sprayed by it several times and my Pyr finally killed it when it went into their pasture.

As far as your other animals... my female Pyr wouldn't hurt a fly. Well excuse me, she did kill a skunk, and without a doubt anything else that had intentions of causing harm, but as far as cats, other dogs, bunnies, goats, and chickens go... she loves them all. And our kids- she is AWESOME with our kids. My male, on the other hand, well he is just as good with our children, but may God have mercy on anything other than a goat or a child that goes into or near that pasture. He actually tries to attack my Aussie any time she goes near the fence, and we've had her for 10 years so way before him (we got him at 6 weeks old, he is one now). He is intact though, so I am sure that makes a HUGE difference. A neutered male would probably be much more docile.

Actually a couple of days ago, I had a hen get into the goat pasture (with the dogs). Keeper, my female, was just ecstatic. She could not have been happier ... she LOOVES the chickens, especially chicks. Kilo, my male, was trying to kill the poor thing. Luckily, he is well mannered and is easy for me to control, because I reached through the fence and held the scruff of his neck while I fished the hen out with the other hen. The poor thing was scared to death, I don't think she'll ever do that again!

 

[Grillo]

dianneS,

Kiromi (my GP) has the run of the yard, I only have chickens and they are penned or in coops. She doesn't bother penned fowl but she wants to play with the chickens mostly with the very little chicks < 3 months old. I want to eventually give her a large flock of free range chickens and young fowl (I don't like to pen raise, I want to free range) So for the moment when I can't supervise, the chickens are all penned up. Once she's trustworthy they will free range. In your case it sounds a lot easier because your dog will spend its time with the goats, which are not as frail as baby chicks. You can leave it full time with goats and check on it several times a day without running the risk of finding a bunch of dead goats, which could easily happen with young fowl. Still if the dog is too ruff on the goats then build a pen for it right among the goats, or put a drag on it to make it difficult for it to goof around with the goats. If it has the right instincts the dog will ignore the chickens running around since it will try to be with the goats and they will keep it busy. Just make sure you introduce it to all animals on the farm. Once the dogs matures it should be smooth sailing.

 

[Beekissed]

I couldn't free range my birds or sheep without my LGDs...they are the vital ingredient to my little setup. They didn't take very much training(younger dog took about 20 min. one day) and they are very trustworthy. Also very dedicated to the job. One is a Lab/BC mix and the other is Lab/GP mix.

 

[dianneS]

I've got a thread on backyardherds about this too. I wanted as much advice as possible.

We got the pup home last night and it had been raining. Really dark sky and its getting darker earlier now anyway. I let the pup in the goat pen and the goats weren't as frightened of him as I thought they would be. Puppy was just confused and scared, so we just put him in his own pen inside the goat pen and locked everyone in together for the night. He barked for a little while, which I tried to discourage (nonsense barking is a no-no!) but he doesn't know the meaning of the word "NO!" just yet.

Unfortunatly while we were away, picking up the puppy, the wind had blown the chicken house door shut. When we got home it was dark enough for the chickens to have put themselves to bed. Well only about half of them made it inside the hen house! The other half were outside roosting in trees or something, because I could not find them! Amongst the chickens remaining outdoors, was a hen and two new chicks. I knew they had to be on the ground somewhere and just hoped and prayed that they were well hidden from predators. Well this morning, everyone was accounted for, except the two chicks. Momma hen is limping a bit so she must have tried her best to defend them. (She killed a baby skunk that got after her chicks once before. He got four chicks, but she saved the remaining seven!) Momma hen is limping around calling for her babies today. Its sad, but at least it was just two and not more.

I'm more anxious than ever to get this puppy to work! He's out with the goats right now. I'm watching out the window. He has no interest in chasing them at all and the goats are not as frightened of him as I thought they would be. So far so good. He's sitting on the bank next to them, just hanging out with the goats. He had a big breakfast and I kept the goats away from him so they wouldn't try to steal his food (I don't want him to get food aggressive). I feel much more confident already than I thought I would at this point. I think this is going to work out well. But I will proceed with caution of course.

I'll try to squeeze one more photo out of this camera battery and will be getting a fresh battery ASAP! I'll be back with pics soon!

 

[bufforp89]

I want one want one want one!!!No one will let me though considering we already have 4 dogs.......I keep telling everyone it would live in the barn and to think of it as a large chicken but no one is going for it.