Stray Dog is a LGD

[TCollier]

I truely believe the dog is showing you she is thankful that you took her and her pups in. I took in a GS before from an abusive home (actually stole her in the middle of the night) and she was the best dog I ever owned. I personally saw the owner kick her and beat her and that is the only reason I took the actions I did. They know you are a caring person and want to do nothing more than please you and will do what ever it takes.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

So, a GP is a LGD the moment it is born whether or not it ever does the job/function???

IF it's from a line of WORKING dogs, then yes , it is born with the instincts.

That doesn't mean EVERY dog of that breed will be perfect, but it IS still a true LGD breed

There is also a proper way to RAISE LGD's, and that is NOT by raising them as "yard dogs" or "pets".

Mutts are not born with those instincts, and most NEVER exhibit any TRUE LGD behavior.
Some people think they do because they don't understand the differences in dog behaviors

If just any old mutt could be a true LGD, people wouldnt have wasted thousands of years of selective breeding to get the perfect traits in the individual breeds.

My understanding is that LSD is a job, not a breed classification. I have an LSD who is a spaniel/hound mix, so technically she's a hunting dog, but she makes a darn good LSD.

LSD is a drug

LGD refers to SPECIFIC BREEDS of dogs

Your Spaniel/Hound mix ( otherwise known as a MUTT) should have HUNTING instincts
Unless the Spaniel and the Hound were both registered animals, you really don't know what breeds you have and like most people, are probalby guessing based on looks alone

I'm not saying a MUTT can't be a GOOD "farm dog", but they CANNOT be a TRUE LGD just because someone thinks they are "guarding" animals when they are really protecting territory.​

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

as to the argument of a mongrel being able to carry the title: livestock guardian dog,a section of a website I found, pertinent info highlighted:

Mongrels
Mongrels are used extensively as livestock guarding dogs by the Navajo. Black and
Green (1985) pointed out that their method is a cheap, low labour intensity and
readily accessible form of livestock protection which could be employed by other
ranchers. Coppinger et al (1985) have emphasised that no evidence was provided
that any type of dog can make a good LGD given sufficient training and postulated
that mongrels are likely to make better LGDs than most pure breeds – except for
Old World (Eurasian) dogs bred specifically for the purpose – because
hybridisation disrupts eco-specific behaviours such as hunting sequences which are
undesirable in livestock guardians. However, a six year study in Bulgaria
concluded that hybrids of the native LGD Karakatchan with other traditional LGD
breeds (Caucasian Shepherd) as well as St. Bernard and Newfoundland did not
have the ability to guard livestock (Tsingarska et al 1998).
Black and Green (1985) mentioned a few other observations of mongrels used as
LGDs: a large, 34 kg mongrel dog working with a flock in Turkey (R. Coppinger
pers. comm. to Black); Orbigny (1826) observed a large dog that both herded and
defended members of the flock from large avian predators and human intruders in
Uruguay; Bendure (1948) also described the value of a mongrel dog in predator
control. During visits in August 2001 four mongrels were seen in use as LGDs in a
flock of sheep herded in Retezat National Park, Romania and several mongrels
(together with Karakatchans) were seen guarding sheep and goat flocks in the
Eastern Rhodopes of Bulgaria (R. Rigg pers. obs. 2001). Landry (1999b citing V.
Guberti pers. comm.) mentioned the use of mongrels in Italy.

the link to the info:

http://www.canids.org/occasionalpapers/livestockguardingdog.pdf

Ummm...so doesn't the site I quoted refer to mongrels as potential LGDs?

 

[werecatrising]

I don't understand why a dog that is of mixed heritage cannot have instincts.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
They can reason dogs don't have to be pure breed to do any of these jobs.

Guess some people think because they raise pure breeds are the only those can do the job. I had a mixed beagle , better hunter than any pure beagle I had.......

In the case of the OP dog looks like german shepherd blood in the back ground. That why it makes a good LGD.

 

[werecatrising]

Yeah, I don't mean to try to detract from any breeders out there, but there are plenty of mutts with as strong of instinct as a purebred.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

that mongrels are likely to make better LGDs than most pure breeds – except for
Old World (Eurasian) dogs bred specifically for the purpose

It seems to me it's saying they any breed can be TRAINED, but they won't be as good as the SPECIFIC BREEDS developed for that purpose

The Old World Eurasian dogs referred to as BEST are the breeds listed here:

http://www.lgd.org/

I don't understand why a dog that is of mixed heritage cannot have instincts.

No one said they couldnt have instincts.
But they aren't likely to have the SPECIFIC instincts to be LGD's

Using examples of Indian tribes could be a little misleading, since it's very likely those "mongrels" were actually the product of selective breeding to produce those traits, even though they werent a distinct breed of dog.

They weren't running down to the pound and getting random dogs, but rather were most likely using dogs born and raised with their flocks for generations.

It's all in the DETAILS​

 

[animalover]

Kudos to you for working so hard to save this dog and her babies! What a lovely happy ending.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Bear foot farm, you are just hung up on this, aren't you? You went from saying there was NO way a mongrel could be an LGD to now admitting that any dog could potentially be, but not as often as pure breds and the mongrels would require training. Maybe the OP's dog is a direct decendent of the native americans' LGD's but even if that could be proven, it seems like, no offense, you would try your hardest to refute that. Her dog guards her animals. I, and many others, consider that LGD behavior. And yes, the native americans in my link were using dogs they had picked and bred for the purpose of guarding their flocks but it specifically refers to them in the context of my article as MONGRELS. They were never refered to as purebred. And it also refers to them as LGDs. While we're on the subject of LGD's and the specific breeds and their "natural propensity" to guard livestock, why did a german shepherd recently attack a neighbor of mine's goats/chickens and kill many when he had supposedly "been around them his whole life"? Yet this OP's dog had no training, had no history with these animals of which she was aware, and she will kill any predators that approach the flock?

And I am confused by your post a few lines up, B F F: quoted from you: That doesn't mean EVERY dog of that breed will be perfect, but it IS still a true LGD breed

and later from the same post: If just any old mutt could be a true LGD, people wouldnt have wasted thousands of years of selective breeding to get the perfect traits in the individual breeds.

Which is it? Are true LGD breeds perfect at their jobs or not??

OP: your dog is wonderful and guards your birds and that is what matters. You were blessed to have this animal when you needed her : )

 

[speckledhen]

Okay, enough, folks. Chris posted a wonderful story and it's been made into a huge debate. That wasn't the intent of the thread, so let's get off that subject. The dogs may not be LGDs by breed, but they certainly are by vocation, and that was part of the point of the story. So, debate is finished, please.