What do you use to guard your flock?

[EatonsatCantas]

Just discovered this weekend if you have llamas you have no fox problems. Not a usual alternative for most people though.....

 

[twentynine]

Electric fence and Elmo the chiuahua.

 

[GwenDellAnno]

We have two dogs. The golden retriever had to be trained. At first he chased them around the outside of the chicken tractor. Now they free range all around him and he ignores them..... but that did take some training. We do not have any coons, foxes, fishers, possums or any other larger predators on our property although we have seen them by the neighbours barn. The dogs are off-leash during the day when we are home ~ usually. And... they leave their "mark" everywhere. I think that keeps everything away.

 

[BayMinetteChickenMom]

We live in the woods, beside a swamp. Think raccoon heaven. We started with a dog kennel, wrapped it in chicken wire, reinforced the bottom with hardware cloth, wrapped the top in garden fencing, then placed an electric fence around the whole thing. We also have a treeing feist that patrols the yard.

 

[toredano]

Well.. I cant count on my pitbull to fend off anything..
She stays in the house.
And I really dont want her to tangle with a coon or a possum .I hate for her to get bitten by one of them. She is highly allegic to meds or any anesthesia and any little scrape she gets is like a major problem cause she cant get any meds without getting a weeks worth of Benadryl first. So she is no good ..lol

I usualy use a AR-15 chambered in 9mm to tag predators. Since I got a reddot, and scope and lights on it..
my go to gun

 

[mommyof5]

Wow, we love our GP, we brought her home at 8 weeks to be the watch dog/friend for myself and three young children while dh was away. Seven years later after introducing her to a couple of more children(she will take a single piece of dog food out of their hand without touching them) multiple cats with whom she sleeps with and now a large(to me) flock of birds she has not harmed any of them.
Yes she went through the puppy stage that lasted for about 18 months and was a pain and a pest but then again so did all of the kids. Patience is the key.
We have found that they are very very intelligent and must be challenged, they are herding dogs and if you have ever tried to keep a large group of animals together and safe you will know that is not easy.
Do I think she would kill, yes, and she has many coyotes and jack rabbits under her belt. But with attention and training a GP can and will make a great all around dog.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:

hilarious

Honey, can we get a guard llama?

 

[Feddurs]

About Great Pyrenees - most of this has been covered, but it should be re-emphasized:

Great Pyrenees are livestock guard dogs only. They don't want to play with you. They don't want to obey your commands. They were bred (for hundreds of years) to be independent and to guard. They make lousy pets, but great guards (against predators, not people). They are intelligent, but they don't use that intelligence to figure out what you want - they don't care - they know their job, and it's not to be a pet to you.

You have to make sure you get purebred Great Pyrenees or a GP/Anatolian mix only. If you mix other (non-LGD) breeds in there, they won't have the correct instincts. Most other breeds are hunting dogs of one form or another, and have entirely different instincts. And the hunting dog instincts seem to be dominant. Don't go to a shelter and get a 'Great Pyrenees' stray or rescue, or you're likely to get a mix, and then you won't be happy (assuming you want an LGD). Don't go to a breeder that doesn't have livestock and can't demonstrate that their dogs have the right instincts.

Great Pyrenees are born with the right instincts. They don't have to be trained. You need to introduce them, correctly, to the animals they're to guard. Anything else is fair game to them. If you don't introduce an animal to them, expect it to get chased away or eaten.

Great Pyrenees tend to sleep all day, stay up all night (since that's when most predators are active), and bark, a lot, at predators. They prefer barking to attacking, and if the barking works, they're happy. They generally don't need to be tied or fenced in. Walk your property with them, they'll get to know it's theirs. If you have a really small yard, they might expand their territory beyond your borders, but that's instinct - they don't like the predators getting too close, in your yard or not. There are many other breeds of dogs that tend to wander off, get lost, chase things until they catch them, but not GPs. Great Pyrenees will chase things out of their territory, then come back to guard.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Thank you for your post. From the research we did and the GP owners we talked to and the GP breeder we got our two from (who did have livestock - horses and goats) your description is accurate and is indicative of what we've seen thus far. Granted they are still puppies (though over 100 pounds at 8 months old) and haven't fallen into full LGD mode yet. We did learn that they seemed to think the fenced back yard where we were keeping them was their territory and any that flew into their yard got eaten. Also any they could catch while out of their yard. So now that we are staking them out right in the middle of chicken and duck and goat yards, they seem to be really catching on.

I haven't tried to make pets out of them. The only reason we got two more dogs, who are as big as horses and eat a ton, is to help guard our ever growing farm of animals. So, unlike the Shepherds, I haven't taught them to get the mail; bring in the groceries; get the paper; work the doors/locks/doorbell; or to play frisbee, ball, etc. I am taking them for long walks around the property; the rivers/creeks that border it; and the pond they can swim in so that they can learn the full extent of their "guard" area.

I have every confidence they will be great LGDs some day. They are wonderful dogs and quite loving.

 

[lildinkem]

I like this post cause everyone has gorgeous and great flock protectors. Personally I like having multiple number of dogs. As one fellow Pit Bull owner says, and I believe that my Pit mix is the front line in warning, and the rest come to finish off anything she starts. I feel my mixes are an equal and great compliment to my real working bloodline female German Shep.
I use to be partial to German Sheps only. Till I took in a Pit Bull Newfie mix that only weighed 45 lbs. At the time we didn't know she was at all a Newfie mix. All we see is Pit Bull. Plus she came bearing a BIG gift. The gift is Auggie, he is on the left. Dex is a Pit Newfie GSD mix on the right.

This is Dex's full bro Hamsho, he's a fighter. He weighed in today for the vet visit at 29 lbs, Dex is 20 lbs, both Dex and him were born on June 4th

I still have a variety of GSD's, this is Frisbie, from Gunnar who was Northeast Schutzhund Regional champ in 2005.

Like I said I like all breeds. One of my best chicken friends has an Australian Shep that she says is awesome. I really like Auggie, he is the nite patrol dog and sleeps all day.
Nothing beats a dog for home protection!