Lawrence":2rkueeph said:
I'm new to this site, mainly joined because some people pointed me here to learn about what LGD I should get.
And also please no hate, I've dealt with enough the past two days about this topic
The people that pointed you to RT probably did so because they knew you would find no "hate" here.
I agree with some of the others that a true LGD may not be the right choice for you. The only personal experience I have is with one Great Pyrenese that we had, and let me tell you, I will probably never get another.
At the time I had a few goats which is why we got him... but this was way before we had internet, and I really had no idea of how to go about training the dog because they are so different than dogs bred for other purposes.
Anyway- "Pilot" would dig under fences and roam the surrounding countryside, which wouldn't have been too bad since he always came home the same day... except that he had several bad habits that disturbed the neighbors. He would go and peer into the bedroom window of one couple in the wee hours of the morning like a peeping Tom, but worse than that he would go onto the deck of another neighbor and poop and pee on it. When he was out roaming and I went to get him to bring him back, he behaved as though I was a complete stranger and would not come near me, but it at least bothered him enough that he would then head home right away.
I tried a variety of methods to keep him home- first I attached a long line to his collar and tied it to a tire which he had to drag around. That worked because it would get caught in the hole he dug under the fencing- at least until he had worked on a particular hole long enough to pull it free. I actually got a call one day from the people who were victimized by his "peeping" when he had escaped. "I think your dog is over here,
but someone has tied a tire to him!" she said in shock. :lol:
My next attempt was to make a huge collar for him based on the A-frame stick design used for goats that go through fencing. I cut the top off of a 55g plastic barrel and cut a hole in the center large enough for his neck. I hot glued a split garden hose to the inside edge to make it more comfortable and made a harness out of coated wire cable to keep it in place. This was my most effective attempt, but failed periodically when he would somehow get the contraption off.
Eventually I just had to keep him tied up at all times. During an internet search of the laws concerning dogs in California, I discovered that keeping a dog tied is against the law, so technically I could have gotten in trouble for doing so.
He was a gross dog even at home and would urinate all over his feed and water bowls. Another quirk was that he would not take food from your hands. This may have been something that was a trait of his lines (the breeder told me that the dogs would not eat from your hands) or it could be breed wide. :?
I am rather ashamed to admit that when he finally died of old age it came as a huge relief to me.
I have since learned that the method Akane described, of walking the perimeter of the property daily with your young LGD, is the way to train them to stay in their territory. If you want a dog that you can readily train basic behaviors- sit, down, come, etc.- LGDs are a poor choice. They are meant to rely on themselves and make their own judgement calls so don't much care what you want them to do. The only "command" Pilot knew was "sit," and that only because he was required to do so before he was fed.
We now have a whole pack of Aussies and Aussie/Border Collie crosses. They aren't specifically protective of any of the livestock that I can see, but they are protective of their territory and will kill skunks, rats, mice, and gophers. They alert us to coyotes, bobcats, and bears, as well as any vehicles that are approaching. (We live in the middle of nowhere so cars are just an occasional thing- if one or two vehicles pass per day that is a lot of traffic!)
Last year we had a bear come through our fenced in property on two occasions, but the dogs irritated it enough that it left before getting into the yard that holds our small livestock. We also had a raccoon come onto the property which they treed and my husband shot, but other than those cases it seems that due to the sheer number of dogs we have not many critters are interested in being here despite the smorgasbord of rabbits, chickens, and ducks that await them.
Despite the fact that I occasionally raw feed my dogs both poultry and rabbits, sometimes with feathers and fur still on, they are gentle with the live animals. If you worked with a pup to get it to really bond with the rabbits it might feel protective of them... I know that a lot of Aussies are good "nurse dogs" and will care for chicks, kittens, and other little critters. My dogs don't really get a lot of interaction with the rabbits since they are kept caged all of the time and I only take them out for routine care and when taking a doe to a buck for breeding, so they haven't had any chance to form an emotional attachment to them- they are just "there."
