Bruce
Herd Master
We really need an intervention with this dog!!!! Where is Cesar Millan when you need him!??!
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Mini Horses
Herd Master
She obviously likes water! 
Have you ever considered that she just doesn't really like sheep??? How is she with the horses? I mean, you may be dealing with something that isn't gonna be easy. We all have preferences. Bet she'd be great with fish.
Have you ever considered that she just doesn't really like sheep??? How is she with the horses? I mean, you may be dealing with something that isn't gonna be easy. We all have preferences. Bet she'd be great with fish.
Mini Horses
Herd Master
I was just thinking about her animal preferences. Not their need for her protection.
Sounds like she isn't real interested in being an LGD......
. Some aren't.
Sounds like she isn't real interested in being an LGD......
. Some aren't.
Bruce
Herd Master
At least she took a bath so she'd be presentable when she picked up up for your walk.
Then she played in the swamp. Might not have smelled so good after that.
Maybe you need to move into the barn!With me.
They ALL want to be in the house with me. All the ponies, dogs, cats, most of the sheep...
Bruce
Herd Master
She's a goofball!
BaBaaHMonica
Overrun with beasties
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so ok how to train a dog to guard?? Is there a dog school?
Yeah hooked on this thread now too. Popcorn even, and a little pop with a bit of extra.
Yeah hooked on this thread now too. Popcorn even, and a little pop with a bit of extra.
Mini Horses
Herd Master
This one may have been an adoptee smuggled into the litter! 
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She seriously isn't feeling the traits with which most have been genetically endowed. IDK. Beautiful dog but, clearly thinks she's a Labrador.
. She seriously isn't feeling the traits with which most have been genetically endowed. IDK. Beautiful dog but, clearly thinks she's a Labrador.
Bruce
Herd Master
She looks really innocent out there 
Bruce
Herd Master
That might slow down the escapes!!
Explain to her that she is an LGD and LGD's are supposed to have a great desire to please their owners. Then explain (like you haven't a million times already??) that leaving the area you put her in does not make you happy.
Explain to her that she is an LGD and LGD's are supposed to have a great desire to please their owners. Then explain (like you haven't a million times already??) that leaving the area you put her in does not make you happy.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Where does she go when she escapes? Since she is a Pyr-Anatolian cross it sounds like she has the full Pyr wandering gene in spite of her Anatolian appearance. Pyrs are almost impossible to confine if they have that intense wandering gene. Might be the reason the owner was getting rid of her at 5 months old. By 5 months a good LGD should be staying with the sheep.
If she comes up to the house and hangs out on the property, you could allow her to be an all around the farm guard. Get another proven LGD for the sheep. If she leaves the property consistently and runs off I would rehome her and just get another LGD. She isn't guarding those precious lambs if she is off running around somewhere.
Life is too short to have to chase after an LGD that won't stay with her sheep! Count up the hours you have wasted getting her back, the $$ spent in trying to fence her in, and think hard about whether it is worth it. You haven't lost any sheep yet, but t is going to be a long, dry summer and that brings in the predators.
On the other hand, if she is leaving the property and chasing off predators from a self determined boundary of her own, and you are ok with that, then she may be doing an adequate job. BUT remember that the farther out she is working, the more backup she will need in the event of an attack on the flock. If you have several pastures she needs to cover, you may need to bring in a 3rd dog anyway. Have you determined where she goes when she escapes? Is the coyote load so bad that she is leaving the property to chase them off outside the perimeter she has decided is a safety zone for her sheep? Pyrs will set their own perimeter and it will change with the predator load.
Is she guarding her own perimeter? or is she just not wanting to work? You need to determine this before trying to "train" her in a way she is genetically unable to perform. She might be guarding the sheep like a Pyrenees.
If she comes up to the house and hangs out on the property, you could allow her to be an all around the farm guard. Get another proven LGD for the sheep. If she leaves the property consistently and runs off I would rehome her and just get another LGD. She isn't guarding those precious lambs if she is off running around somewhere.
Life is too short to have to chase after an LGD that won't stay with her sheep! Count up the hours you have wasted getting her back, the $$ spent in trying to fence her in, and think hard about whether it is worth it. You haven't lost any sheep yet, but t is going to be a long, dry summer and that brings in the predators.
On the other hand, if she is leaving the property and chasing off predators from a self determined boundary of her own, and you are ok with that, then she may be doing an adequate job. BUT remember that the farther out she is working, the more backup she will need in the event of an attack on the flock. If you have several pastures she needs to cover, you may need to bring in a 3rd dog anyway. Have you determined where she goes when she escapes? Is the coyote load so bad that she is leaving the property to chase them off outside the perimeter she has decided is a safety zone for her sheep? Pyrs will set their own perimeter and it will change with the predator load.
Is she guarding her own perimeter? or is she just not wanting to work? You need to determine this before trying to "train" her in a way she is genetically unable to perform. She might be guarding the sheep like a Pyrenees.
