Big Brag section for your LGD's and working dogs purebred or not :o)

[big brown horse]

Here is mine. She is a St. Bernard mix, I'm thinking great pier b/c she has some killer dew claws in back. Her name is Kate and she came from the shelter. She was turned in b/c she got "too big". I suspect she was beaten and neglected too, because she was skin and bones (why her name is Kate, as in Kate Moss) and she used to cower when I came near her.

Kate was 10 mo when I got her, she made a terrible pet dog when I lived in the city. (Long story, just imagine Marley amd Me and she wasn't very cuddly.) It wasn't until she was 1 1/2, when I moved out here into the country and acquired livestock in the form of sheep, free ranged chickens and ducks and now a piglet, that I understood what her real job was. Guarding the animals.

Now she won't let anything near her animals that isn't approved by me. Not even crows or other types of birds, even the wild birds that feed from the feeder. (She especially hates large flying birds, which is good b/c we have lots of bald eagles hanging around.) She sits out there and watches her animals all day long.

She has caught her share of squirrels and rats (from the feed room) too.

In this photo, she just stood up on her two back legs and plucked an apple right from the tree. Look at that guilty "who me?" look she has on her face. Usually the sheep are with her because a couple more will drop too for them. The dog in the background is my other St. mix Jane (Jane Doe) she was a stray 11 years ago that I adopted. Not a gurdian, just a great pet. Although she would never hurt any of the animals.

Now, please share your photos and stories of your LGD(s).

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

what's that you said? Brag on our good dogs.. well no other posts are needed. I have The Best Dogs Ever.

Titan and Lucky are my hardworkin' farm dogs - they keep the critters in line, keep that gander off me, round of lallygagging hens, protect me from the pigs, and watch the gates to make sure the goaties don't get out. If..I mean.. when the goaties get out I send this duo out to 'find those nannies' -- and they round 'em up and herd them back.

Once Ti went to grab one of the nannies and I yelled and signaled to him "No! Not with your mouth!" and so he did what any hard workin' farm dog would do... he head butted her. It worked.

This was yesterday during all the snow - that'll do, good dogs. That'll do.

 

[big brown horse]

OFG I bet your dogs could do my taxes!


That is the most stunning photo I've ever seen. Incredible photograph! "Runs with wolves" comes to mind.

 

[freemotion]

Yeah, but my two dogs keep the world safe from teddy bears and other ferocious stuffed animals!!!!

 

[ksalvagno]

Nice looking dogs. No guard dogs here though. One of my house dogs can't stand birds flying over his area so he does bark and keep the hawks away.

 

[big brown horse]

Yeah, but my two dogs keep the world safe from teddy bears and other ferocious stuffed animals!!!!

ksalvagno, that counts a little. Maybe we should call these types of dogs "Junior Livestock Gurdian Dogs".

 

[Beekissed]

The white one is a Great Pyr/Lab mix named Lucy Lou. She had been abandoned on a farm, tied to a dog house. Already trained to be a LGD or a natural, she is great around all livestock and has a great, deep bark. Sweet and affectionate, she has been a therapy dog in the nursing home and can find a missing rabbit in short order~she points them out, just like a good bird dog should. We are not sure of her exact age but she is around 10 or 11.

The brown one is a Lab/Border Collie mix named Chocolate Jake, AKA Butt Inspector, Egg-suckin', Coon killin', Master of the Silent hunt and all around great dog for guarding the livestock. When he barks, you know there is something serious out there. Most of the time he is silent.

It took all of 20 min. to train him to sit, shake with either paw, high five, lie down, etc. It took him the same amount of time to train to chickens. He is 3 years old but acts like he is 3 months. He can eat an apple every 10 seconds, steals tomatoes out of the garden, eggs out of the nests and can snatch a bird right off the bird feeder. Great mouser, moler and any animal that comes in the yard killer.

I go on vacation with my birds free ranging, go to work each day...you name it, I can trust these dogs to guard the place and the animals. Fearless and gentle, loyal and sneaky, these dogs are the total package~except neither dog will fetch or herd, much to my dismay.

You throw a stick and yell "Go get it!" and they look at you and say, "You threw it, lady, YOU go and pick it up!" and promptly sit down to see if I will go and get it.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Bee - thats great! what good dogs! neither of these guys hunt. Shady - our century-old heeler mix was a great hunter when she was younger. but these two nerdnicks dont hunt at all. we'll eventually get another dog...after Shady goes on to her reward. i'd love to have an anatolian..but the big man wants an akita - honestly we need a hunter around here. the barncats can bring down anything short of a coon
;-)

the only thing about shepherds is they tend to obsess - Ti (who has the stick of course) would run himself into the ground of we didnt stop him. and yep, he's creepy smart - he might just do your taxes! i figured out that i can 'stack' commands - not just give him one at a time, and i can mix them up.

if they are being naughty (usually just screwing around - not really doing any damage) i just use my best mommy voice and say "i'm watching you" and they skulk away.

K - these two keep the hawks away too. for some reason Ti has been fascinated with planes and birds since he was little ... but he does know the diff between the chickens and the crazy little birds around here. and for some reason the both of them HATE cardinals... our state bird.

 

[big brown horse]

Bee, love your dogs! What does your Lucy have on her neck a low jack?

The only kind of LGD's I had as a child were strays. "Swifty" our three legged mix was the best dog as far as chickens were concerned. We had an unfenced yard that they roamed, true "yard-birds" as we called them in the south. She would round them all up at night, "Swifty, go get the chickens!" She would also "sic" anything we asked her to, "Sic-em Swifty!" And off she would go a barkin' towards what ever we were pointing at.

She kept her eye on us kiddos too and even walked me to school. As soon as I went into the building, she walked home.

(We never knew what happened to her leg by the way, she just showed up that way.)

Now my Kate is not a pet and doesn't listen to me one bit. She doesn't care about being petted or even hearing a praising word. She is obsessed with her sheep, chickens, ducks and now her pig. They can eat out of her bowl! Her only job is to keep the preditors OUT. She doesn't even come when I call her. Thank God she found her calling with me b/c anyone else would have taken her back to the pound.

Jane here is my pet dog. I love them both very much, but for different reasons.

I love the stories guys!!

 

[ksalvagno]

Here is a picture of Blakely. This is a younger picture. He had an OCD lesion on his shoulder and had to be operated on. To keep him from licking and biting his wound, he wore a shirt. He broke is E collar in one day and those darn things are expensive! Now you would never know he ever had a problem. The boy is fast.

Everyone has such nice healthy looking dogs! It is so good for them to be outside in a large area and running around. Our dogs are confined to the 2 acres around our house. Unfortunately, 3 of my dogs would kill the chickens and chase the goats. But they are all house dogs and we aren't expecting them to protect the livestock.