Blending LGD Anatolian pup with established pets...

[Cabinchick]

Hi All!

Saturday I will be picking up our new Anatolian pup. How do I blend her with my "pet" dogs - namely, Beauregard a Saint who is going to L.O.V.E. to have a pup to play with? Having second thoughts as to whether this will work or not

Here's how we're set up:

Beauregard has the run of the 15 acres, however he doesn't go very far at all unless he's with me. A very small area (less than 1/8 acre) is fenced. He isn't interested in going in there currently. He does meet the neighbor kids everyday at the bus stop next to our house. And he meets the mailman. Other than that, he stays on the front or back porch, with an occasional trip into the woods to go exploring or relieve himself. He's never gone for more than 15 minutes or so. He is also allowed inside (I have to cover up the furniture to prevent hair and drool everywhere lol), the kitchen is off limits but he hangs out in livingroom so he can be close to us everyday. He is very social and needs lots of interaction to be the happy go lucky dog that he is

A national forrest service road borders our property on one side and leads to a popular area for camping, hunting, snowmobiling etc. So there is traffic year round, but Bo is aware of this and is careful. The private road borders it on the other, with just a handful of neighbors using the road. The property is shaped like a triangle. The bottom border of the property is 20 acres of raw land which is for sale. No fencing on the perameter of the property at this time.

We also have a mini dauschund - 1 year old spayed female, and a 15 year old Cocker Spaniel spayed female who has limited vision and hearing. These are indoor pets except for potty breaks. And a cat who stays indoors until summer arrives.

Goats: 3 Myotonic doelings. The goats now have a nice big shelter attached to our garage, right off the back porch. The location makes it easy for me to care for them in severe weather. The new pup will be sleeping with them in a crate in the shelter. After bonding has taken place, I will allow out of her crate to stay with the goats freely but leave her crate in for sleep is she wants to. We also have a small fenced area for pasture. A larger pasture of 5 acres or so will be built this spring for my goaties, with electric fencing. The pup will accompany them.

Here's where I need the advice: How on earth am I ever going to keep Bo and the pup apart??? Or should I?? And what about interaction with my husband and I - do we need to spend time alone with the puppy - without Bo? Or include him and the goats? I really need an LGD due to predation issues. I want a WORKING LGD, but is my Beauregard going to interfere with training unless I keep the dogs completely fenced up and away from each other? The more I research this issue, the more differing opinions I find.

Sorry if this is a bit long, I just want you to have all the details so that you can formulate an educated response. Thanks in advance, biting my nails here on what the right thing to do is!!!

C

 

[secuono]

My worry is your new pup attacking those people in the woods and the kids and the mailman if he is not in a fenced area 24/7.
If he lives outside all the time, I'm sure visits by the Saint B would be fine, as long as the pup grew up accepting him wandering in and out.

 

[Mzyla]

Sounds like you have a wonderful environment, lots of acreage, other animals.
WellI can only speak what I did:

I have small house dogs for years; free to go in/out as they please.
One day I brought baby Pyr. I just sit him in a kitchen to the wonder eyes of my other dogs. They were circling the pup, sniffing and after while they were playing. Till this day, they are friends.
I never needed to separate anybody.

Three months later I brought in a baby Karakachan. I sit her right on a ground outside of the house (it was summer), where every other resident/animal were roaming freely.
Same scenario; everybody sniffed each other and life went on in a most harmonious way.

Everybody is friends with each other till this day. Never any quarrel.
I dont have to hide one dog, because other dog is passing through that would be a terrible life for me!

In my humble opinion, just let them mingle together, get them to accept each other, so later on each dog will ignore the presence of the other dog.

Same with people; I was simply bringing the dog every day to the house, where all of us were petting him/her and our visitors as well.
Now, they are friendly dogs. That doesnt mean that they wont bark. Of course they bark, when they hear car or person approaching, or a branch cracking

Best of luck to you and have a fun

 

[carolinagirl]

The dogs can be friends....but through a fence. Don't let them play together. The LGD needs to learn that dogs are not for playing. Interact with the new pup all you want though. My two Anatolian pups are almost 9 months old and both are leash trained, know how to sit and lay down, etc. They come when called too. One of them loves going for rides so I take him to the farmer's market with me. But when he;s back home with the sheep, he is on guard and is a fantastic guard dog. They play with the family dogs though the fence. You are going to need to keep a good eye on that pup though. They are not trustworthy with stock right away. He is a puppy....and puppies play. Sometimes they try to get the stock to play with them, which is NEVER allowed. And when he hits puberty, he will go through a period of being really obnoxious so be prepared for that. IT's not an easy thing to turn a pup into a reliable LGD but it will happen if you work with him. Also.....never allow the Anatolian to roam free. He will establish a very large range that includes land that isn't yours. I love electric fence. Install it inside and on top of your regular fence and let him get shocked at a young age. My dogs have total respect for my fences because they learned young. Good luck!!

 

[Cabinchick]

Thank you all for your responses. Again, I have received three different perspectives on this subject, so I will ask each of you additional questions:

secuono - If I get this pup, I will be spending A LOT of time socializing her to the neighbor kids, parents, UPS guy, mailman etc. Do you think this will be sufficient, or do you feel that Anatolians - in general - protect their flock against all humans whether introduced to them or not,? I have grandchildren who will be visiting this summer. Am I understanding you correctly that ASDs can be dangerous to new humans in the household??

Mzyla - First of all, your "humble opinion" is most graciously accepted. I love the way you blend all your animals AND socialized them to everyone. But do your Karakachan and Pyr actually guard the flock you've charged them with against predators? Do they sleep outside with their flocks? Or are they distracted by the other pets, family and friends? Do they want to come in for petting and hugs and treats instead of guarding?

carolinagirl - I have been watching your progress with your dogs with great envy - they are absolutely gorgeous dogs. Your comment "They play with the family dogs through the fence" is a bit disheartening. There's NO WAY my Beauregard is going to be able to "play" with another dog through the fence. We had an Aussie for many years, but lost him after we moved here. Bo and Tuck were best buddies. Bo is lonely and he would be so confused if he finally had a bigger dog to play with but could only do so through the fence. I don't think that's fair to him. Plus, that fence wouldn't last very long!!! So I guess I'm back to having to make a choice according to your advice - you either have an LGD or you have a family pet. They can't really be both.

Called the breeder after I posted this message this morning. She and her husband want to help, but unfortunately their experience with these dogs is limited. They do not have any other dogs. Their dogs are freindly to everyone, but do bark at first until introduced. They have 4 small children and the ASDs are great with them, but not necessarily protective of them. When we went to pick out our pup, the mother was GREAT. She allowed us to handle her pups without any problems. She did growl at Papa once. The pups are now starting to follow Papa out into the field to help with his sheep flock. They have had Pyrs for many years, but after two were killed by wolves, they switched to ASDs and haven't had a problem since.

Again, thanks for your time and help. I told the breeder I would let her know withing 24 hours of my decision. It's SO hard. We've already named her, bought her a dogloo and a heating pad while she's still little, a Gentle Leader collar, some toys etc. However, if we do get her and it doesn't work out it will be even more heartbreaking and I'd rather not go through that.

C

 

[Mzyla]

To answer your question;

Pyr and Karakachan sleep outside, all night long. They are free; meaning they are roaming the property. Im light sleeper and I hear them barking from time to time.
Sometimes I hear them barking far in a woods....
I have a two powerful lanterns on my property and when I look outside, I see them either pacing around or laying down on an edge of property.
They have water and food on a porch and they can come eat/drink as they pleased.

My two little dogs sleep with me, inside.

Chickens are sleeping in a coop, with the door open. I just stopped closing the doors few months ago. Not one is missing yet.

Goats are sleeping in their little barn with doors closed (if I wont close the door, the goatees will be hanging on a porch, trying to get inside of a househa-ha)

During a day little dogs are mostly inside, with occasional walk out.
The Pyr is tied up on a vey long rope and Karakachan is free.
Why? Because Pyr is not to be trusted to stay within perimeter. One day he took the goats and went so far into the woods that I thought I lost them all. They all did come back at night.
Karakachan is more domiciled. She is not going anywhere by her self. She only follows the Pyr.
They don't see me during a day - I work from home and I'm all day by the computer.
They are all alone. They do bark at UPS man, or any stranger coming in, or any predator.
They not allowing to be petted by strangers that they not know.

I have only 3 goats and 25 chickens, so not that much to guard. We dont have much of predators either.

To summarize are they guarding? They sure do, for what is worth. Right now Im hearing powerful barking while I write this.something must to be approaching from the woods
Do they like to be house pets?
No. Even when I invite them inside of a house, they are not happy. They pacing and facing doors to let them out.

Any more questions, I will gladly answer.

 

[MonsterMalak]

Hello,

My experience with the Turkish breeds Kangals and Boz should be similar to the Anatolian.

I would not feel any reason to seperate the types of dogs. My dogs will play with and covet any of the smaller pets we have. With just 15 acres, your Anatolian should be able to keep your whole property safe, and also be able to be part of the family.

I rotate the dogs that stay in the pasture, and the ones that roam free. Neighbors are never threatened, and visitors are treated with caution until introduced. I even have a Boxer mix in the pasture with the LGDs. We call her out LGBoxer.

I feel it is always best to try to keep the dogs exposed to different situations, and socialized to a proper level of saftey. Being part of the family will not keep them from guarding the goats.

They do all of this as part of their natural behavior.

just my experience....

 

[carolinagirl]

Cabinchick.....I am sorry if I didn't make myself clear. the Anatolians are not a threat to my other dogs. One of my other dogs is a very rough playing pit bull. She likes the boys....but she plays REALLY rough. I don't want them to learn to play that way. We do take the ASDs and her on walks together (leashed) and they ride in the truck together. I just don't let them play. the other two dogs are little bitty chihuahuas and they don't want to play with the ASDs. They don't take to new dogs at all and want nothing to do with them. They sniff them through the fence but have no interest in venturing into the pasture.