calling on Great Pyrenees owners

[goatsintheopen]

I have two GP's I got as adults. They were working together before I got them and they still work great as a team.

We just got a 6 month old pup who was being rasied with goats. I put him in the buck pen. He is being taught how to take care of the goats with ones big enough to push him around. He has been very good with them. One of my 2 week old kids got into the buck pen the other day and Jack, the puppy chased it and chewed on it. He wouldn't leave it alone. I ran up there as soon as I saw what was going on, took the baby away and scolded Jack. The baby was fine but he could have been hurt or run to exhaustion.

So, puppy is great with big goats, not good with little ones. I think he will be fine when he gets older.

We had thought about getting adults..but being inexperienced, we figured the pups would be a good route, that they could grow up with the kids since they'd all be about the same age, goats being almost a month older. We were afraid that there would be issues of adopted older dogs not liking chickens or having some other behaviour problem. good to know yours worked out well.

Like I said, we have a Wether and he's about 10 months old.he's a good size too. He's sweet but definitely likes to have things his way. Hopefully he will help the female we're going to get, mind herself. Of course we'll be out there too, watching like hawks. I'm paranoid about my animals almost to a fault.. LOL

Glad your baby is alright! that had to be scary! I'll definitely make sure the new pup knows the kids aren't chew toys. and make sure she doesn't chase them.

I did have a question about what to do with the pup in the evenings? I know she shouldn't come into the house..we do have a dog crate I can put her in at night till she can be out by herself. What do you think? what would be the best thing to do?

 

[Roll farms]

Can you pen the pup up w/ the wether at night? So he bonds to it?

Or put the crate in the barn / shed / pen w/ the goats?

You definitely are right in not bringing it into the house.

We sold 10 LGD pups 2 years ago.
One ended up killing a kid...it was the only one that was put IN w/ kids...
I warned them but...some folks think that 'It won't happen to me, and it's such a sweet puppy.'

Lead train the pup...get him to take being 'tied out', so that if you ever need to, he won't freak out. (We occasionally have to drive in and out of our pasture and it's just easier to snap them to a lead rope / tie them up than lure them in the barn and lock them away.)

Ours are scary smart / suspicious of anything new.
Act like big changes are no big deal and they will to...if you get excited, they will.

Keep an eye on those dewclaws, they can grow into the skin / get infected. Show the dog it's "ok" for you to mess w/ it's feet, belly, etc. In fact, I highly recommend tossing them on their back every so often, getting them to show submission - just so they remember who the boss is.

A big scary growly voice from me will stop and drop my dogs. I have never (and wouldn't) had to hit any of them. You just have to 'speak dog' and show them what's ok / what's not.

We raised our 1st one w/ chicks and let him show the rest that chicks aren't toys. We lost 1 guinea in 8 yrs...and I'm not sure if he killed it or just chewed on it some, it was slobbery but not 'hurt'.

Also, FYI...same sex pairs, even fixed same sex pairs, rarely work. I've heard of some bloody fights with 2 females, and our 2 males couldn't be in the same pasture.
And...fix her. A dog in heat is not focusing on her goats / protection duties.

Ours had 2 males to do her 'work' while she was busy having pups. Lone LGD should always be fixed (IMHO). It didn't hurt their guarding abilties one bit, I think it improves their focus.

 

[goatsintheopen]

Can you pen the pup up w/ the wether at night? So he bonds to it?

Or put the crate in the barn / shed / pen w/ the goats?

You definitely are right in not bringing it into the house.

We sold 10 LGD pups 2 years ago.
One ended up killing a kid...it was the only one that was put IN w/ kids...
I warned them but...some folks think that 'It won't happen to me, and it's such a sweet puppy.'

Lead train the pup...get him to take being 'tied out', so that if you ever need to, he won't freak out. (We occasionally have to drive in and out of our pasture and it's just easier to snap them to a lead rope / tie them up than lure them in the barn and lock them away.)

Ours are scary smart / suspicious of anything new.
Act like big changes are no big deal and they will to...if you get excited, they will.

Keep an eye on those dewclaws, they can grow into the skin / get infected. Show the dog it's "ok" for you to mess w/ it's feet, belly, etc. In fact, I highly recommend tossing them on their back every so often, getting them to show submission - just so they remember who the boss is.

A big scary growly voice from me will stop and drop my dogs. I have never (and wouldn't) had to hit any of them. You just have to 'speak dog' and show them what's ok / what's not.

We raised our 1st one w/ chicks and let him show the rest that chicks aren't toys. We lost 1 guinea in 8 yrs...and I'm not sure if he killed it or just chewed on it some, it was slobbery but not 'hurt'.

Also, FYI...same sex pairs, even fixed same sex pairs, rarely work. I've heard of some bloody fights with 2 females, and our 2 males couldn't be in the same pasture.
And...fix her. A dog in heat is not focusing on her goats / protection duties.

Ours had 2 males to do her 'work' while she was busy having pups. Lone LGD should always be fixed (IMHO). It didn't hurt their guarding abilties one bit, I think it improves their focus.

Good To go! Glad you chimed in again, I know you have these dogs and would be able to contribute quite a bit.

I sure can put the crate in with the goats. that's what we'll do then.

I know what you mean about people not listening. My mom gave a goat to some people once, who wanted a pet for their daughter..my mom told them that wouldn't be a good idea but they knew better..long story short, the goat was back with my mom.

yes! Will make sure she can be led on a leash! Someone suggested that about my wether and I'm sooo glad I listened!
we walk our goats around the property..LOL(they are sooo spoiled) so we will get her set up on a lead and will put it on her when we go for our walks. and I'll work with her on being tied too.

Great suggestion about the claws. I read about those. Will keep an eye on them! Stinks that they could grow into the skin. will make sure to keep them cut. thank you for the heads up.

We were going to get a male and female because we'd been told the same thing. The two dogs we have now are male and female and we've not had a problem with fights. and Yep, will make sure the female is spayed, read about the loss of focus during"that" time.

Great! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the input. I'm all about picking people's brains.