Scroll down and you'll see Gus in all of her glory!
I JUST found her eating my BEST roo! Not too far away was my turkey hen (super friendly with my daughter and I) in SHOCK....missing feathers and unable to walk.
Gus was scolded THOROUGHLY! THEN I caught her outside of our yard...stalking the guineas in our pasture! I couldn't figure out HOW she'd gotten out of the yard! So I commanded her to get back over here...and followed her...and FOUND the "hole" in the fence. So now that's blocked off and she is NOW tied up to the deck. As i was leaving the yard...she tried to go after one of my outdoor cats! These teen years SUCK!
If Gus is in heat, she really shouldn't be running around outside.
The scent is strong, and she will be drawing in male dogs from miles around.
One of my 1st dogs as an adult was from an accidental breeding. They had the in heat female in their barn to keep her "safe"- and the male dog ate through the solid wooden barn door to get to her.
Also, fences are no deterrent - the female will back up to the fence to let a male access her when in standing heat.
Just thought you should know!
Hi coconut! Your Gus.... what ta do? I can't remember, do you have other dogs with her? I know she's in heat and a "teen" so to speak, but I wonder if she is not also just plain bored. Dogs are pack animals, they always do better when they have another dog. They are able to get their energy out, practice their skills etc. When dogs are "alone" they tend to do naughty things and those naughty things are usually very destructive.
Sorry about your chicken , I my chickens too!
and I agree with Alice! btw alice saw your OES pics LOVE 'EM!!!
And one more thing about Gus - I do want to support you for not spaying her early, like so many vets and rescue people promote. They need their hormones to develop properly.
Bone growth, temperament and many other traits are controlled by the male and female sex hormones. Early altering arrests bones in growth (you want to wait until the growth plates are sealed) at different rates - causing structural issues within the body. Also, they have found that early altering causes a thinner and spindlier bone - the dogs look "twiggy", instead of solid. This is especially true of the medium to larger breeds.
Alice you are so right...but sad to say most people don't know the truth. There really are consequences to ripping out the reproductive system of a female dog. I think it is better to educate people on canine reproduction.
Coconut- How did you come across your girl anyway? Not a "common" breed. There are quite a few LGD breeds I'd never heard of before a year ago. LGD ownership is a whole different "Dog world". I used to show groom Tibetan Mastiffs, awesome dogs! The ones here in the states are not very consistent in type though. Originally I thought of getting a Kuvasz, I love their personality and their working attitude. Very hard to find, so then it was 2nd choice between an Anatolian and a pyr. I had more experience with the Anatolian. Ended up being very blessed with my 2 pyr males. ...and still ended up 4 months later with an anatolian (my farm partner belongs to her-and yes I said that right ) LOVE MY PYRS!
Oh Boy! I truly hope Gus isn't bored! She has an awful LOT of toys...digs up things in the yard to fling around AND has the 4 goats as her "partners in crime." She plays fetch with anything you throw for her...sticks, chunks of wood, toys, ANYTHING!
I'm not sure how that hole in the fence got there. It does explain why I found the goats in the pasture the other day...and they couldnt' figure out how to get back in until I opened the gate. Apparently Gus is good at remembering these things! The goats haven't followed her out again since...so I guess they learned their lesson? Gus has now been "confined" to a set area. My poor 8 year old daughter ran into the house yesterday exclaiming how "Gus is pregnant" because her backside was SOOO swollen! I had to explain (again) about the "cycle" process to her.
Now I'm probably VERY naieve, but we haven't had ANY other dogs around at all. NONE. Haven't seen any around our property...our neighbor has an old, spayed female dog. Now I know that doesn't mean there aren't dogs roaming around, however, we haven't seen or heard any. Some guy has some hunting dogs...waaaaay up on the mountain...but those dogs are valuable and hence in dog runs. Gus HATES being inside...and our cats feel the same! Am I correct in remembering that generally a male dog will "guard" his bitch? Or do they do the "one night stand" thing as well? I have been checking to see if she's "standing" and so far...she doesn't like me being attentive to her hind quarters.
As far as how we ended up with her...it just kinda happened. I had been thinking of getting an LGD for a while...especially after getting our goats! I happened to see an add for a litter of Shar puppies...did my research...met the parents/breeders/puppies...and fell in love! She was SUPPOSED to be a male, but there was a mix up...we wouldn't trade her for anything. (At least until I find her chomping and stalking my chickens!) We didn't realize we'd NEED two of them...she is our only canine child at the moment. I'm TRYING to convince my hubby that she'd be better with a sibling...but he's not buying it! (Not yet anyways....)
I LOVE mastiffs! I love the various Mastiff breeds. My goal, when I was a younger lady, was to get a BIG Mastiff and HE could be my boyfriend and keep me company! Now I have a big fluffy puppy! (I LOVE BIG and FLUFFY!)
PLUS I spin and crochet...so I'm thinking I'll try spinning Gus' fur in the spring...when it starts to warm up!