I'm getting an LGD! New Question!

neener92

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Well, here is my story... It starts out with getting a female blue heeler puppy 'Maci', I had a male 'Bentley' and wanted a female to make puppies and to have two herding dogs. (I know you're are wondering why I am talking about herding dogs when this is supposed to be about guard dogs...I'm getting there!) :) Well, I started having chickens disappear and I'd go out and there would be nothing but feathers, I thought for sure that little 10 week old puppy couldn't have been killing chickens! So, I tied Bentley older heeler (6 months) and still had chickens being killed....are you kidding me?! Surely not that cute pup! I tied Maci and there were still dead chickens! I tied both dogs and no chickens died. Ugh! Well I broke Bentley of killing them and at 2 and a half years he hasn't killed a bird! Maci grew up and I was hoping to breed them but it turned out the male is sterile, she was bred by our yellow lab mix anyway :rolleyes: I got rid of that litter of pups and tried the next time...again the lab bred her, by that time bear hunters had shot the lab so I kept a puppy and left it with the sheep. Maci found her new home about 2 weeks ago when we had another "Maci massacre". The puppy we kept just started killing chickens at a year old after helping Maci take out a few of my hens. :somad :smack Now I'm trying to find a home for 'Bear', I think I've found one were he can be with sheep...he loves his sheep!

Anywho! I was looking on CL just browsing for a Great Pyrenees and found a 4 month old female for a reasonable price...those are hard to find! I am most def going to be working with her around chickens even though she won't really be guarding chickens...they free range. What are some things I can do to work with her to not eat my birds?!

Here is a pic of her, her name is Caroline. :)
3557_greatpyreneeswhite.jpg
 

Southern by choice

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You will be able to work with her but I warn you strongly... They are not mature til 2 years of age and starting somewhere between 5-7 months is when they really want to play with the chickens... usually they are not trying to kill them, it happens by "playing" with them. The playing with them will continue for quite some time.

Many people want an LGD for protection of their chickens. The problem is they were never designed for this purpose. They eventually will somewhat protect them but the process is long in regard to poultry. Please do not get rid of your LGD when she does kill your chickens. LGD's are not disposable dogs, no offense there, it's just too many people get them for the wrong purpose and get frustrated when they do kill the poultry. This takes time and patience.

No matter how many people warn of this, there tends to be a disconnect in people that really believe that if raised with the chickens they won't hurt them. Simply NOT TRUE. EXPECT some loss! This is a frustration because most people that have livestock have poultry also.
 

neener92

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Southern by choice said:
You will be able to work with her but I warn you strongly... They are not mature til 2 years of age and starting somewhere between 5-7 months is when they really want to play with the chickens... usually they are not trying to kill them, it happens by "playing" with them. The playing with them will continue for quite some time.

Many people want an LGD for protection of their chickens. The problem is they were never designed for this purpose. They eventually will somewhat protect them but the process is long in regard to poultry. Please do not get rid of your LGD when she does kill your chickens. LGD's are not disposable dogs, no offense there, it's just too many people get them for the wrong purpose and get frustrated when they do kill the poultry. This takes time and patience.

No matter how many people warn of this, there tends to be a disconnect in people that really believe that if raised with the chickens they won't hurt them. Simply NOT TRUE. EXPECT some loss! This is a frustration because most people that have livestock have poultry also.
Thank you! I expect her to play with and chase them. The reason I am getting rid of my current dog is that he has learned to not only kill them but eat them...feathers and all! I have had several dogs and none have killed my chickens like this line of heelers. I plan on getting a chicken coop and run in the spring, and with only two chicken hens left I can keep them in my small coop, so she shouldn't be able to go after chickens for awhile. I can't keep 'Bear' because he can't be tied or penned...it freaks him out, and I don't want him to have to live like that for 4 months...it's not fair for him.
 

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You will fall in love with this breed! :love Stubborn... yes. Hard-headed...yes. Endearing.... MOST DEFINITELY!

Congrats on your new girl! What will you name her?

Oh yeah, since she's 4 months..get her a rabies vac right away! ;)

Also... we are picture hounds as you know so each stage MUST be PICTURE documented! :lol:
 

neener92

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I'm sure I will, I've always wanted a GP! I LOVE big dogs, and a big dog that will guard will be even better! :)

Her name is Caroline, but I think I'm going to call her Katy, kinda close to Caroline.

Yea, we will get her shots asap! She's had her puppy shots they said just not rabies.

Well, you are in luck...I LOVE taking pictures!
 

neener92

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We are picking her up Sunday! It's a two and a half hour drive. I'm excited!

SBC; There is no need to worry about her chasing chickens now :he my other dog who is only 5 months old and was around Maci and her last killing spree killed a chicken today. :hit

UGH! I know dogs aren't disposable but when you loose up to 30 chickens a turkey and a goose enough is enough! I can't afford to keep dogs that are killing and eating my chickens, I eat the eggs and sell a few chicks. Now I have nothing left. I know I should keep my chickens penned but I don't have a place to and I like my birds free ranging. I'm hoping if I get rid of the two dogs that are killing my chickens I can stop the chicken killers for good. I will NOT let Katy kill chickens. I will make sure I am there watching her when she is around them and correct bad behavior. There is not hope for the other two dogs unfortunately, on the other hand I think I've found a good home for Bear...the people want him to guard their sheep....he LOVES his sheep
 

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I built a hoop run onto my coop. You take cow panels and bow them over and fasten to a frame. I made mine 8 feet wide and 12 feet long. I used 3 cow panels. I covered mine in hardware cloth and skirted the coop and run all the way around with 2 feet of wire on the ground. The coop is 8x8, so my girls have a bigger area now and it is secure and safe. The hoop coops go up quickly and are sturdy. Here are some links for you to look at. BTW, I have a GP and she was given to me because she is a chicken killer, that's why mine are locked in Fort Knox. She was left to roam, unsupervised on 3 acres with lots of chickens. When her previous owners realized she was killing their chickens, they punished her harshly. Now she absolutely hates chickens, but she still winds up protecting them because they are in "her" yard.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/our-hoop-coops

http://www.pathfindersfarm.com/hoophouse.html

http://www.plamondon.com/hoop-coop.html
 

neener92

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Baymule said:
I built a hoop run onto my coop. You take cow panels and bow them over and fasten to a frame. I made mine 8 feet wide and 12 feet long. I used 3 cow panels. I covered mine in hardware cloth and skirted the coop and run all the way around with 2 feet of wire on the ground. The coop is 8x8, so my girls have a bigger area now and it is secure and safe. The hoop coops go up quickly and are sturdy. Here are some links for you to look at. BTW, I have a GP and she was given to me because she is a chicken killer, that's why mine are locked in Fort Knox. She was left to roam, unsupervised on 3 acres with lots of chickens. When her previous owners realized she was killing their chickens, they punished her harshly. Now she absolutely hates chickens, but she still winds up protecting them because they are in "her" yard.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/our-hoop-coops

http://www.pathfindersfarm.com/hoophouse.html

http://www.plamondon.com/hoop-coop.html
If this girl does wined up killing chickens I will cry! But, I will by then hopefully have a chicken coop and run. I may actually end up doing a hoop run! If she does start to have and interest in birds should I take her near my geese and let them give her a good flop, or would this make her mad at them, I want her to respect/tolerate my birds not so much protect them. By her protecting my sheep she will in some ways be protecting my birds from one side of the property. Does that make sense?

I've also read about LGD wanting to wander, for me this is excellent! Since our big lab/collie is getting too old to patrol our fox, raccoon, possum, and other critters population is getting pretty outrageous! She will have probably over 1000 acres to roam and not have to worry about getting shot or hurt or anything. This make me even more excited!
 

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