lgd's

foxywench

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im in the planning stages of my mini farm...
and of course one of the things im reserchign alot if livestock guardians...

im planning on having goats, sheep, chickens, mabe a few alpaca along with rabbit and quail.

im familiar with most lgd breeds so no worries there, im actually putting serious thought into Central asian sheperds as i know a wonderfull breeder with working lines and they are simply amazing dogs...

but heres the question.
obviously i will want my lgd's to have acess to not only the perimeter fencline, but the pastures paddoks and barns. How does a lgd handle fencing to get into these places?
obviously a fence set up to keep goats in is also set up to keep things out.

i want my lgd to be able to get into feilds easily incase something breaks the fenceline, and also during the day for the dogs to be able to get in with their flocks and properly patrol...
so how does it work?

do most people with lgd's just have them patroling the perimeter fenceline at night with no acess to the pastures? or do you leave gates open or have special acess points?

im just unable to visualize the logistics of it all, the dogs need to have acess to their charges obviously, but also need acess to the whole farm/land.
obviously any hole big enough to let a large dog through, is big enough for a goat to get out through lol.

im a long way off yet obviously...but im trying to have a realy good PLAN before even considering moving forward.
 

Roll farms

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Our 2 LGD live in the large pasture, w/ no access to the rest of the place.
(So far) Their barking / scent marking has been enough to keep predators at bay.

I've read many, many accounts of LGD who will wander too far from their charges if given free access. We've been lucky, ours have never tested the fencing.

I've read of a few who are 'trained' to use special holes in the fence (flaps cut so the dogs can jump through, that closes behind them)...I'd be afraid my smart goats would watch and learn.
 

babsbag

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We tried one of those holes in the fence with a flap and our goats figured it out in less than a day. It was only one square wide and 2 tall in the hog panels. I can't believe my fat goats could get through it. It was also down at ground level, they must slither like an army dog :)

I did find that I could put a hole in the fence that is 1 foot away from our barn. Evidently the goats can't bend quite as easily as the dogs so they won't go through this hole. The goats heads run into the barn. Putting holes beween pastures is something we haven't solved yet. My goats are too smart
 

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