kaywould
Exploring the pasture
Getting a livestock guardian dog in July. Currently have 2 dogs (black lab mix and a hound mix) that spend a fair amount of time outside but spend a lot of time inside as well and sleep inside.
At first, as the new puppy is being supervised with the animals it's guarding and is bonding with them, I will keep the 2 dogs away from the LGD during this time so that it bonds with the other animals and not my two dogs. But, at some point it would be a lot more convenient to not have to keep the LGD separate from my other two dogs. During that early phase the LGD and my other two dogs will be able to see each other through fencing and get used to each other in that way.
Am I setting myself up for failure or is it reasonable to have a LGD that is bonded to its animals and sleeps outside contently and still have 2 house dogs that spend a fair amount of time outside and that time outside is within the confines of what the LGD will consider "its territory".
I would do my due diligence to socialize the dogs to each other while supervised and to make sure they get a long and wait (I was thinking about 2 months) before the dogs interact directly (the first 2 months while the LGD is bonding to its animals the LGD and my dogs would only see each other through a fence).
It just would be inconvenient for the fencing that would separate the LGD and my two dogs - during the "2 months" of the LGD bonding to its livestock it's guarding - to be up permanently and thus only want to separate my existing dogs and the LGD for only as long as it takes for the LGD to bond with its livestock.
Does this sound reasonable or a recipe for disaster. I have to believe other folks out there with LGD and also have other farm dogs that interact with the LGD without fights.
At first, as the new puppy is being supervised with the animals it's guarding and is bonding with them, I will keep the 2 dogs away from the LGD during this time so that it bonds with the other animals and not my two dogs. But, at some point it would be a lot more convenient to not have to keep the LGD separate from my other two dogs. During that early phase the LGD and my other two dogs will be able to see each other through fencing and get used to each other in that way.
Am I setting myself up for failure or is it reasonable to have a LGD that is bonded to its animals and sleeps outside contently and still have 2 house dogs that spend a fair amount of time outside and that time outside is within the confines of what the LGD will consider "its territory".
I would do my due diligence to socialize the dogs to each other while supervised and to make sure they get a long and wait (I was thinking about 2 months) before the dogs interact directly (the first 2 months while the LGD is bonding to its animals the LGD and my dogs would only see each other through a fence).
It just would be inconvenient for the fencing that would separate the LGD and my two dogs - during the "2 months" of the LGD bonding to its livestock it's guarding - to be up permanently and thus only want to separate my existing dogs and the LGD for only as long as it takes for the LGD to bond with its livestock.
Does this sound reasonable or a recipe for disaster. I have to believe other folks out there with LGD and also have other farm dogs that interact with the LGD without fights.
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