I have 3 LGDs with a flock of 75 on 25 acres mostly flat, two stands of trees. Perimeter is surrounded by brush and woods except in a couple of places. LGDs are pyr, pyr xKomondor and a Anatolian x black mouthed cut. All neutered males. I have an Anatolian that isn’t working sheep but is released into empty pastures. These dogs have confronted dogs in the pasture, rolled them and all walked away. This pit bitch is aggressive on and off her property. She charged the Fed Ex driver trying to deliver in my driveway (she was fence fighting my dogs when he pulled up). Since her 3 acre yard is about 400 ft away it’s not territorial. She is tolerant of her owner’s children but others who can say? It appears she is contained but she visits the shared fence to fight if my LGDs are visible. She also tests the fence high and low. My dogs usually ignore her but not always. Pits can do a lot of damage fast and I don’t want my dogs chewed up.Neighborhood dogs are often more of a threat than wild predators.
Wild predators rely on stealth to hunt, kill, and eat. Being discovered and having prey warned by a barking dog will often cause them to relocate. In normal circumstances warning off game can cause them to starve, while battles with LGDs can leave them injured and unable to hunt - again possible death. Wild predators try to aoid both, rarely fighting to the death. Our resident packs of coyotes still test the boundaries to make sure my LGDs are working but seldom try for a lamb any more. The last time was right after the creek fires when all their territory had burned and they were desperate. 5 other packs relocated from burned out territories to our neighborhood and we had too many for my dogs to work on our hilly property. Before we realized how many had been added to or predator load, we made the mistake of leaving our sheep out during the night thinking the dogs were adequate and lost a lamb. The coyotes didn't have chance to eat it, but my bitch got slashed across the face as one tried to protect the kill. We went back to penning the sheep at night, and haven't had trouble since. The coyotes had lured the dogs away from the sheep in order to make the kill - easy to do on our property. They were exhausted, working 24/7, and had gotten no rest. When we penned the sheep, they curled up on either side of the fold and slept like they were dead. Made me really understand the need to match the number of LGDs to the predator load. They really are soldiers but sending them out against unmatched odds is dangerous for them and their flock. They will fight to the death for us, but by using our intelligence we can give them better odds. They are our partners not robots.
When it comes to neighborhood dogs though, there is a difference in protection. Neighborhood dogs are just out for a "good time". For most of them on a killing spree, it is sort of like spring break getting out of hand. Warning barks might deter them but they don't care about stealth hunting. They do not (normally) depend on the kill for food so will often consider the warnings of the LGDs as being playful greetings. They will learn that your LGDs are not to be taken for granted, but it might take some actually fighting to learn that they are serious. Against unfriendly dogs, they will usually turn away and find some other unfortunate who does not have LGDs.
How many LGDs do you have and how large is the area they protect? Hopefully the neighbors are just another foolish family that thinks the country means their dogs can "run free as God intended".
