dejavoodoo114
True BYH Addict
This is somewhat rambling. I have made mistakes with my LGD's and have had some wonderful times with them. There have been moments where I wanted nothing more than to get the gun... I hope reading this will encourage people to go to a reputable breeder/trainer and wait/pay for a great LGD.
I do not know why I never looked in this subject before. I wish I had. I have had many local farmers telling me that we have been treating our LGD's wrong. "They are only supposed to be with the animals not with humans." etc... I did quite a bit of research before we bought our two pyrs and most said the same. However, we chose to first bring the puppies into the house. We house broke them, taught them to sit and wait for permission to eat, and brought them to the goats and chickens with us among other things. I had read about how different they were from "normal" dogs.
Our first boy is Smith. We bought him from a goat farm (we have goats). He was very easy going with every animal we had. However, he did not seem to bond too strongly with our goats. When he was about 7 months old we would put him with the goats at night. At this point winter was coming and we felt he would be okay with the cold, we also wanted him to bond with them. However, it was not until he was 9-10 months, last Feb, when one of our does kidded. We brought the kids into the house and bottle fed them. He went from puppy to "LGD" in a day. By the end of the week, when he was outside he was with the goats, when inside he was with the kids. At that point we no longer put him in the pen at night. We no longer had to keep track of him to keep him on our property. Racoon's and MANY skunks began to die, the skunks were a mixed blessing, I hate that smell. He comes in the house sometimes but prefers keeping track of what is outside.
Our second boy is Wesson. Wesson is 4 months younger than Smith. Here I made a mistake. I was impatient. There was only one breeder who had pyrs for sale within 6 hours of us. He was from registered stock. When I got there it was a kennel. All I could think was puppy mill. It took me about 5 min of sitting in the car thinking "no way!" before I looked up reviews on this breeder. Not one negative review. 15 min later I got out. The place was Very clean. Parents were out with their sheep and I was able to meet them. I bought him and brought him home. He was obviously going to be the dominant dog. He was a huge pain to house break. But he was a very loving and sweet dog. When he was 6 months we alternated putting him in the barn with the goats at night until Feb. I think he was too young to get that kick in the instinct that Smith got with the kids. So we had to continue to keep him in barn or on cable or in house for a while.
When comparing the two I think the Wesson might be from show stock. He does not seem to have what Smith has. In April we spent a fortune to remove part of his intestine to give him a 50/50 chance. He survived and started protecting my DD's rabbit. We were soo relieved! Until he fully recovered and started killing chickens..... Yes, he was killing chickens. We were furious for many reasons. However, with the encouragement of a dog training friend, we tried to show him that hurting "our babies" was unacceptable and rude after we spent so much money to save his life lol. Nothing really changed until we got chicks in May. (We were trying to do the same thing that happened with Smith and the kids) We constantly had him in the chick coop with us. We let him smell the chicks while we were holding them, correcting him with ugh-ugh when he was rough. As the chicks grew up we let him in the pen with him, continuing to correct and baby talk to the chicks while hugging them.
Believe it or not this actually worked. We were able to let him out of the house more. We were not loosing chickens. Smith did not want to leave so Wesson staid as well. Every once in a while we lost a chicken this summer. We watched Wesson as much as we could. In August we found him eating a chicken in the barn. My DH decided to hit him with the corpse. We still do not know if it was Wesson or if the chicken was already dead. Wesson is more of a puppy than Smith, I believe that is why he killed them in the first place. He enjoyed chasing them. With a lot of hard work we have been able to make him understand that such behavior is unacceptable. For a month he was on a cable in the barn. The chickens were all around him but could get away if they needed to and he couldn't follow. Near the end the only time I saw him chase the chickens was when he wanted them away from the food bowl. He never actually touched them but he let them know the food was his. He has always done this with the goats which was fine by me. I did not reprimand him for chasing the chickens from his food, I hope I was right.
For the last 2 months both boys roam or nap our 32 acres all day and night. We put the chickens in the chicken coop and the goats in their pen at night. Unfortunately, we are loosing chickens. They are dead in the morning. We think it is a weasel. A few nights ago we started putting Wesson in the chicken coop and Smith with the goats and 2 new piglets. We did not loose any chickens with Wesson in there. Last night I forgot to put him in and we lost another.
Smith sleeps in the front lawn all day, I hope because of the view, you can see most of our property from where he sleeps. Wesson now sleeps down at the barn or follows the goats around. When either of them barks the goats all appear and race towards them for protection. Unfortunately, when Wesson was still tied in the barn, I looked out the window and saw a coyote sitting in our pasture eyeing our Many happy chickens. Smith was sleeping in front of the house. I called our Dalmatian house pet and Smith and went out there. Smith disappeared halfway there so I let Wesson of the leash and tried to show them where it was. Smith found the trail first but really. I was not happy that the coyote was there at all. That was when we let Wesson of the leash. Luckily he had learned the chickens were not toys by that time.
Our mistakes:
1. We bought both without going to a proper LGD breeder/trainer.
2. We bought Wesson from a kennel instead of a farm.
3. We didn't spend enough time teaching proper behavior around goats and chickens.
4. We shoved them out with the livestock before they knew proper behavior.
5. We fed them at the house instead of the barn. This has been corrected.
6. We made many little mistakes as well that we have corrected, we hope.
I am sorry for the ramble but I was so glad to read that some here don't think we were Absolutely wrong in letting our LGD's in the house. I was afraid that is why we had other problems. Seems to me that we should have spent more time with them among the livestock. We are all doing well now but I would not object to more advice if you have any. I want to be sure to correct anything else I might be doing wrong. Smith is 1 and half years old and Wesson 1 and a few months. I want to be sure not to mess them up and to continue to train them correctly. I just spent a half hour at the barn watching Smith and Wesson with the new piglets. So cute! The piglets are nervous around us but love the dogs. Smith is just so tolerant he is amazing! Wesson didn't mind them much but kept moving when they started chewing on his dewclaws. lol
The most important part of my story is that we were successful in teaching Wesson not to kill chickens. I am so grateful that we were able to save him from our stupidity.
I do not know why I never looked in this subject before. I wish I had. I have had many local farmers telling me that we have been treating our LGD's wrong. "They are only supposed to be with the animals not with humans." etc... I did quite a bit of research before we bought our two pyrs and most said the same. However, we chose to first bring the puppies into the house. We house broke them, taught them to sit and wait for permission to eat, and brought them to the goats and chickens with us among other things. I had read about how different they were from "normal" dogs.
Our first boy is Smith. We bought him from a goat farm (we have goats). He was very easy going with every animal we had. However, he did not seem to bond too strongly with our goats. When he was about 7 months old we would put him with the goats at night. At this point winter was coming and we felt he would be okay with the cold, we also wanted him to bond with them. However, it was not until he was 9-10 months, last Feb, when one of our does kidded. We brought the kids into the house and bottle fed them. He went from puppy to "LGD" in a day. By the end of the week, when he was outside he was with the goats, when inside he was with the kids. At that point we no longer put him in the pen at night. We no longer had to keep track of him to keep him on our property. Racoon's and MANY skunks began to die, the skunks were a mixed blessing, I hate that smell. He comes in the house sometimes but prefers keeping track of what is outside.
Our second boy is Wesson. Wesson is 4 months younger than Smith. Here I made a mistake. I was impatient. There was only one breeder who had pyrs for sale within 6 hours of us. He was from registered stock. When I got there it was a kennel. All I could think was puppy mill. It took me about 5 min of sitting in the car thinking "no way!" before I looked up reviews on this breeder. Not one negative review. 15 min later I got out. The place was Very clean. Parents were out with their sheep and I was able to meet them. I bought him and brought him home. He was obviously going to be the dominant dog. He was a huge pain to house break. But he was a very loving and sweet dog. When he was 6 months we alternated putting him in the barn with the goats at night until Feb. I think he was too young to get that kick in the instinct that Smith got with the kids. So we had to continue to keep him in barn or on cable or in house for a while.
When comparing the two I think the Wesson might be from show stock. He does not seem to have what Smith has. In April we spent a fortune to remove part of his intestine to give him a 50/50 chance. He survived and started protecting my DD's rabbit. We were soo relieved! Until he fully recovered and started killing chickens..... Yes, he was killing chickens. We were furious for many reasons. However, with the encouragement of a dog training friend, we tried to show him that hurting "our babies" was unacceptable and rude after we spent so much money to save his life lol. Nothing really changed until we got chicks in May. (We were trying to do the same thing that happened with Smith and the kids) We constantly had him in the chick coop with us. We let him smell the chicks while we were holding them, correcting him with ugh-ugh when he was rough. As the chicks grew up we let him in the pen with him, continuing to correct and baby talk to the chicks while hugging them.
Believe it or not this actually worked. We were able to let him out of the house more. We were not loosing chickens. Smith did not want to leave so Wesson staid as well. Every once in a while we lost a chicken this summer. We watched Wesson as much as we could. In August we found him eating a chicken in the barn. My DH decided to hit him with the corpse. We still do not know if it was Wesson or if the chicken was already dead. Wesson is more of a puppy than Smith, I believe that is why he killed them in the first place. He enjoyed chasing them. With a lot of hard work we have been able to make him understand that such behavior is unacceptable. For a month he was on a cable in the barn. The chickens were all around him but could get away if they needed to and he couldn't follow. Near the end the only time I saw him chase the chickens was when he wanted them away from the food bowl. He never actually touched them but he let them know the food was his. He has always done this with the goats which was fine by me. I did not reprimand him for chasing the chickens from his food, I hope I was right.
For the last 2 months both boys roam or nap our 32 acres all day and night. We put the chickens in the chicken coop and the goats in their pen at night. Unfortunately, we are loosing chickens. They are dead in the morning. We think it is a weasel. A few nights ago we started putting Wesson in the chicken coop and Smith with the goats and 2 new piglets. We did not loose any chickens with Wesson in there. Last night I forgot to put him in and we lost another.
Smith sleeps in the front lawn all day, I hope because of the view, you can see most of our property from where he sleeps. Wesson now sleeps down at the barn or follows the goats around. When either of them barks the goats all appear and race towards them for protection. Unfortunately, when Wesson was still tied in the barn, I looked out the window and saw a coyote sitting in our pasture eyeing our Many happy chickens. Smith was sleeping in front of the house. I called our Dalmatian house pet and Smith and went out there. Smith disappeared halfway there so I let Wesson of the leash and tried to show them where it was. Smith found the trail first but really. I was not happy that the coyote was there at all. That was when we let Wesson of the leash. Luckily he had learned the chickens were not toys by that time.
Our mistakes:
1. We bought both without going to a proper LGD breeder/trainer.
2. We bought Wesson from a kennel instead of a farm.
3. We didn't spend enough time teaching proper behavior around goats and chickens.
4. We shoved them out with the livestock before they knew proper behavior.
5. We fed them at the house instead of the barn. This has been corrected.
6. We made many little mistakes as well that we have corrected, we hope.
I am sorry for the ramble but I was so glad to read that some here don't think we were Absolutely wrong in letting our LGD's in the house. I was afraid that is why we had other problems. Seems to me that we should have spent more time with them among the livestock. We are all doing well now but I would not object to more advice if you have any. I want to be sure to correct anything else I might be doing wrong. Smith is 1 and half years old and Wesson 1 and a few months. I want to be sure not to mess them up and to continue to train them correctly. I just spent a half hour at the barn watching Smith and Wesson with the new piglets. So cute! The piglets are nervous around us but love the dogs. Smith is just so tolerant he is amazing! Wesson didn't mind them much but kept moving when they started chewing on his dewclaws. lol
The most important part of my story is that we were successful in teaching Wesson not to kill chickens. I am so grateful that we were able to save him from our stupidity.
This is a real PITrear!
Smith and Wesson both always drop on their backs when they do something wrong. This whole thing was so weird! Obviously I should have either let him have the bread or taken it from him and not let him have it but I never expected the rest. If I were not strong and good with combat training I could have had an issue holding him down, he is a big tank. Smith drops on his back when he feels us pulling him towards it, Wesson drops as soon as he realizes/thinks he did something wrong (honestly, some times its hard to get him to stand up!) we do not even have to grab him, just look. 
