Thinking about getting a LGD.

[Lizjax]

My husband and I are thinking about getting a Pyrneese. We have a small back yard menagerie. We have ducks, chickens, and two dwarf goats they we plan to breed, and rabbits. We have had an issue with foxes but the biggest issue seems to be owls and hawks. Would a LGD be able to prevent these killings? How do we train one to protect the fowl? I have plenty of obedience training but never trained a dog to protect. We also have 5 dogs, 3 of which that will sometimes be out in the yard with them. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Have you looked at getting some geese? They are great at deterring hawks.

 

[babsbag]

My LGDs did keep the hawks and owls away. That being said there was no specific training to teach them to guard but there was a lot of training and time teaching them not to chase the chickens, that can be hard. A lot of time watching, waiting, correcting...rinse and repeat. Some are better than others, my male was about 18 months before chicken safe and my female about a year. It was a lot of work and some lost chickens.

As far as the other dogs, I can't really address that as mine don't interact with my house dogs at all.

 

[Latestarter]

I would think that the 5 dogs you already have would be a pretty good predator deterrent... A Pyr, generally speaking, needs a LOT of space and very tall/sturdy fencing if said space isn't available.

 

[Lizjax]

Have you looked at getting some geese? They are great at deterring hawks.

We haven't thought about getting any but we will look into it. Thank you

 

[Lizjax]

My LGDs did keep the hawks and owls away. That being said there was no specific training to teach them to guard but there was a lot of training and time teaching them not to chase the chickens, that can be hard. A lot of time watching, waiting, correcting...rinse and repeat. Some are better than others, my male was about 18 months before chicken safe and my female about a year. It was a lot of work and some lost chickens.

As far as the other dogs, I can't really address that as mine don't interact with my house dogs at all.

Ok we do have an issue with two of our dogs killing them but it has only happened during this season. I guess their usual prey of rabbits and opossums aren't as active. We may have to reconsider getting one then. We do have more of a predatory bird problem versus a 4 legged predator problem. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Lizjax]

I would think that the 5 dogs you already have would be a pretty good predator deterrent... A Pyr, generally speaking, needs a LOT of space and very tall/sturdy fencing if said space isn't available.

The 5 we have aren't outside all time like a LGD would be. We have a good strong fence but may not be enough room. Thank you. You all have given us a lot to think about.

 

[Sara Ranch]

The other thing not mentioned is that it's best to have two LGD. They work best as a team.

Can the current 5 dogs you have be outside around/near your smaller animals during the day to protect them?

Are the animals secured at night time? They may not need dogs out at night time, if they have secure housing.

 

[Baymule]

A LGD on duty will not tolerate another dog. My GP is ok outside the fence with our black Lab/Great Dane mix, but it’s war inside the fence. And if you already have dogs that are attacking your poultry, expect a LGD to take a mighty dim view of that.

 

[Lizjax]

Well we've decided against getting one and getting a goose instead but thank you