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07/23/09, 06:00 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Oregon
Posts: 89
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Should I shoot my dog?
I need advice on whether or not to "dispatch" our LGD. I think I'm too close to the situation and need some objective opinions. Here's some background: We were given Pearl because her previous owners were getting rid of their large livestock and because their neighbors didn't like her barking. She was raised with bummer lambs and poultry and had guarded them well, according to the owners. She is three years old. Half Anatolian and half Pyranees. We've had her about four months.
The Good:
She has been great with the poultry and goats.
She is an excellent sky watcher and never lets a hawk or buzzard cross our property without an escort.
She stays with her animals 98% of the time.
She is very submissive to humans, but definitely the alpha dog with our other two dogs.
We haven't had a loss of any animal to predators since she has been here and we live in the mountains where coyote, cougar, and bear are common among other things.
The Bad:
She has food aggression. Will snarl and lunge at anything within 20 feet of her food bowl. This isn't too big of a deal. A lot of dogs have this especially LGDs so we just feed her by herself.
She won't stay in our fence enclosure. It is five foot woven. She climbs it like a monkey.
She will randomly snarl and lunge at different animals for apparently no reason. Sometimes it just seems like they came too close to where she was lying. So far she has never actually attacked any of the animals, but this makes me nervous.
She won't stay home if she and our other LGD are out of the dog kennel at the same time. She stays home fine if she's the only one loose.
She has attacked my house dog (lab/newfoundland cross) twice now. Neither time we were present to see what instigated it. The house dog is old and creaky. The house dog did kill a chicken when we first got them several months ago, but since then has been very good with all the animals. This last time Pearl attacked her it was really bad. Both of them were really bloody and couldn't walk very well the next few days. Then today I had to take my house dog into the vet because her eye was swollen shut and oozing from a bite from Pearl.
Yesterday, Pearl got into the rabbit colony and was licking one of the babies. She didn't appear to be aggressive toward it or wanting to hurt it. The other rabbits weren't afraid of her and even went up to her and licked her, etc. Then today I found her in there again. This time there was a new litter of babies strung all over. Two were dead but six were still alive. There was also one older (several weeks old) baby that was dead. None of the babies were chewed on. Pearl was just lying in there looking really pleased with herself. Almost like she thought she was protecting them? I don't know. The mother of this litter doesn't have the best track record for caring for her kits. She has been known to string them around herself, so she could have done that and Pearl just thought she was protecting them? Except, there was the older baby that was dead too.
When we got livestock we decided to cull heavily for animals that didn't fit what we wanted. I consider my LGDs livestock and if they're not doing their job, they're gone. But, I don't want to get rid of a dog due to a misunderstanding. Since I don't know what started the fights and I don't know what she was actually doing in the rabbit pen and I don't know exactly why she snarls at the animals occasionally. I guess I need someone who has more experience with LGDs to shed some light on this. Bottom line I need to be able to trust her and I don't.
Sorry this is so long, I really appreciate the help.
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07/23/09, 06:02 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: MO
Posts: 10,705
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If the dog makes you nervous and uncomfortable, you should not keep it.
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07/23/09, 06:06 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Austin-ish, Texas
Posts: 5,000
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You've only had her for 4 months, and she was an adult when you got her. Her behaviors don't sound that bad to me, considering that changing homes is very stressful on a dog. I would wait a couple months, feed her by herself, only leave her loose on the property by herself, not with the other dog, so she doesn't wander off. Pyrenees are known for wanting to guard an expansive territory; her climbing out of a small yard sounds pretty dang normal to me.
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by Wendy
Last edited by farmergirl; 07/23/09 at 06:10 PM.
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07/23/09, 06:13 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: northern PA
Posts: 121
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Try holding her food dish at a comfortable level for her to eat. I did this at every feeding because of aggression issues. I would pull the bowl away 1/2 way through feeding and make him sit. It stopped the snarling and aggression towards us issues. Feeding was a 30 second affair so it did not waste time.
As for the dog to dog issues you need to be there when they get together. Our LGD was not aggresive to our house queen, but never saw her without us present.
I do not have a great track record with LGD as I had to put mine down this year. So take it for what it is - free advice.
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07/23/09, 07:00 PM
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Brenda Groth
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 7,817
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i would dispatch the dog..possibly to a home where there are no other animals..or small children.
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07/23/09, 07:06 PM
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Tough Girl, Be Gentle
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: The Lone Star State
Posts: 3,486
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The only time I'd shoot a dog was if it had mauled me or my child ... or if it was obviously in pain and dying.
Otherwise, I'd find it another home where someone can utilize its full character and/or train it properly.
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07/23/09, 07:11 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 1,088
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Do you have children?
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07/23/09, 07:19 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: East of Atlanta, GA
Posts: 246
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She sounds like a relatively normal re-homed dog to me- overall a pretty nice working dog dog, but has some "issues." With that said, she does not sound like a good fit for you, but she could make someone else very happy. I would give her to another family in need of a LGD. Be honest with her issues of course, but I really don't think they are a big deal, especially for someone who would like a farm dog for goats, alpacas, whatever. She sounds like she would do a wonderful job with them, and in this tough economy, you might help a family out that way that is losing their animals to predators or whatever. I also think you will feel better after she is rehomed, while it would give you the opportunity to bring home another dog, maybe one that you raise from a puppy so it can bond with you and your livestock as it grows.
Best of luck!
Lauren
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07/23/09, 07:29 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: sc
Posts: 3,364
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Wish you where closer, I would take her.
My LGD use to go under our fence too until we ran hot wire 5 inches in front of it so she couldn't go near it. she is probably use to lambs jumping on her so want to keep other animals at a distance. as for food, the chickens and lambs most likely ate her food.
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07/23/09, 07:47 PM
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free leonard peltier
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: NC
Posts: 2,072
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mama Crow
The only time I'd shoot a dog was if it had mauled me or my child ... or if it was obviously in pain and dying.
Otherwise, I'd find it another home where someone can utilize its full character and/or train it properly.
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I'm with MC. Definitely don't shoot it. Please find it a more suitable home. The web is full of rescue tools and you'd be surprised how far folks are willing to travel to adopt a pet.
After seeing many episodes of Dog Whisperer on National Geographic channel, I'm convinced there are virtually no dogs that deserve putting down due to behavior.
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07/23/09, 08:03 PM
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Columnist, Feature Writer
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Maine
Posts: 4,568
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Quote:
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She has attacked my house dog (lab/newfoundland cross) twice now.
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Can you be sure your dog won't hurt someone if it attacks their dog? That was the question that helped me make my decision when I had a dog-aggressive dog. I couldn't sure sure Hobo wouldn't hurt someone if they walked their dog past my house.
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Robin
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07/23/09, 08:11 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: TX
Posts: 291
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Find the dog a new home.
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07/23/09, 08:18 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,693
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Let me summarize your words.
...Will snarl and lunge at anything within 20 feet of her food bowl...
She will randomly snarl and lunge at different animals for apparently no reason...She has attacked my house dog twice now...She won't stay in our fence enclosure...She won't stay home.
Is that a little clearer now?
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07/23/09, 08:31 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: South Central Alaska
Posts: 721
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Actually, every single thing you described sounds perfectly normal for an adult dog with protective instincts that is picked up from their home and dumped without additional guidance into an unfamiliar situation.
Of course she isn't going to stay in the fence if she can easily get out, she has no reason yet to recognize it as a boundary.
Of course she might be touchy with her food. She is likely still insecure with her surroundings partially because....
She is likely working out "pack order" with your house dog.
She sounds like a good dog, and though I'm not familiar with training LGDs, as someone who's spent a lot of time around dogs and am dealing with some very similar issues in my own rescue, a wonderful but protective Airedale mix that I also got about four months ago, I would say that perhaps before "dispatching" the dog in any way, you should work with her.
Seek advice from people who train/own LGDs about how to get an LGD to bond and settle into a new home as an adult.
Good luck!
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07/23/09, 08:35 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 3,891
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MaineFarmMom
Can you be sure your dog won't hurt someone if it attacks their dog? That was the question that helped me make my decision when I had a dog-aggressive dog. I couldn't sure sure Hobo wouldn't hurt someone if they walked their dog past my house.
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I'm so confused....
Why would someone be nonchalantly walking by a LGD? Aren't LGD's there to protect their charges?
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I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.
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07/23/09, 08:40 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 3,891
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Ping, I would suggest that you turn this dog over to a LGD rescue rather than shoot it..........
__________________
I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.
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07/23/09, 08:47 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 3,891
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***She won't stay home if she and our other LGD are out of the dog kennel at the same time. She stays home fine if she's the only one loose.
She has attacked my house dog (lab/newfoundland cross) twice now. Neither time we were present to see what instigated it. The house dog is old and creaky. The house dog did kill a chicken when we first got them several months ago, but since then has been very good with all the animals. This last time Pearl attacked her it was really bad. Both of them were really bloody and couldn't walk very well the next few days. Then today I had to take my house dog into the vet because her eye was swollen shut and oozing from a bite from Pearl.
Yesterday, Pearl got into the rabbit colony and was licking one of the babies. She didn't appear to be aggressive toward it or wanting to hurt it. The other rabbits weren't afraid of her and even went up to her and licked her, etc. Then today I found her in there again. This time there was a new litter of babies strung all over. Two were dead but six were still alive. There was also one older (several weeks old) baby that was dead. None of the babies were chewed on. Pearl was just lying in there looking really pleased with herself. Almost like she thought she was protecting them? I don't know. The mother of this litter doesn't have the best track record for caring for her kits. She has been known to string them around herself, so she could have done that and Pearl just thought she was protecting them? Except, there was the older baby that was dead too.***
Based on my own personal experience, it sounds like this dog needs more supervision......
I have two Maremma's, just over 2 years old. Everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong.......... PM me.
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I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.
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07/23/09, 09:25 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,894
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What does LGD stand for?
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07/23/09, 10:31 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SE Oklahoma
Posts: 528
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LGD = Livestock Guard Dog
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07/23/09, 10:32 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: SE Oklahoma
Posts: 528
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Around here if you have a dog that won't stay in the fences they don't last long. Neighbors are pretty quick to shoot strays.
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