Help with LGD

[norcalfarm]

We have a ten month old maremma who lives with my 5 goats. I always joke that she sleeps all day and barks all night. We can barely hear her two hundred feet away in our house and since we live in a remote location, we figured that our neighbors couldn't hear her enough to bother them. Well, today a neighbor showed up and asked if there was anything that we could do to keep her from barking for hours on end.

We did a fair amount of reading before taking on an LGD. I know that they are supposed to be free to bark (that's their job). I assumed that we lived in a location that nobody would care but now I need to do what I can to reduce the barking. The trouble is that there is really no way for me to tell whether she is barking for a legitimate reason. We are surrounded on four sides by dense brush and woodlands. We frequently hear coyotes, I've seen mountain lions, and we've lost plenty of livestock to bobcats.

Would closing them up in our small goat barn (8x8) at night help? It's not sound proof by any means. Might she grow out of the ongoing barking? Any other ideas?

Thank you!

[Emmy D]

Don't your goats go in the barn at dark, if they don't why not?? I don't have goats, but I have chickens and cows and they go in a secure house/barn at night...to many coyotes running around here not to have them on lockdown at night, especially when calving season hits!

Emmy

[Bearfootfarm]

The trouble is that there is really no way for me to tell whether she is barking for a legitimate reason.

Maremmas always bark for a reason, but often it's only known to them.
Closing her in at night WITH the goats should help.

[norcalfarm]

They are all locked up in a small pen with very good fencing at night. This pen is enclosed within their pasture and up against our yard. Within this pen is the goat barn/shed.

[haypoint]

Put the goats in the shed at night and put the LGD on Craigslist.

[Linkovich]

Ah ha! That's how you spell it! I was reccommending someone to get a "morama" dog on another post, and they probably had no idea what I was on about!

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by haypoint

Put the goats in the shed at night and put the LGD on Craigslist.

Put the LGD in with the goats in the barn at night and see what happens. The LGD is still needed during the day. Getting rid of a good LGD without first trying all options?? Not smart.
At ten months, your LGD is still very much a pup. If she is barking at nothing(highly unlikely), she may very well grow out of that tendency as she matures and gains better perspective and a mature, experienced viewpoint.
Does your neighbor have livestock?

[Bearfootfarm]

I used to get annoyed when mine would bark a lot at night until I saw these right outside the fence:



They are a little over 6 inches long

[norcalfarm]

The neighbor does not have livestock and they live about a half mile away. The drainage that we live in carries sounds very well. I can hear them carrying on conversations very clearly. I really don't see us getting rid of her. There is no noise ordinance so I'm doing this entirely in an attempt to keep a good relationship with my neighbors. They were very friendly about it so I would like to do my best to help them.

Last night was horrible, I spent half the night up trying to talk her down when she would carry on. I spent all day today converting their 3-sided shed into an enclosed building with a door. I have a little more work to completely have it enclosed but it's good enough for tonight. Right now they are all locked in and I haven't heard any barking. I also installed a light near them and have talk radio going so that the creatures might stay away. I'll let you know how it goes in the morning.

Thank you all for your input.

[RJMAcres]

She's doing her job. Barking is part of predator deterrent to her. Just part
of the breed. You could consider getting a 2nd LGD to help her out and that
might quiet things down a bit. We used to have the same problem with 1 of
our Great Pyrs. Got a 2nd one and both were fairly quiet.

[Shadow]

We have currently four large dogs. Are they guard dogs yea kinda they keep the coyotes at bay, kill coons, possoms, armadillos and let us know if anyone is around that is a stranger. Its over a half mile to the nearest neighbor. I would not let one of them bark all night and disturb the neighbors especially a good one. Our dogs do not growl or act agressive toward anyone, One is just about 20 years old, one 12, one 9 and one 2. In the past we have had dogs that we could not control their barking and a few acted aggressive in some matter. They now are on a farm where they can chase bunnys and butterflies all day. And there are no one that can hear them barking. No dog is worth ruinning relations with a good neighbor's friend ship. Two of our dogs seldom bark, if they do we go out the doors with shotguns at the ready because there is something really wrong. Find one of these and put the barker on craigs list or send him or her to play with the bunnies and butterflies.

[norcalfarm]

Last night was much better, the only barking we heard was when she dug out of the building and escaped. I was able to stuff large rocks in her holes twice and then she seemed to have given up (at least for the night). I should be able to secure the bottom easily. I have large stones that I can use, or if need be, I can pour concrete.

It looks like this will be the way to go.

[Bearfootfarm]

We have currently four large dogs. Are they guard dogs yea kinda ...
Find one of these and put the barker on craigs list

You cant compare yard dogs to a true LGD breed.
They have been selectively bred for thousands of years to do what they do.

http://www.lgd.org/

[Ross]

There is no noise ordinance so I'm doing this entirely in an attempt to keep a good relationship with my neighbors.

Ah want good neighbors be a good neighbor!! Good for you!!

[ozark_jewels]

Did you "give her away" people read that she is only 10 months old?? She is a PUP. Lets do give away every dog when it goes through its "terrible twos" stage.......Sheesh.
If I did that, I wouldn't have kept more than a couple of dogs in my life.
This is also an LGD, not just a dog. They have a specific job and are NOT like other dogs. People who have never had one, do not know.
norcalfarm, glad to hear last night was better.

[farmgal]

I realy love my australian cattle dog. I have always raised german shepherds and love them dearly. but after the last one passed I decided to try a different breed(something a little smaller and less shedding). I love my cattle dog. she is aggressive when needed yet friendly and playful with children. she only barks when somethings there or growls in a low tone. she does lots of growling. she can be put in with the birds or anything and she behaves. She does like to play with our 2 y/o filly. my dog is 2 years old also, they were babies togtether. now they are playmates. she does pull her tail sometimes but watching them its like she is asking the filly to "chase me and catch me if you can". sometimes the filly just ignors her and others times she plays.

at my friends house she has 2 great pyrenese and they bark constantly at night, I was asked to watch the house for a weekend. BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK, BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK,BARK, for hours on end. I would never want a neighbor to have to hear that all night. I second the lock everyone up at night idea and let the dog do her job during the day. dont let a nieghbor hear that.

[norcalfarm]

All seems to be going better. She is quite determined to move the stack of rocks at the bottom of the shed. She has even dug some 30 lb rocks out of the way. Today I will concrete the rocks down and hopefully all will be good. I didn't hear any barking last night. Thank you for all of the advice and encouragement. I am new to LGDs but I know that they are a whole different ball game and I would not give up on such a young dog and definitely would not do so without trying everything first.

[Bearfootfarm]

I am new to LGDs but I know that they are a whole different ball game and I would not give up on such a young dog and definitely would not do so without trying everything first.

There are some good pointers here:
http://www.bountifulfarm.com/lgd_seminar.htm

[Toads tool]

You may also want to get her out and exercise the puppy an hour or two before bed time.
Juat like kids, a pooped pup will go to sleep much faster and longer.

[Ping]

I'll probably get flamed for this but you may want to try a bark collar. We had problems with one of our two LGDs barking non-stop. On the advice of several experienced LGD breeders and trainers, we bought a bark collar. We place it on the lowest setting (my husband tried it on himself and it's nothing more than an annoying buzz) and it is just enough to keep her from doing the mindless barking, but if there is a real threat it doesn't deter her at all. I think by trying to lock her up, you're asking for more trouble.