How best to find a farm dog?

[Ziptie]

We have been looking for a farm dog for about three years. We tried to get a younger lab from the pound..big mistake..tried to turn and bite me twice before he had to go back. They really never get in puppy’s that aren’t a pit bull mix or some little yippy dog. The shelters around here only want dogs that are left inside all the time.

So, why do we want a dog..Well our eldest isn't into the farm thing but really is wanting a dog to train (hoping it will get her outside more). We also want a dog that will the patrol the boarders of the property at night (fully fenced 7 acres).

Not interested in really paying hundreds of dollars for a "registered dog".

Hopefully this thread won't turn into a flaming session as I have seen other threads of this sort, emotions seem to run high.

So, how does one find a good farm dog?

[jwal10]

So sad, used to be you could get a puppy free almost anywhere out in the country. People just put up "free puppy signs" Now everyone is afraid something bad will happen to "free puppies". Like making someone pay will be better. True but sad. Hard to find those now. Have any farm friends? My DS got a very nice Lab-Border Collie mix at the animal shelter. Basically for the price of having a puppy fixed, he got a lot of help with shots and basic training instructions, several training sessions. He (Grizz) has been such a blessing. Such a sweet little man. I hope you can find one too....James

[simi-steading]

Not sure if you can, but I've got a friend that says he should be having puppies before too long.. I was planning on getting one of his... See if you have friends, or friends of friends that may be having puppies..

I've gotten a few good animals from rescues... however, I'll debate whether my macaw was a good animal or not.. .

[arnie]

if only you were near me i'd give you a Mt cur pup and almost gaurintee it to become a #1 farm dog .my great old ginger dog I locked into a kennel at her time .butmy amigo dog was smarter tan me and i'v got some good bred farm dogs to give away .there's a big hunting dog trade day Monday in the next county i'm takeing them there they have been raised with chickens and have been sleeping with the bottle goat .and eating me out of house n home . the main thing when looking for a good farm dog is think about the type of dog what was it bred to do . see if theres a hunting club in your area or goggle Mt. curs There may be a breeder in your neighborhood that may be like me and would love to find a good home for a good dog . i'v never found a mor inteligent better type of dog for the homestead to keep all varmits away warn you of strangers (yet not maul meter readers ) and unereingly faithfull and not pron to wander . the one on the right is a cur

[Yvonne's hubby]

We picked ours up at the pound as a six week old pup and he has turned out to be great. he is a beagle healer mix and stays in the house a lot. Very smart dog, scolded him a bit the first and only time he piddled in the house... and he figured out how to handle the livestock by himself. He also figure out how to get out of a steel jaw trap.... by chewing the limb off that it was anchored to! He brought it back to the house for me to remove from his foot.

whatever else you do, do NOT pick a puppy up by his ears to see if he whines. President Johnson was nearly impeached for testing a pup that way.

[pinfeather]

I think mutts are the best. And the best mix of breeds I've ever had is border collie and lab. Excellent farm dogs. I got her from an ad on Craigslist offering puppies for rehoming fee. When I got there and chose my pup (from a purebred working border collie and a neighboring wandering lab) and chatted a bit with the owner, he waived the fee. The dog is smarter than I am, so it didn't take her long to train me.

[Westexas]

I was just checking out Petfinder.com and Craigslist yesterday. Many Anatolians, Blue heelers, and Great Pyranees out there, but I would love to have a Mountain Cur or Blue Lacey to complement our Bloodhound sisters. Good luck with the hunt!

[MO_cows]

Go to the feed store, check the bulletin board for free puppies. If you get a dog born on the farm, stands to reason it will likely be a good farm dog, like its mother. Go to the livestock auction, this time of year it's a good bet somebody will be giving away puppies in the parking lot.

Breed is a matter of personal preference, just know that some breeds and some individuals of any breeding simply won't learn what is part of the farm and what is a prey animal. How you introduce them to your critters is very important, always on leash so you are in control.

Since you plan to make it an outside dog and a solo dog to protect the perimeter by itself, better get something on the bigger side.

[Ziptie]

Nice dogs BTW

Tried pet finder mostly pits and such in our area. A few labs but that is what we tried before and I think most of them the fowl instinct is too strong. In a 100 mile radius there is only 7 large dogs available and over half of them are resuces. Found on Great P and they said in the description well here is part of it...he will not be adopted out as a livestock guardian, lawn ornament or farm dog but as a companion, must be allowed access to your home".<BIG SIGH>

Most people around here have labs that keep trying to kill our chickens or hunting dogs.

Would love to find a mutt but with no pit in it.

Well, I guess we will keep trying CL maybe we will get lucky.

Thanks all for the ideas.

[bluemoonluck]

If you're on FaceBook, do a search for something like "pets for sale cityname/statename" and see what comes up.

But be aware that many mixed breed puppies aren't being given away for free anymore - they're being given cutesie names like morkie and puggle and priced to make you

Also in young puppies, if the mix is not absolutely known (i.e. if the people are not 100% sure that the daddy is who they think he is), it's always a toss-up. It's very difficult to accurately guess unknown mixed breeds that contributed to the mix of a puppy. When I worked at the animal shelter, we adopted out a number of small pups we thought were Beagle mixes who grew up to be 80+ pounds, some dogs we swore were labs that grew into Chow mixes....the list goes on and on.

If you're 100% certain that you do NOT want certain breeds of dogs included in the mix, be very wary of puppies of uncertain parentage. Even well-educated guesses regarding their genetics can be very wrong.

[Pony]

Do you just not like pitty-type dogs? Remember, a lot of dogs get labeled "pit" when they aren't, but even if they are pitties, they can be incredibly lovely animals.

I will always have a blockhead dog. We're on our third American Bulldog. Love the breed.

A farming friend back in Ill-annoy has pit-types on her farm, and they do very well.

Good luck in your hunt!

[gila_dog]

The best homestead dog we've ever had was a red heeler x German shepherd. We found him abandoned in a remote area as a puppy. The 2nd best is a blue heeler x ? We got her from the pound. There are lots of heelers and heeler crosses in this area, so it's not hard to find them at the pound. Some areas have lots of pit bulls. It's just a difference in the human culture of different areas, I think.

Why are heelers and other herding dogs such good homestead dogs? They stay home. They are good watch dogs. They don't chase chickens and other poultry. In fact any coyotes or other dogs that come around are treated with suspicion or hostility. Just about any dog can make a good watch dog. But some dogs want to wander and won't stay home. Any kind of hunting dog or hound will tend to wander, in my experience.

[Ziptie]

Originally Posted by Pony

Do you just not like pitty-type dogs? Remember, a lot of dogs get labeled "pit" when they aren't, but even if they are pitties, they can be incredibly lovely animals.

I will always have a blockhead dog. We're on our third American Bulldog. Love the breed.

A farming friend back in Ill-annoy has pit-types on her farm, and they do very well.

Good luck in your hunt!

Why, well..how to put it..genetic make-up...inborn instincts of the breed..that’s why I am trying to stay away from any,pitt, German Shepherd,lab,coon hound, any lager breed with those kind of tendencys .. Need a dog that has some smarts to it. Does that make any sense?

I know can't generalize all dogs accord to standard bred traits, but DD is only 10. Even though she understood why the other dog had to go and we only had it for a month. It was really hard on her and I would really like to get this right this time.

bluemoonluck-Nope, no facebook...

[MO_cows]

Ziptie, sorry the labs haven't been good for you. Lab and lab mixes are usually all around great dogs in our experience.

Here is a lab/bloodhound "free dog" who came from an apartment in the city. Never saw livestock til she was full grown, when we got her. She was very willing to learn her new role and has been a great dog for us. Good luck in your search!

[crazyfarm]

We've always bought ours from active farms. We have a great pyr we got from a cow farm and an akbash we got from a goat farm. Most farms that rely on LGD's breed their own and sell the extras. That said our akbash, while from working stock, is terrible at being an LGD. He's more like a lab than most labs I'd say.

I'm not sure if you have a "Traders" but that is where we found our pyr and our St. So try that.

[crazyfarm]

Originally Posted by Ziptie

Why, well..how to put it..genetic make-up...inborn instincts of the breed..that’s why I am trying to stay away from any,pitt, German Shepherd,lab,coon hound, any lager breed with those kind of tendencys .. Need a dog that has some smarts to it. Does that make any sense?

I know can't generalize all dogs accord to standard bred traits, but DD is only 10. Even though she understood why the other dog had to go and we only had it for a month. It was really hard on her and I would really like to get this right this time.

bluemoonluck-Nope, no facebook...

I avoid those types because I'm lazy and not because I think they are bad. May I suggest you get one of these though:

We had a St Bernard who was better with the kids than our pyr but his health was horrid. Our pyr though, he's a rock.

[Brighton]

Originally Posted by jwal10

So sad, used to be you could get a puppy free almost anywhere out in the country. People just put up "free puppy signs" Now everyone is afraid something bad will happen to "free puppies". Like making someone pay will be better. True but sad. Hard to find those now. Have any farm friends? My DS got a very nice Lab-Border Collie mix at the animal shelter. Basically for the price of having a puppy fixed, he got a lot of help with shots and basic training instructions, several training sessions. He (Grizz) has been such a blessing. Such a sweet little man. I hope you can find one too....James

It is not sad, it is responsible breeding! When I was a kid there were packs of feral dogs that roamed all over the area, I was out playing on our jungle gym one day when I was about five, thankfully I was at the top when a pack came into the yard, it was traumatic to say the least, looking down at a huge GSD type dog who was snarling, jumping and trying to snag my foot and pull me down so he could get me!! My Mom called our farmer neighbor and he raced right over, shot the GSD and the other dogs took off, I had dog issues for YEARS.

[||Downhome||]

Originally Posted by Ziptie

Why, well..how to put it..genetic make-up...inborn instincts of the breed..that’s why I am trying to stay away from any,pitt, German Shepherd,lab,coon hound, any lager breed with those kind of tendency's .. Need a dog that has some smarts to it. Does that make any sense?

I know can't generalize all dogs accord to standard bred traits, but DD is only 10. Even though she understood why the other dog had to go and we only had it for a month. It was really hard on her and I would really like to get this right this time.

bluemoonluck-Nope, no facebook...

unless your near the big city's I would not work about pit genetics.

remember the little rascals, petey was a a pit!

They can be animal aggressive, though when raised and trained properly some of the best dogs.

My buddy had one, the dog had a pet cat, you would swear he was killing the cat but no. just a little ruff play on both accounts.

Though kitty was his don't touch kitty. you could tell him hit it though and he would. usually with kitty following behind.

I seen where babies where mauled by lap dogs left with them.

that does not get played up so much as a pit attack.

just saying a decently bred pit, I.E not bred to be aggressive ... is not a bad dog and many people breed correctly. number of tests you can do to judge a dogs temperament.

I prefer Shepard's my self but a pit is second pick.

I have seen some ill bred ones though, again bred for aggression.

Grandad had old duke, he only got ill natured in old age. I was one of the only grand kids could approach him, just had to do it in a particular way.
and he was fine.

I have only met a few dogs I would not trust, though I also know how to handle them, but the ones I would not trust is more due to neglect and abuse then genetics.

Just an example one friend has a Jack Russel, that was a mill pup.
She puts on a super aggressive face but loves me to death.
She nips me once in a while but I know how to approach her.
Once shes sure she still acts aggressive even while showing "love"

after a bit she drops the whole act!

[Ozarks Tom]

In our neck of the woods you don't have to go looking for a new dog. They just show up.

[Patchouli]

I have 2 Lab mixes and I had to train them to leave the chickens and ducks especially alone but they both learned fine. You might want to talk to the people at your local Humane Society and let them know what you are looking for specifically and have them call you if something comes in. Most of them really want to match their dogs to the right home and will be willing to help you.

I have to agree to that I am glad there aren't free puppy signs out anymore like there used to be. Shelters are full to overflowing and we euthanize 3-4 million cats and dogs per year in this country. If you pay the fee to get it from a shelter it covers the shots and the spay/neuter and that is a great thing. You usually save a bit of money on the deal.