What dog to get???

Some may poo poo this idea.....but.....as a child growing up.....we always had Collies. My mother chose that breed cuz...this dog followed us kids everywhere we went. If we got too close to water.....she would herd us away from danger. She just watched over us like a Mother hen. Their herding instincts are amazing. And she loved us with everything in her. Her name was Lady......and I will never ever forget her. She was my best friend.....my protector.....my TV partner...and slept with me at night. JMHO

Oh...and she kept a good eye on the chickens and the sheep and the other livestock too.

I don't know where you are located at but....go to www.petfinder.com and look up the breed. There are so many out there that need homes thru no fault of their own. I have two myself now that I adopted from Rescues thru Petfinder. If you like....you can see my website on them at www.geocities.com/sillyfilly4u

get the dog that was bred to do the job you want.

Pyrenese.

[QUOTE=momof2
Here is what is currently available at my local shelter that looked good to me:
Austrailian Shepherd/ Australian Cattle dog / Blue Healer Mix
Newfoundland / Black Lab Mix
Golden Retriever / Bordercollie Mix
Coonhound
Newfoundland Mix (??)
Border Collie
Austrailian Shepherd / Collie Mix
Great Pyreneese Mix (??)

There are TONS of dogs available, I just don't know what to get. Everytime in the past that we have got a dog I always regret it. We only have the 1 now and he is good but useless. I want a GOOD dog!!! I want a protector!!!!! Any suggestions are greatly apprectiated.[/QUOTE]

Did you pick any of those shelter dogs yet?

I would have checked out the Great Pyreneese Mix as a choice for a guardian type dog. Temerment would be an important factor to consider, though.

A good book describing some Livestock Protection Breed dogs like the Kuvasz is worth checing into. One such book I recommend is called "Hungarian Dog Breeds"

Get an overview of how the livestock protection breeds conform to being brought up with your family and animals and understand their nature. If it's what you're looking for in a protector from predators and a property guardian, don't overlook these breeds including a well tempered Pyreneese. You could get lucky at the shelter, but also input from you as the dog's alpha and use training based on positive reinforecment.

Great Pyranese are good dogs to raise with the goats or sheep. They need to be raised WITH the goats, not up at the house with the people.
I had an australian Shep. that was a wonderful cow dog and was protective of what was his (including me) He did not like anyone strange coming near me or even looking in my direction. I went to the bank one day with Buddy sitting in the seat next to me at the drive in he noticed a pickup parked next to us with 2 guys in it that were looking in my direction. He told them quick they better just keep on driving and keep their eyeballs to themselves.
My daughter got a blue heeler from her boyfriend and it attacked my baby goats..."HEELER" , it nearly ripped one of my little goats back legs off.
Most bird dogs will kill chickens.

A caution on Great Pyrenees...


We got the bill from Alabama Power yesterday. Almost $400! Seems the meter reader is scared of our Beloved Sam and gave an estimated usage. As I've said before, noone with a brain in their head would dare to open our gate and come into the yard without one of us holding our Beloved Sam back. We've asked before that they just let us know they're in the area. My wife is home almost all the time. She's always home during the day. We've asked that the guy just pull into the driveway and honk his horn and she'd come hold our Beloved Sam. Seems that he estimates that we and our Beloved Sam used $400 in precious Alabama Power last month. Almost $300 more than the month before when the airconditioners were going nonstop.

__________________
I'm back...for now.

Well... I'll endorse Black labs and German Shepards. Both breeds, if raised CORRECTLY!!! will be great life long companions. Heres a picture of Bailey from 3 days ago. She loves taking walks(and car rides!)

Like someone already said... Do a search of this site for Great Pyrenese in the archive. My advice... Spend the money to get a pup you can raise yourself.. you won't have to train; (except maybe Not to "slime" you or jump up) and get the Breed that was BRED to do the JOB you speak of.. all the time.. EVERY time!! Great Pyrenese. Stick 'em out with the chickens, or goats or whatever, give em a pat or two on the head, and your on your way!

No better dog for guarding your homestead/animals/family. Funny, tho.. I live so far out.. I guess they all "know the secret" of GP's!! Anyone who stopped by on business.. seemed to know how great they are and petted dear "Rick" a lot more than he usually got in a day's time!!

A wonderful dog. But make sure you have a secure outter perimeter fence. Rick died just after turning one year old from internal injuries recived (likely) by a run in with an automobile. :no:

__________________
"TIMSHEL"
Spoiler ALERT: For those of you who've never read Steinbeck's "East of Eden".... timshel means "thou mayest".

wow.. you guys really aren't looking at the breed perpose.. and dont say it doesn't matter, that'd be like saying a beagle wont take off after something that smells good,
the best LGD breed IMO is the anatolian.
borders, GSDs, auzies, heelers ect. are HERDERS not LGDs, with ALOT of training they might be slightly good at guarding(except for the GSD, one of the top biting dogs in america) but they will still have the instinct to drive, and their high energy level could be hazardous to smaller animals, like chickens.

labs, goldens ect. are hunting dogs, SOMETIMES with age they do calm down, our once bird chaser cocker stopped stalking birds when she turned 9(unfortunatly the good ones seem die early) but the instinct to kill was still there even though she had been raised with birds, she also caught mice.

I've known many labs who're normally calm unless they saw BIRD, too much of a risk IMO.

Saying you arent a dog person,my best thought is get a purebred dog of impeccable blood lines,then have it professionally trained.It will be very expensive,but if its what you want,then its what you have to do.Otherwise i think you will always be disappointed in your dog.I got a free GSD from a closing business.OUTSTANDING animal,professionally guard trained to know the difference between a visitor and a bad guy.How they do this I dont know,but it was something to behold.Always friendly,but if you harrased it,well,you would stop real fast.
These types of dogs need good leadership,training and constant vigilance,otherwise its like having a loaded gun around.If you arent that person,stay away from big dogs.ESP. GSD!! It will bring you heartache.Great Danes have sweet disposition and may be the type of personality you seek,while big enough to ward off most predator threats.IMHO
BooBoo

Frank: what a beautiful dog and what a great picture you have taken of him!

__________________
www.MontanaSticksAndStones.com at Goshen Farm

Any mix with Newfoundland, Black Lab, Terrier, or beagle are excellent. I have a Terrier/ doberman mix. She is an excellent guard dog! The Terrier in her makes her great for the kids and makes her a great lap dog! But the doberman keeps her aware of strangers. She is very intelegent... and that is the one thing you want to look for. My parents black lab would bark if any of us got out of bed at night. Good luck in your search!

And my dobie mix stays away from my chickens! She may nip one if it goes after her first!

I am agreeing with most previous post: cattle dogs, shepherds and other working dogs can herd children and kill chickens.

I'm Aussie rescue way out here in VA....most of our Aussies are turned in for excess energy, shedding, and herding or nipping kids.

You have to train ANY dog.....and most won't settle down til well after 2yrs. I cannot recommend another dog to someone who hasn't trained the one they've got, and who has had numerous dogs before that they didn't like.

A dog exists in relationship....largely, you get what you give. Avoid punishment based training--try "Dogs for Dummies" because you build a relationship of trust with your dog, and then move from there. But they are WORK...each and every day. Most older dogs in the pound are untrained, completely, because people thought the dog should just know how to behave and then gave up when it didn't.

Well, one thing's for sure: we all love our canine friends, and can feel pretty passionate about the breeds!

I'm not a professional dog person, but I've worked many a year as a veterinary technician and have owned more than a few dogs myself.

It's a good idea to get an animal with the breed traits you seek, but at the end of the day, a dog with whom you are comfortable and with whom you will consistently work is the best dog to choose.

I should think that a dog with some herding and protective instincts would be your best choice. Pyrs have a justly earned reputation, but someone is going to have to brush/maintain it, and there is the short life span to be considered.

As for a dog chasing chickens, etc.: I own an American Bulldog, a breed notorious for killing cats. Buster has never made an hostile move against any of his feline housemates (4 cats total), and is very well-behaved and appropriate with other dogs as well. That's because he was trained to be like this.

A willing and a consistent owner are just as important as breed.

Happy (dog) Hunting!

Pony!

herding dogs are some of the top biting dogs in america, probly not a good choice if your going to let your kids be around it un supervised, plus if your children are your the high energy level could cause problems..

as I said before Pyrs are guardian dogs not herding dogs, they do not drive the stock.

and Pony, pits, staffies(am. and bull), bulldogs(all 7? types) are all starting to be bred down to be more of a family dog than the warriors they once were, although some do still have dog aggression, it's not THAT(thats why the mean ones make the news) common and they are known for being friendly with cats and if raised properly love children and everybody else.

Over the years, I have had alot of different breeds of dogs. By far and away my favorite, and the one that is doing the best job of guarding my livestock is my 2 Great Pyranees, Chip and Cody. It is true that they must live out there and grow up with the animals you want them to guard, instead of having them living in your house with you. Mine have lived with the other animals since I brought them home. They guard the yard from visitors well, but they know their main place is out there with the stock. They are still pretty young but already know their business. They have no interest in chasing or harassing any of my poultry, goats, or horses. They do bark alot at night, but we have alot of coyotes out here. Knock on wood, I have lost nothing to them since Chip and Cody have gotten bigger. Nothing can come near here without them sounding the alarm and chasing off after it.

My other breeds of dogs, collie, lab, aussie, old english sheepdog, a few mutts, they have always chased everything. My poor horses couldnt move a muscle without my collie running over and barking at them for 20 minutes. He just wanted everything to stay put.

You cant discount the centuries of selective breeding for temperment and behavior qualities that has gone into some of these dogs. Training will only do so much to get rid of genetically ingrained behaviors you dont want and can be costly and time consuming although it can be done. But in the meantime, your livestock could be in danger from predators that the dog does not know to chase away or from the dog itself. Your best bet is to get a purebred dog who's breed has the desired qualites from a reputable breeder and training it will be a snap.

As for mixed breed dogs, I am all for adopting them if you simply wish for a family pet, but the in-bred behaviors in mixed dogs are basically hit and miss and if you want them for a specific job, its going to be hard to find one that is suitable. I have also found that once a dog discovers the fun of chasing and or killing other animals, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to stop them. They will know it is wrong but they just won't be able to help themselves. And you will not ever be able to trust them again.

Traci

We have 3 Pyrenees and have no problem with nighttime barking unless there is a predator close by. When it is gone, the barking stops. Our only problem with the pyrz is that they are so prone to wander. We have one that digs under fences, and one that climbs the fences. Hot wire doesn't bother them because of their dense coats. This wouldn't be a huge problem because our 30 acres is bounded by National Forest and state lands, except that one was caight in a foot trap last week, and released by the trapper. $175.00 in vet bills later, he is fine. I think our mistake ws getting more than one Pyr. Its almost like they have a gang mentality about breaking out. Other than that they are sweet dogs...great with kids and tough on bears and cougars.

Thanks. We love her a lot, she is one of the family.

I think that Nature/Nurture comes into play with dogs. Part of its the breed, but a big part of it is how you train them.

Dogs are smart!

My brother's chocolate lab likes to fight with their cat. Its so funny, because the cat wins and scares the dog off.

[QUOTE=momof2] I guess I need to start with what I have and train him. We only have 1 obedience school and it's 1 hour away and it's at night. I have 4 little children and no way to go at night (or daytime for that matter) without children. Do you think that I could train him without the classes?

Yes you can! Classes are helpful, but if you get some of the books suggested and spend the time, you can train your dog. Also, check your library for video tapes on dog training, ours had quite a few and I think we watched them all.