Best LGD breed?

[coondog]

Can someone tell me the best LGD breed(if there is one)

Is great Pyrenees the best?

[BlueHeronFarm]

I personally vote for a mixed breed - only because I think purebreds have more problems - health wise and sometimes attitude-wise.

We have a GP, Akbash, Anatolian mix.

I think more people have GPs than other breeds mostly because they are more widely available. ...but they all seem to really like them, too.

[ozark_jewels]

There really is no "best", only a "best" for *your* situation. Do research on all breeds and see which one suits your needs the best.
I personally like Great Pyrs and Great Pyr/Anatolian crosses as they are perfect for my needs.

[coondog]

Which eats the least(or do they all eat the same amount)

[Jim S.]

Which eats the least? The one with the fewest acres to monitor.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by Jim S.

Which eats the least? The one with the fewest acres to monitor.

Yep, the dog who is doing the least work. As far as between breeds, I have never noticed any difference. Pups eat a lot as they are growing, but once LGD's are grown they eat a surprisingly small amount compared to their size.

[Emilea]

I JUST got a gp puppy she is 8 weeks old, and for my needs she is ALREADY doing perfect, my neighbors dog (that runs lose) tried to get into the goat pen and that little thing never in the week that i have had her barked until then and she was actinglike she was full grown!! but I have heard all good things about then except that they bark alot, but my little one only did that one time.

[Jim S.]

Mine's 2-1/2, and she eats a coffee can full of dry food once a day. I feed her in the evenings. She supplements that with rabbits, tho. LOL.

[Emilea]

i have a question too are gp good with chickens and ducks and geese? or will she kill them?

[BlueHeronFarm]

They will usually protect anything you have when they arrive. Our pup is 4 months old now - so she still plays more than she "works" - and yesterday she wrestled our big barred rock for a good 5 minutes - this is the chicken that used to kick her scrawny butt.

We have found that she wants to play with our new ducklings, too - so we have to keep them apart. She means no harm, but at 40 pounds she could accidentally crush one.

[Emilea]

good deal i have alot of polish and would hate for her to hurt them... i thought it might be ok since she is so little.

[yarrow]

for our homestead pyrs were the best choice. Bob Barker is head of security, Lola is chief face licker/butt washer for all the babies. Bob spends a lot of time walking the fencelines. Lola always stays with the does. After the herd is put up for the night, the dogs will lay together, back to back, facing opposite ways listening and watching. Lola assists in all births. Bob LIVES for his daily working wage- fresh warm milk LOL.
here's Bob Barker, laying behind a gate watching me milk

Lola & some of *HER* girls

Lola back as a pup *chatting* with a doeling

Not only are they wonderful with the goats, but I've not lost so much as a single chicken/chick since they came. (every other summer has seen loss after loss in the chicken population, due to fox attacks) The pyrs are great with the turkeys & chickens. Bob enjoys laying and letting the little peepers run across his big 'ol paws LOL. Even the barn cats like them. (cold winter nights will find the cats laying *on guard* with the dogs.
susie, mo ozarks

[Emilea]

AWW how cute!! i have problems with coons getting my chickens so hopefully this little girl will protect them, even though she is so little now, she thinks she is a big dog when it comes to proceting her *heard* I took her out of the fence to feed her cause our babies would trample her and steal her food and she HATED it she cried and scratched at the fence until i let her back in... but she also sleeps right outside the barn... she likes to play with the babies but i think they get mad at her cause she tries to jump on them and chase them... she is more of a working dog than a play dog.. but she does love my little boy already.

[Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians]

With all the hair and wildlife on our property and running through our property, GP and Anatolians simply didn't work well for us, although I did give one a try...he simply could not understand that the hogs that run through the back of our property have been doing this before we got here, and that they never come up near the barns or house...leave them be...he lost a fight with the male hog and I had to put him down. We have always had Rhodesian Ridgebacks, they are not just excellent stock dogs, they are true farm dogs...with their short hair and mindset, they are the perfect dogs for me. Vicki

[Bearfootfarm]

I vote for Maremmas ( Imagine that LOL)



http://hometown.aol.com/bearfootfarmnc/page1.html

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/maremmasheepdog.htm

[CountryGoalie]

Like someone before me said, there is no "best" breed - there is only the best breed to fit your situation. Everyone's setup and needs are different.

I recommend reading Livestock Protection Dogs: Selection, Care and Training by David E. Sims & Orysia Dawydiak. It is an excellent overview and gives little summaries of a wide variety of the breeds out there. They also talk about selecting a temperament within a litter that will be a better guardian according to your needs. Yes, their personality can vary within a litter, just as siblings within a family will vary. Some will be better suited for the life than others.

Above and beyond that, my personal vote is for Kuvasz... but then again, I've grown up with them. Literally (our first was two months when I was three months). I'm prone to be a bit biased.

[Idahoe]

I certainly cannot compare LGD breeds, but I have a GP "puppy", eight months old, who has been super gentle and tolerant with all my birds and goats. One of my geese got in her face and clamped on to her lip painfully (normally, she can't feel them when they nip at her b/c of the fur). She howled and snapped at the goose, took her whole head in her mouth, and SLOBBERED the goose into submission. Not a feather was out of place, but the poor goose was slimed big time.

I chose GP after researching LGD breeds because they seemed to suit my needs and my personality best. I wanted a dog that would guard the whole 20 acres, which she does, and to set up a barage of deep barking if she thought something was sneaking in.

They are also excellent at, er, cleaning up carrion. I have no idea where she is finding this stuff, she must have found a way to get outside the fence and "patrol" the forest service land next to us. I have several skulls, spines and a HUGE cow femur in her bone yard now. There are cattle ranging on the FS land, and likely she found herself a few days worth of hearty eating. I don't like to think about it , but hey, she's doing her job to keep OTHER predators away from those cattle.