LGD Question

[Genevieve M.]

I bought my Pyr, who will turn one next week, and my 3 year old Nubian from the same breeder. My puppy has been with my goat her entire life.

Next week, we are bringing a buck to visit for the first time. Do you think there is a chance that the dog will think the buck is trying to hurt my doe? Is there a problem keeping all three of them in the same pen?

I also have a 6 month old Pyr. She is in time out right now for killing a chicken. I kind of want to put her in with the buck so he can teach her some manners. Is that a really bad idea?

I'm such a worry wart. Any time I'm not home, I lock the goats in the barn to keep them extra safe. I don't think Dh wants a smelly buck in his pretty barn, so I'm really thinking that I need to leave one of the dogs in the pen with the goats.

Maybe I can just stay home for the next 24 days and keep an eye on them myself.

[Goat Servant]

Gen we had to make a similar decision last month. Visiting buck who had not been around a dog in his pen so we took out the dog cause we wanted the bucks full attention on what he was suppose to be doing! Just food for thought

[Bluecreekrog]

I have a lgd question also. As a person that has never seen lgd in use, are they fed with the goats in the field or do they "take a break" and eat at the house or barn?

[Julia]

LGDs are usually fed separately from their livestock, because the stock soon find out dog food is delicious, and then there are problems. How this is done depends on your set up. If the herd comes into the barn for milking or feeding, it's a simple thing to call the dogs out to a separate area to eat.

If the livestock is on pasture, there are clever gates you can build into a small fenced off area that the stock can't figure out, but the dogs can, & so the dogs can eat in peace.

It all depends on what works for you...

[BlueHeronFarm]

We brought in a buck and originally had made him his own pen ---far away from the nice barn (because of the stink factor) - where he would stay with a dry doe. The LGD made rounds to check on them and to come back to the ones in the barn. (We lock ours up at night, too.)

That didn't last long. It was a hassle to bring him water so far away -- they cried out there a lot...and we worried about them being so far away. It MAY be easier for you with two LGDs, but it wasn't practical for us. Plus, he is afraid of the LGD and we didn't want him to be stressed all the time. ...especially since he does not belong to us.

An LGD isn't really a great buddy for a goat - if you don't have a goat to keep with him, that's another reason to consider putting up with the smell for a while. It's stinky but it's not killing us. ...and we still have him for a couple more months!

[momofmany]

I do feed mine in the pen with the goats, BUT I have to only take out what they will clean up immediately and stand over one of them to ensure she can eat in peace (the other has NO problem keeping the goats away from her food.)

I also got a second Pyr because the goats will flock together and leave the dog to be alone. There is a huge difference in my dog now that she has another of her kind.

[Goat Servant]

When we leased a buck we brought our LDG out. Buck was not used to dogs.
As stated earlier, we wanted all buck attention on his job.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

"If the livestock is on pasture, there are clever gates you can build into a small fenced off area that the stock can't figure out, but the dogs can, & so the dogs can eat in peace."

Julia - please expound on this. I am in need of this very thing. Thanks.

[Kshobbit]

I also am need of some clever gates or devices so the dogs can have their dogfood and not have to keep the goats away from it. My goats are pretty clever or at least smarter than me as they have figured out how to get thru every thing I have tried. thanks