Near miss.

wintrrwolf · #1 09/07/14, 05:27 PM

Today I took my goats out into the horse pasture with the 2 oak tree's because the leaves and acorns are dropping, also figured a good time for Juna (4 mo old LGD) to get better acquainted with the goats with me supervising. Everything was going well, the goats were getting comfortable with Juna and she was showing an interest in watching the goats, my daughters, grandson and I were all chilling out under the oak tree enjoying the wonderful weather...
Suddenly all the goats ran towards me including Juna though she was barking, I stood up and that's when I saw a pit/chow mix coming full speed and low to the ground after my goats! My daughter said I bellowed and growled at the dog which I don't remember but I charged it and yelled at it to get off my property, it turned tail and ran back through the fence to it's home. I now know where it lives.
Poor Juna is still a puppy and was just as scared as the goats.

farmrbrown · #2 09/07/14, 05:40 PM

Yeah, but you did good, teaching your girl how to handle the situation like a big dog.

handymama · #3 09/07/14, 05:41 PM

I think you just showed Juna how it's done lol

nehimama · #4 09/07/14, 06:02 PM

Good Job!

southerngurl · #5 09/07/14, 08:07 PM

Oh that is scary! So glad it went well. I had a similar experience with a couple greyhounds. They had ZERO response to any yelling etc and had to be physically grabbed to be stopped. My dogs kept them from getting to the goats as soon as they would have and gave me time to get them snatched up. I grabbed the second one as he was biting one of my girls on the thigh. Thankfully she had no serious injuries.

light rain · #6 09/07/14, 08:38 PM

southerngurl, greyhounds or whippets?

southerngurl · #7 09/07/14, 09:52 PM

Greyhounds. They were large and I was amazed at their speed and how big their strides were. Made my rhodesian ridgeback look stubby. The guy raced them. He was exercising them down our dirt road, they would follow his truck. But I guess he stopped for a minute to talk to someone and the dogs went on without him and then they eyed my herd of goats out in the field grazing and veered off to attack them. The perimeter fence is just barbed wire. I let the goats out when we're around to keep an eye on them.

gila_dog · #8 09/08/14, 10:31 PM

Having a good walking stick along when you are out with the goats is a good idea. I've had to use mine several times to discourage aggressive dogs. If that dog had gotten ahold of your dog or one of your goats you could have had serious trouble. And pulling an attacking dog off its prey can be very dangerous. Better to have a weapon handy that you can bash or bayonet with if necessary.

dozedotz · #9 09/09/14, 08:20 AM

Thank goodness you were there!! Poor little pup! Will the owner keep the dog in after this?

TRAILRIDER · #10 09/09/14, 09:54 AM

Oh my! Dogs attacking goats is my worst fear. You can't be there every moment. Its a shame your LGD had a scare. Do you think it will have any effect on her becoming a good protector?

dozedotz · #11 09/09/14, 10:53 AM

Trailrider, since Winterwolf is not here I will give you an answer from some personal experience...No! If anything, the aggressiveness of the predator will make the LGD MORE likely to stand up and be counted when and if another attempt is made when he/she is more mature and of greater size!

TRAILRIDER · #12 09/09/14, 02:56 PM

Thank you. I am a dog person, and a goat person, but not a LGD person. I really don't know "how" they learn, if you get me? I have seriously considered a LGD, and maybe when the day comes that I have enough goats I may do that. Right now I just have 7 that go out in the AM and back in PM.

mrs whodunit · #13 09/09/14, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gila_dog

Having a good walking stick along when you are out with the goats is a good idea.

The type of walking sticks that go boom seem to be the best

gila_dog · #14 09/09/14, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrs whodunit

The type of walking sticks that go boom seem to be the best

That's certainly true. But there all kinds of problems with blowing away a dog. For one thing it's like using a nuclear weapon. It can cause all kinds of unforeseen consequences. And in a lot of places it's illegal to even be armed, let alone actually shoot a gun at something. Where I live it's different. Being armed is acceptable. When I'm out hiking with my pack goats I always have my pistol just in case I run into a crazy bear or rabid coyote or sneaky mountain lion. But I've never had to use it. Wild animals have left me and my boys alone. But other people's dogs are another matter. I've had several "near misses" with dogs. Dogs are a serious threat to goats. But so far my walking stick and my size 12 boot have been all the firepower necessary.

wintrrwolf · #15 09/09/14, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dozedotz

Trailrider, since Winterwolf is not here I will give you an answer from some personal experience...No! If anything, the aggressiveness of the predator will make the LGD MORE likely to stand up and be counted when and if another attempt is made when he/she is more mature and of greater size!

This is good to know I was a bit worried myself. This pup acts like a normal puppy sometimes and then something else at other times.

I don't own a gun, keep thinking of getting one but then again I live just on the inside of the city limits. I AM on the look out for a good walking stick always did have a good swing in softball...

willbuck1 · #16 09/09/14, 07:23 PM

Get piece of pvc pipe. The loud thunk will scare the dog worse than a stick.

thekibblegoddes · #17 09/09/14, 10:02 PM

Bamboo grows here, and I really like it for a walking stick. It's light. You can easily cut it to size. You can put a slight point on one end to poke with, and when swung like a bat it stings like the dickens. As a professional pet sitter, I used mine many times to fend off loose dogs.

Squeaky McMurdo · #18 09/10/14, 01:24 AM

I have a hiking stick with a stun gun on the end. Usually the crackle is enough to make any aggressors back off but I have had to use it on a dog once.

I got it to protect my dog from loose dogs while he was pulling a wagon. I got it from Budk for $50

TRAILRIDER · #19 09/11/14, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squeaky McMurdo

I have a hiking stick with a stun gun on the end. Usually the crackle is enough to make any aggressors back off but I have had to use it on a dog once.

I got it to protect my dog from loose dogs while he was pulling a wagon. I got it from Budk for $50

Too cool! That sounds like a really good thing to have on hand.

So LGDs learn that the on coming aggressive dog is a threat by watching the reaction of his human? And when he's big enough to take on the threat he puts two and two together? I guess that is how he would learn from his mother too.

On a completely different vein....my Aussie used to come to the barn with me when she was a pup. At about 4 months old my White Chinese gander bit her on the rump and ever since she has been afraid of birds. Especially white birds. She won't go outside when my Royal Palm turkeys are on the porch. But then we are talking about a herding breed...not a guard dog breed.

In general do you have to be very careful to keep your pet dogs away from the LGDs area? Would the LGD see the other canine as a threat? Or would he recognize the other dog as a part of the farm family?

dozedotz · #20 09/11/14, 12:27 PM

PERSONAL experience (so, as always, this is NOT meant to cover every situation...just what I've seen)...As a puppy Beau was knocked around so hard by our herd queen that even Bonnie who was 3 when he was 10 weeks ran to his rescue and got between Meg (the herd queen) and Beau. He grew up to RESPECT Meg and the other goats and never has bitten any of them....he has growled at the bucks (he is their LGD) when they get too friendly with him during rut (they turn his white coat to brown with the spraying, try to mount him, moan and carry on and don't let him sleep during the day. It is obnoxious, but hilarious, too...he NEVER does more than growl or get up and move). On the other hand, the varmint dogs that live with us and keep the OUTSIDE area of the goat enclosures (several acres of heavy woods) patrolled for "varmints" were very aggressive toward him when he was a baby...they acted as if he was the "varmint." Dottie probably nipped him two or three times. Now Beau is a three year old and if the varmint dogs come near his "territory" they are met with a snarling, hair standing on end, no nonsense guard dog. When the "varmint" dogs go near Bonnie's and the girls' area...especially close to the fence she will come out to meet them and get between them and the goats...sometimes she will even wag her tail or sniff noses with them...sometimes she growls...but she never is as aggressive as Beau. I BELIEVE that is because she was an adult when she came here and nobody messed with her and Beau was a puppy who was messed with by aggressive "predators." The varmint dogs are a motely collection of mostly drop offs who have all been neutered, have all their shots, cannot leave our acreage due to outside perimeter fencing (for those of you who are about to go ballistic) and keep the coons out of the bird feeders, the armadillos out of the garden, the rabbit and squirrel population manageable. Yes, we believe in dogs...sorry if you don't. They also warn us of approaching humans and have never bitten anyone (why do I feel I have to cover all the bases????). The LGD's guard the goats from any animal that we think might be an animal that would chase or attack a goat...the "varmint' dogs do the rest.
Just the way we do it...did not mean to suggest that it is the ONLY way or that YOUR LGD will react the same way 100%...but I suspect it will.