They say donkeys are better than gaurd dogs.
I have a blue heeler (australian cattle dog), he's good.

 

Where are you located?

 

I have heard donkeys can be rough on sheep and goats, but that llamas are good protectors as well, and not so rough. I can't testify to this, but you might do some research on it.

 

a great pyrenese, they are the best I have ever seen in my life.they are huge fluffy white dogs that will kill anything that gets in with whatever it is protecting(not people,lol)However they wont let you in the pin,etc. unless their owner is out there with YOU,my bro-in-law has one with his chickens,I have seen how serious they are, but very gentle..does that make sense??. I know someone who has them in with mini. horses, someone has them with game chickens and a lady down the road has 1 with her sheep. I will be purchasing one when I get my new boer babies.
Some people who sale goats on the web also raise and sale these dogs, I noticed the other day when I was looking.

 

We raise mini and mammoth donks. SOme like goats and little critters, and some kill 'em if given a chance. You'd have to find a donk breeder that would guarantee a guard or take back if it didn't work out. Llamas aren't always good. A guy that bought some goats this winter from us bought a llama gelding a few months before and it killed 5 of his goats - kicked them or layed on them.

 

Geese are supposed to be good also. My Sister-In-Law raises Newfoundlands, another good breed of gaurd-dog. The bigger breeds can be awful expensive though. I have shelties besides my cattle dog, they're good herders but I don't use them for gaurd dogs.

 

We also have a Great Pyrenees whom we love

She is a fantastic guard dog, she won't even let a raccoon or possum on our property, let alone the coyotes or stray dogs!

One of our favorite things about her is her gentle nature with our children though. She is soooo very sweet. Even when we have been out of town(have had to do that alot lately w/ fil cancer) she gets soooo excited when we come home and comes RACING to meet us, but stops on a dime in front of the children knowing to be careful with them.

Recently we had a bad storm and she came on the porch whining. This is very unusual for her. She is usually right out in the middle of the yard with lightening flashing around her totally unconcerned. We did have a tornado warning out though. I let her in the house and she went right to our childrens room (we have 6 daughters and they sleep in the same room) She went to each child and sniffed them before coming to lay at my feet. The entire time the storm was raging she got up every 20 minutes or so to "check" the girls

We wouldn't trade our Pyr for ANYTHING! She is fully registered and my dh's ministry owns a fully registered male. We plan on breeding her in Oct. or Nov. and selling puppies in time for Valentines Day.

They are fantastic guard dogs and also great companion dogs!!!!

 

Thanks for all the replies! I am now thinking about a pyr. My brother has one (which is why I was considering a maremma) - but she was from a breeder who bred for show and although she is a sweet dog, I would not want one like her. She is friendly but kind of excitable and scattered. I need to find one from pure working lines, I guess. I live in Western Colorado - 20 miles from the Utah border.

I really appreciate the feedback on donkeys and Llama. I would not have thought about compatability issues with them and the goats. THANKS for the info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I think someone listed Pyr/Anatolian puppies on the Barter Board. This would seem to be a good choice.

 

Make sure whatever breed you buy it is from someone who is doing with the dogs what you will be doing. A ***** locked in the garage with her pups that you will then use out in the goat barn is a poor choice. You want her and her pups in the goat pen, not penned in a stall, looking like she is a goat dog either I have seen both of the above being sold as goat guardians. Also try and find a little older pup, an 8 week old pup has simply not had the social time with mom it needs to learn what he is supposed to do. Yes, some of it is instinct, but the aggressive behavior he may have to your goat kids, would be nipped (literally) in the bud by his mom, and not by your older goats who can ruin a pup for guarding. So you then become the alpha mom who has to teach him not to nip or play or lick to death your kids.

I use Rhodesian Ridgebacks, although we had wonderful results several years back with 2 jenny rescue donkeys. They aren't true guradians in the dog sense of the word, helping with deliveries, keeping the kids pen clean and the kids clean of colostrum poop like the dogs do, but nothing had better ever get into the pen they are in. My two jenny's and the goats ignored each other. I like the Ridgbacks because they aren't just in the goat barn but everywhere, a true farm dog, and being ultra short haired you don't have the problems with the coat like you do with the pyrs etc. Living in the piney woods with all our underbrush their hair would be a nightmare.

Just like goats it just shows that for as many folks who have goats and different breeds doing different things with them, it's the same with their dogs. Vicki

 

I have a Great Pyrenees and she is wonderful. Goats & chickens are all protected. I have a fenced in area and she stays in that, but can get out if necessary. If she does get out, she usually wanders over to the neighbors, but then comes right back.

I only have a few complaints with her. She is protective of her food and growls and barks at goats or chickens interested in her food (but she has never hurt any that got too close).

She has not been able to understand that the rabbits I raise are part of the farm. She kills any that happen to get out.

I'm not sure what she would do if somebody tried to get into the fence. She is skittish of strangers, but does bark.

They are a wonderful & lovable dog though.

 

Like many of the others that have posted, I can't say enough good things about our Great Pyraneese! She is 16 months old and we've had her since she was 8 weeks. Bailey was born in a lamb pen, and came directly home to our lamb pen. We locked her up with our market lambs until she was a little larger, then introduced her to our flock of 20 ewes, 10 goats, and the remainder of the lambs. She is an excellent guard dog, and in addition to the sheep and goats, guards our chickens, cats, and children! (We live at the base of a mountain on 50 acres, and there are bear, cougars, and coyotes around.) She has lead us to lambs with their heads stuck in fences, and shows great concern when any of the critters are crying, including during vaccinations, etc. I have noticed she is a bit posessive, also, with her food, but we have that problem under control by feeding her in the barn by herself. She is a sweet dog, but is not allowed in the yard or house, as we don't want to confuse her about what her job is. She is very happy to do her job, and pretty much ignores our 3 year old Border Collie. We have no problem with strangers, as she isn't aggressive with people like she is predators. She loves people, even strangers, and if I have any complaint about her, it is that she gets excited and jumps on people she doesn't know. This spring was her first experience with lambing, and we didn't know what to expect. She loves the lambs, and licks them and cares for them like the ewes do. The ewes don't seem to mind at all, as they know Bailey well, and trust her. The ewes all follow her. When they trek down to our field below our house, first comes Bailey, followed by all the ewes. She stays with them, sitting on the hill keeping watch while they graze. Wouldn't be without a Great Pyraneese with livestock...they are wonderful dogs!

 

From day one never let a Pyrenees pup jump up on your lap or anything. Don't teach them to shake hands. They must learn to keep all four feet on the ground and they must kknow that they are NOT any sort of lap dog or cuddly pet...they get too big and what is cute when they are little, is not cute when they are huge. My dogs do NOT jump on people. I won't have it. My hubby taught one to shake hands as a pup despite my protests, now when the dog attempts this, it is like a bear trying to paw at you. I have pretty much broke the dog (and hubby) of this habit. It is too overwhelming for a dog like this to try to shake a childs hand. Get a double-coated grooming brush from day one and they will enjoy being occasionally groomed. I live in the HOT HEAT and my dogs do fine, they just borrow into the dirt in great pits to cool themselves or swim in the tank. Mine don't kill cottontails or squirrels which live right in the yard. There is a window if time when they will bond with your stock and if you get a pup too old, you will miss that opportunity. There are many websites on training these dogs...google will get you there. I have seen and heard things about Anatolians which would keep me from owning one. They tend to be a bit more agressive with stock...chicken chasing, cow tail pulling, things like that. That was my first chice of Guardian breed but several neighbors were having problems in that department with their Anatolians being a bit more aggressive than they wanted. They do work well for some though. I needed a more layed back dog because I have grandbabies. I bonded the dog to the little kids in my family while the dogs were pups. I guess i'll give it a rest now!...Diane

 

I want to reiterate and expound a little on what Vicki and Diane said. A lot of dog breeds get a bad rap about their ability to protect livestock and property because someone goes to Petsmart, buys a Pyrenese or Anatolian or Komodor and turns it loose with their chickens - dog kills 20 or 30 chickens in 3-4 minutes and gets labeled as a worthless breed as an LGD. It's just absurd. If you're going to get one of the 10 - 12 breeds recognised as LGDs:
#1 - Do your homework about guardian dogs - not breeds. Thank you Diane for the reference to not trying to train a dog to be a lap/circus dog and expecting it to be an effective LGD! These dogs don't do tricks - they are deadly serious about their mission and function - and it is not to roll over or shake hands...

#2 - when you feel that you AND YOUR FAMILY are fully committed to having and training one of these animals, then decide on two or three breeds that would be well suited for your property and climate. Generally Pyrenese will require more land than, for instance a Komodor; and Anatolians will tolerate more heat - Pyrs more cold - exceptions with individual animals certainly are noted. I emphasized the "and your family" part because I had a similar situation as Diane after we got out Pyr. I caught our 13 year old son trying to teach the dog to shake hands and speak after assuring us that he understood that it was not allowed.

#3 - Find a breeder of registered (or at least registerable) dogs that has at least 3rd or 4th gereration of the genetic line that has been born in a barn with livestock (preferably similar to what you will expect them to guard). The guardian instinct is only as strong as the historic experience of the pedigree of the animal you buy. Buy an Anatolian from a puppy mill or pet store and that is exactly what you will get - a pet that will harrass and/or kill your animals.

It took me almost two years to find someone that had a Pyr that fit my criteria, and I had to drive 350 miles to MAYBE get the right dog - I got lucky and it was worth the wait and travel. I haven't seen signs of any predatory animals (we have coyotes, raccoons, opposoms, deer, fox among others) on any of the property that I've trained him to patrol. If someone that he doesn't know approaches the barnyard, he 'greets' them at the gate with a warning bark and growl, but doesn't go crazy. His greeting so far has worked as no one that he doesn't know has tried to go in unless I'm present LOL. He's about 110 lbs , really cute and cuddly looking, but when he get's that 'this is my space and these are my animals' posture, there's no doubt about whether or not he's serious...

Good luck with your search - there's lot's of breeds and lots of dogs out there to choose from - choose well and you will thank your dog(s) every morning when you count your chickens and you have the same number as the day before....

 

How close are your neighbors? Some LGDs bark a lot more than others, and close neighbors might not appreciate this...the Maremma is as good as Pyrs & Anatolians, but they bark a lot less. Of course, that's a general characteristic and won't always be true. Observe the parents and pups while they are working.

 

We bought our 3 pyrs from these people and they've used their dogs to guard sheep on huge tracts of range in British Columbia. Their dogs are also very good temperamentally which was very important to us as we have kids. They are notorious roamers though and we have a very difficult time keeping them behind fences. We have no predators on our place even though our nearest neighbor constantly sees cougar and bear at her place.
http://www.briarglen.com/

 

Someone has a 6 month old pyr for sale in the goat forum.

 

I noticed this post when searching the internet, and couldn't help registering to submit a reply to it.

I must confess that the Great Pyrenees is a great dog for the job. However, they also require a lot of care and maintenance because of their coat.. they will also attempt to establish control of a very large area unless they are thoroughly fenced in. They are also very independant, and don't make good pets... but wrather perform their duty by instinct (not training). This is both good and bad, because you need your pyr to be obediant so that you can take care of it's coat easily. All these difficulties and positive attributes as well are listed at the AKC website at:

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/breeds/ClubFlierPDFs/GreatPyrenees.pdf

Personally I know of a breed that may be better suited to the job. I would concur with a previous post that mentioned Rhodesian Ridgebacks as a viable option. Rhodesian Ridgebacks were bred in Africa to protect people and livestock from predators. Gaining their fame when they were utilized by lion hunters. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are the only dogs in the world that have been known to bay a lion. They.. like the Pyr have a natural protective instict, but they are also people oriented (like to be around people)...as is the nature of dogs in the hound group. That means less worry about them wondering off to expand their territory. They also have a short sleek coat that requires little or no maintenance, and are remarkably resilient to harsh climates. This is a dog that will enjoy being outside, and not end up with matted coat. They do not become another burden on the back of a person who already has to care for other livestock. If you have more than one, they will work as a team to elude stray dogs or coyotes without getting themselves injured. Surely if they can bay a lion without major injury or death... a coyote or stray would be a simple task.

The AKC document about Rhodesian Ridgebacks is here:

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/breeds/ClubFlierPDFs/RhodesianRidgeback.pdf

I have had some good dealings with a Rhodesian Ridgeback breeder who ships dogs worldwide. He also breeds functional dogs, not "show dogs". You can find him here:

www.pawpatchridges.com

There is information about the breed, and what it is capable of at his website. I recommend you give him a call, and ask what he thinks about your situation. He's an honest guy, and would not sell you a dog that can't do what you want it to do.

I hope this helps.

Joshua S. Day