# Questions: Great Pyrenees Anatolian Shepherd mix



## jassar

We will be moving to our new property this year, just under 13 acres. 

So, we have been having the "dog" discussion and are thinking about 2 great pyrenees anatolian shepherd mix pups to raise together. 

Their purpose, other than being part of our family, will be to guard chickens to start, and later goats; and at least get along with our family cats and bunnies.

We also thought to add a third dog, that would be more of a companion and would sleep inside with us.

Now the questions:


Is our property large enough for 2 of these dogs?
I have read that Great Pyr bark a lot at night, if our closest neighbor is 4 acres away, would they be bothered? 
Should we let our LGD come in the house now and then, to be more a part of the family
Do the Great Pyr / Anatolian shepard mixes bark as much as a pure GP?

We of course will have to find a breeder and a good trainer to help us learn to raise them properly..... anyone know of one in N. Idaho?

Also, if anything in our "plan" sounds unwise, please let me know. We are going to need a lot of advice and welcome your input.

We are also interested in any suggestion for other breeds that may be a good match for our property size and chickens and goats.

Thanks and Happy New Year!
Janna


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## 65284

1. No

2. Yes

3. No 

4. Probably


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## Lisa in WA

My GPs are on a much larger acreage surrounded by National Forest so I really don't know about your space concerns other than it sounds a bit small and your neighbor probably will hear the barking. 

There IS a breeder here and she is actually on HT: CopperPennyKids. Here is her website: http://www.copper-penny-ranch.com/ 

Very nice lady.

We have had no problems allowing our GPs to come in now and then to be with the family but they mostly don't want to.


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## jassar

We are backed by national forest, but to each side of us the closest neighbor is about 4-5 acres away. Across the road is all farm land. 

I do not want to be a bother our new neighbors, so maybe another breed dog..... any suggestions ? :cute:


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## Lisa in WA

jassar said:


> We are backed by national forest, but to each side of us the closest neighbor is about 4-5 acres away. Across the road is all farm land.
> 
> I do not want to be a bother our new neighbors, so maybe another breed dog..... any suggestions ? :cute:


do your neighbors have livestock? What do they use to protect it?


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## jassar

Across the road, they do have a lot of livestock. I will have to make a point of finding out what they use for protection once we get moved.

On either side of us, there are chickens and goats...not sure of anything else. Lots of wild critters though..... moose, elk, deer, large cat, coyote(at least I think that was what it was) and I am told bear(though I have not see for myself). 

I suppose I should find out what dogs, if any they have.... maybe they will all be barking together.


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## Lisa in WA

you could just plan to use electric fence and a hen house and barn and bring your chickens and goats in at night safely locked up till you live there and see what's what.


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## jassar

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> do your neighbors have livestock? What do they use to protect it?





LisaInN.Idaho said:


> you could just plan to use electric fence and a hen house and barn and bring your chickens and goats in at night safely locked up till you live there and see what's what.


That's a good idea. Which brings me back to the fence thing.... LOL
Time for another thread on fences


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## JasoninMN

I would not start with two puppies to guard chickens or you will probably end up with dead chickens. Wait till you at least get the goats if you want them to be LGD's. Do you need then on 10 acres? Probably not.


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## CAjerseychick

We have that mix, he is a beautiful dog and a great family dog as well.... We have neighbors 1 acre away-- we leave him out til around 9pm (we let him have his bark time, maybe once or twice is all he does before then) and then we lock him inside --- I am a restless sleeper so I usu let him out around 3am to do a quick patrol and then lock him back in til around 7am or so... It works for us - we have chickens, goats, cats and 2 other dogs that are house dogs, but if he barks out they go to help him...(one of them killed some chickens during the first 6months , he has killed 3 but nothing in the past month-- its training and adjustment for a young dog, completely doable)... so that is how we have worked it....
Its a very smart mix though they are brillant, and independent...

A good resource in starting out with a LGD pups training is below--

and it does NOT say Handsoff (that is a myth)--

http://www.lgdnevada.com/Puppy__Training_.html

good luck! Its workable if you are willing to put the effort in ....


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## Tango

10 acres is okay for an lgd, especially at night in an area prone to coyotes or feral dog packs, unless you can watch the goats all day and lock them up at night. don't think you need two lgd's though and i wholeheartedly agree with waiting until the goats are there. 

the breeder i got my reg. boer stock from had one lgd per section and the sections weren't more than one acre each. there was heavy predation in her area so it made sense in her situation. GP's bark is not all that annoying. It's not like they yap all night long. They just let out one or two barks every so often. It is easy to get used to and unless you have a neighbor that is ill or very sensitive, a GP shouldn't bother country folk. But as others have said wait and check out what your neighbors are using. and 2 pups to start with, is not a good idea, like jason said. they'll get into sporting with your chickens.


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## Maura

I think you should start with an all around family dog. A collie type (English shepherd, rough collie, bearded collie) or other dog that is a family companion. You could also go with something like a Dobermann if you want protection. You need a dog that will stay on the property, but be a pet. Any dog you get will need training. Your dog should know sit, down, stay, heel, give, and leave it. When you add critters, you train your dog to 'leave it'. The dog will still guard the property.

If you want a dog that is bonded to the goats, then the dog needs to be with the goats as a puppy. Either get a dog/puppy that was raised on a farm with goats, or get a puppy young enough to bond with them. You'll have one dog that stays outside at night with the goats, and one that comes inside at night with your family.


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## purplequeenvt

*1.* Yes, you can easily have 2 LGDs on your acreage. They work really well in M/F pairs. 

*2.* Pyrs do bark, but they have a deep voice that isn't as annoying as a smaller dog's bark. Whether or not it will bother your neighbor....that depends on your neighbor. We have a some pretty fussy neighbors who don't like our farm being next door (they are much closer than 4 acres away) and they haven't mentioned my two Pyrs barking.

*3.* YES! LGDs on small farms need to be raised differently than LGDs on big ranches with thousands of sheep. You need to be able to move the dog around and handle him without stressing the dog. My Pyrs come in the house for visits all the time. They adore getting groomed (unlike the Border Collies who run and hide when the brush comes out). 

Our farm sees a lot of visitors and I need my dogs to be good with people, so they have been socialized both on and off the farm. My female Pyr went to the fair last summer to do some education on LGDs. She spent most of the day sleeping in one of the sheep pens surrounded by her sheep (and human) friends.

*4.* No idea. It probably depends on the dog.

Good fences are key. LGDs will wander given the chance. We have some permanent field fencing, but most of the time our sheep are in portable fence. We use anywhere from 3 to 5 strands of poly-wire, t-posts in the corners, and step-in plastic posts in between. This fencing kept my female Pyr in and she is an escape artist.


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## Rob30

Our experience is that each dog is different. We have a male that would be happy on 1 acre as long as the sheep stay there. The female roams a little more, but only for a few acres.
Our neighbours are about 1/4 mile away, and they can hear the dogs some times. They have not complained, but it really would not matter to me anyway. The dogs have a job here. We are surrounded by a huge provincial park with a protected pack of wolves. We see them at least monthly. Last week I witnessed the dogs chase a wolf off. They chased his for about 1/2 mile. By the time I found them they were heading home. 
If the dog bonds to your family, then they will not bond with your livestock as well. The goats will not lavish them with affection. So naturally the dogs will want to be with you. If they are in the house, they are not protecting the livestock. Coyotes and foxes are sneaky. The dogs need to be close to the livestock so they know when something is wrong. The bonding takes a while and the dogs will not be the best at their job until they are at least 2 years old. This is a very hard process because the pups are cute and it is hard not to pick them up. We found the best way for us is to let the mother train the pups out on pasture, during the summer when we are not as likely to go out and spend time with them. During the winter the pups end up in the barn playing with the kids, instead of learning to guard his flock. 
If you really want good livestock guardians it may be best to start with mature dogs. This is good practice because not every pup grows up to be a good stock guard.


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## PlowGirl

I have Ana/Pyrs. They don't seem to bark that much. When they do, it's serious. I'm in a pretty heavily populated coyote area. What I've observed is that just because I can hear the coyotes, does not mean they are an issue, and the dogs will just lay around basically ignoring the yips. When it is an issue, they take off without a sound to check out the issue. No sense warning the coyotes in advance. 
Also, when the dogs were younger, when they felt the need to check out a coyote visitation, not all of them left. At least 2 would head back to the barn with the goats. I don't know how they divvied up the responsibilities, but it was never the same dogs confronting a challenge, or staying with the herd.


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