# Is it too late?



## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

So I thought I hit a gold mine with two Great Pyrenees. They were raised on a farm but these past few months they have been in an apartment. We got them for free. Is it too late to retrain them? So far we have lost an emu and pig to them. We've read and studied just beyond what to do.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

I don't think it's too late. What was your process like introducing them? If the dogs weren't trained around those species and weren't given due acclimation, I'm not totally blaming the dogs. Tethering is a recommended option while you train them.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

How old are they?


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## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

altair said:


> I don't think it's too late. What was your process like introducing them? If the dogs weren't trained around those species and weren't given due acclimation, I'm not totally blaming the dogs. Tethering is a recommended option while you train them.


I agree. I’m an animal lover. I don’t blame them at all. It was lack of decision making on my part as this is new to me. We have sat with them in pens every day for about ten minutes. They are on a leash (tight gripped). Just wasn’t sure if since they’ve been in an apartment is it imbedded in them.


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## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

muleskinner2 said:


> How old are they?


They are three years old.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

TribalAcres said:


> They are three years old.


They are not puppies any more, it is going to be tough to break them of this, and ever be able to trust them. Sometimes a free dog is worth just what you paid for him. Your livestock, your dogs, your call.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

For resources, this is a great LGD Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1828786214072789/


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## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

altair said:


> For resources, this is a great LGD Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1828786214072789/


Thank you! Will do.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

How are the dogs 7 months into it?


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

Kind of curious myself. I never saw this thread when it was posted, maybe I wasn’t even a member yet. 
Anyway, my BIL and his wife got a Great Pyrenees about 10 years ago. A friend of ours lived in the city, in an apartment to boot, and was moving into another place that didn’t allow dogs. My BIL lives about 10 miles from us and raises cattle and has many other farm animals. I dropped the dog off and it worked out great. The dog adapted quickly to the 75 acres they own and it worked out great for them and the dog. 
Fast forward, the dog got sick about 6 months ago and they had to put it down. 
They got another Great Pyrenees about 2 months ago. I don’t know the age, but have had a lot of issues with the dog wandering off. Far off. 
Neither dog ever killed any farm animals though.


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## BBFarmKY (Jan 9, 2021)

Reliability comes from early acclimation. I own GPs and don't fence them and they stay home (mostly). They do wander into a neighboring cornfield a bit but it is short lived; mostly just chase whatever wandered too close further away and then return home. We only live on 16 acres. That training started @ 8 weeks though and consisted of walking the property line twice a day for a few months. I've never lost any livestock to my trained dogs but I did lose some to untrained dogs that my wife just had to provide a happy home for. It has been my experience that once dogs kill and taste blood there is no breaking them of it.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

If the dogs never killed anything, they did a helluva job keeping predators at bay. LGDs, particular GPs, get a bum rap for wandering. Some of it's justified by shoddy breeders and I expect a lot is people going with a puppy 'here you go, go guard' without any manner of training.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

I don’t know if you were replying to my post or BBFarmKY. I don’t know if the dog killed any coyotes or predators or not. I just know it left the cattle, horses, ducks, chickens, ect alone. 
Knowing my BIL, I doubt he spent much time, if any training. My SIL maybe. Th kids are homeschooled, so are home every day and run around the property , so I know the dogs probably got a pretty good feel for the farms boundaries. But getting a dog that isn’t a puppy, and probably minimal training, it probably very well could be a scenario like you’re thinking.


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## Makuck (Nov 16, 2020)

muleskinner2 said:


> They are not puppies any more, it is going to be tough to break them of this, and ever be able to trust them. Sometimes a free dog is worth just what you paid for him. Your livestock, your dogs, your call.


Once they have tasted blood and know how to get it, you need shock collars at the least and a shotgun at the worst, that's just how it is, sucks.


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## Makuck (Nov 16, 2020)

BBFarmKY said:


> Reliability comes from early acclimation. I own GPs and don't fence them and they stay home (mostly). They do wander into a neighboring cornfield a bit but it is short lived; mostly just chase whatever wandered too close further away and then return home. We only live on 16 acres. That training started @ 8 weeks though and consisted of walking the property line twice a day for a few months. I've never lost any livestock to my trained dogs but I did lose some to untrained dogs that my wife just had to provide a happy home for. It has been my experience that once dogs kill and taste blood there is no breaking them of it.


My pyraneese wondered off last night and one got shot through his foot by a .22 round. We left him tied last night after that. A bit upset all our neighbors are dog shooters and have killed my other neighbors dogs. Fences work great to keep livestock in, but it's very hard to keep a large LGD contained.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Makuck said:


> My pyraneese wondered off last night and one got shot through his foot by a .22 round. We left him tied last night after that. A bit upset all our neighbors are dog shooters and have killed my other neighbors dogs. Fences work great to keep livestock in, but it's very hard to keep a large LGD contained.


I am sorry your dog got shot.

I can understand both sides of that issue. One, some guard dogs do wander. Mom currently has a part-time resident guard dog that lives more than 2 miles away. Funny thing is that the owners of the part-time dog are related to the people who owned a dog Mom shot and killed. The part time dog is friendly and does not attack livestock or menace people. The other dog was part of a pack that was in the process of killing rabbits in a mobile pen.

Mom once had a Pyr that she bought when it was older. She didn't know the dog had been abused and could not be retrained. It wandered and often growled at Pop or other men. It was shot by a neighbor and came back to her to die. Mom daid she couldn't really blame whoever shot the dog. It wasn't friendly and was off searching for it's previous home.


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## TribalAcres (Jun 17, 2020)

Hello!

thanks for all the replies.
I’m happy to report. We kept them.
We punished them and have over three hundred animals now and not one has been touched and they free range all our fifty acres. We actually hired a dog trainer that works with LGD’s and kept them locked up for eight weeks while the training was going on. We used shock collars and today we do not use shock collars and they come to the command of our voice. We actually have 4 now. They are amazing and so glad I didnt get rid of them. Yes we lost two animals but since we’ve had them not one chicken or poultry has died or nothing has been touched by a predator. Hope this helps.


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## Robert91 (Apr 24, 2021)

TribalAcres said:


> So I thought I hit a gold mine with two Great Pyrenees. They were raised on a farm but these past few months they have been in an apartment. We got them for free. Is it too late to retrain them? So far we have lost an emu and pig to them. We've read and studied just beyond what to do.


As they are three years old and not be treated as pups. It's good that you have kept them and really good to know the increasing strength of your animals. For more information on pet care you can read the website Pet Pharmacy.


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