# New LGD not staying with sheep & goats



## Micknleb (Jun 1, 2014)

We have about a dozen sheep and goats on about 12 acres. Last week we got an Anatolian, with some Pyr mixed in. He is a 3 year old dog, and has supposedly been an LGD before. (We got him from a large farm with lots of livestock.)

We have kept him in the barn as much as possible with some of the livestock, but it's too hot in the middle of the day, so we let them out into the fenced barnyard. He seems much more interested in us and our pet dogs than the livestock. Whenever he gets a chance, he will climb over the gates (4 ft) and come down toward the house. He has not had much contact with the other dogs, though this morning he climbed over a fence to hang out with Jed, our elderly **** hound. The new dog is not aggressive, in fact he's very mild mannered, maybe too much so. 

Any advice on trying to get him to bond more strongly with the sheep and goats? Is is just a matter of time, or have we been snookered into buying a large farm pet?


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

I am no expert on the subject, but I can tell you my experience. We got a Anatolian/Pyranese cross last year, she was about 4 months old or so. I put her in a 16x16 pen with a young boar who was about her same size. They seemed to bond well, but as soon as she was physically able she started getting out. Then I let her roam witht he rest of the pigs in the fenced pasture. Again she started getting out and then started coming up to the house where our Retriever was. I kinda thought all was lost and she would simply turn into a yard dog. I made a point to tell my wife and kids not to play with her, the only problem I had was with visitors who wanted to pet her. I found she would go down to the pig pasture on her on and as time went buy she went more and more and hung out down there more. Now during the day she will be up around the house some under the trees, but in the evening I find she goes back to the pig pasture. If it were me I would insure no one is showing her attention or playing with her and see what happens. The dog may decide it is more fun to be with the animals than to be with you and the family dog. They look for acceptance into a group, so if you do not accept her into your group the dog should try to get accepted into the livestock group.


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## CAjerseychick (Aug 11, 2013)

Also dont be fooled by the mild manners its what the Pyr, at least, is known for- deceptively calm until they aint.
Mine is all business when he turns On.

Also they are very keen of hearing and can monitor from a vantage point a few acres away. Any disturbance (they read the body language of the stock as well) they are there in a flash- my guy can jump straight up 5 ft from a standstill , but he squeezes under the cattle gates to get to the stock, he hangs out in the house yard during the day and prefers to retire out into the pasture at night (tends to nap with one eye open during the day).

unfortuantly he did his job to well the neighbor asked us to lock him up inside at night :facepalm:


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## Micknleb (Jun 1, 2014)

Maybe DW and I are expecting too much too soon. Mike (our LGD) does seem to be figuring out that his new home is the barnyard and pasture behind. When he gets out and comes to the house, I just lead him back out near the livestock. He always seems happy to go back. When we first got him, I gave him a lot of attention because I wanted him to know that he is supposed to be here. I am trying to cut back on that now--he seems to be bonding with me pretty well. Hearing that your dogs also spend some time around the house makes me think that it's not necessarily bad. The biggest dangers for the animals are at night, and he's with them in the barn/barnyard then. 

Never had an LGD before, so I'm not sure what to expect in terms of behavior or precisely where to draw the line between working dog and pet. On the one hand, I want him to know he's part of this pack, but on the other hand, I don't want another inside dog.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

It&#8217;s possible that he wasn&#8217;t really bonded to the livestock the way one would expect. He seems to be acting more like an all round farm dog. This means he is not going to _prefer_ to be with the sheep and goats, but will protect the property in general. This, in fact, may work out very well for you. It doesn&#8217;t mean he has to become an inside dog. The whole business about keeping him with the livestock and not playing with him really relates more to a puppy who has a great deal to learn.


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## Rectifier (Jun 12, 2011)

We have 6 month old Akbash puppies and they are excessively friendly too. However, they guard the whole area at night and often will be with the sheep when I am at work and my wife is indoors.

However if we go out fencing or walking or even just standing in the pasture, the dogs are always right there - the sheep forgotten! This is annoying but predators rarely strike during the day.

I try my best to ignore them but they really love being with people. They are truly predator guard dogs only, they will follow a truck down the driveway into the yard and attempt to lick strangers as they get out. No barking. I'm fine with this as everyone is friendly for many miles.

The big test will be when they are taken to a pasture a mile away, with some of the sheep next spring at 1 year old. Will they stay and guard or will they end up in the yard guarding the barn? Will one dog be unable to stand being without his brother to guard two separate pastures? 

Only time will tell... hope they grow up and get less silly soon. They certainly eat too much to just be pets - but their presence and night barking has resulted in zero losses of sheep to predators so far. And every night you can hear the coyotes howling less than a mile away.
Good luck with your dogs!


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## PlowGirl (Nov 16, 2005)

A good LGD is an expert in threat assessment. When it looks to you that they're not doing anything at all, it is because there is nothing to do. However, when there's a serious problem you can bet the dogs will be right on it. Success with lgds is evidenced by no livestock losses.


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## Micknleb (Jun 1, 2014)

Thanks for all your responses. They confirmed for me that Mike's behavior is pretty normal for a guard dog. In the last few days, he seems a lot less focused on me. I think he likes to know that I'm around, but when I am, he seems happy to stay in the barn yard. I work long days on Wednesday, leaving the house at 7am and returning at 10pm. Yesterday, my daughter said he climbed the fence and came down here 8 or 10 times. Today, when I'm home and working around the garden, barnyard, periodically, he hasn't climbed the fence once. He seems perfectly contented near the other animals.

We have coyotes close here, too. We can hear them at night, and that's when the biggest danger is. So far, he's staying with the animals at night--though that's because we have kept them all closed up in the barn. I would like to leave the door open at night because I know the sheep like to go out, and maybe we'll be able to do that soon. 

If Mike turns out to be a farm dog rather than a guard dog, that's actually good for us, since our farm is small enough that he won't ever need to be too far from the house and barn. As Plowgirl said, success will be evidenced by no loss of livestock.

Thanks for all your help and advice.


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