# LGD runs away often



## CarrieEmma (Sep 30, 2021)

Hi all, thank you for accepting me into your forum.
I have a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees as my goat guardian.
1st is this an okay combination?
2nd - She is just over 1 year old and when I let her out the door or out of the pen she bolts away. 
My fiance wants to use a shock collar as she starts running and when she returns, but that confuses me that I would shock/reprimand her for returning home. He has tried it and she just keeps running faster away if shocked when she starts to run.

Thank you all in advance for your time and advice.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Many shock collars have an audio tone that can be used rather than the shock.
In a controlled area without means of escape, you can start training your dog to respond to the audio tone while also using rewards. But just hitting a button everytime they are on a mad dash away from you will teach them nothing.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

CarrieEmma said:


> Hi all, thank you for accepting me into your forum.
> I have a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees as my goat guardian.
> 1st is this an okay combination?
> 2nd - She is just over 1 year old and when I let her out the door or out of the pen she bolts away.
> ...


I’ve never dealt with a Lgd but at a year old it’s going to be difficult to break yours from running off.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

St. Bernards are not livestock guardian breeds so there's an instant cringe.

How long have you had her? What sort of fencing do you have to keep her in? Acreage?


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## 101pigs (Sep 18, 2018)

CarrieEmma said:


> Hi all, thank you for accepting me into your forum.
> I have a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees as my goat guardian.
> 1st is this an okay combination?
> 2nd - She is just over 1 year old and when I let her out the door or out of the pen she bolts away.
> ...


I train my stock Dogs from Pups. I don't use collars on them and sure would not shock them. That shock would not be very good. I hve 6 guard Dogs and they all work good together and never leave my property which all fenced in. They all have their own Dog houses outside. The Stock Dogs live with my animals. 
The two that live by my house protect my house area and hve their own Dog houses.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Not a good candidate for a livestock guardian dog.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

Not a LGD, although I am sure she is super cute. The other issue I noticed is you said "when I open the door"...is she with your livestock or in the house? If she's a combo housedog/supposed to be livestock guardian, she has never bonded with your livestock. My LGD were born in the pasture with goats, raised with goats, and never left their goats.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

If she is not spayed then you should do this. She will lose a lot of the need and desire to wander.

Never punish a dog for an act that has happened in the past. The dog has no connection to running away and the shock punishment when returning. You are absolutely right and your fiancé is absolutely wrong. Shocking her when she returns means she will not return. An audio sound is better than a shock. 

Herding dogs need to learn their territory and then they will patrol and protect it. You may need an electric fence.

Combinations of breeds can work very well. It really depends on what characteristics each dog gets from each breed. Our friend has goats and one of his dogs is a cross between a pit bull and an Australian shepherd and he is the best guard dog. Loves the goats, sleeps with them and always has his nose in the mother's business making sure the kids are okay. He is the real nanny.


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## sharkerbaby (Jan 15, 2016)

Without going into the validity of the training strategy... Using punishment (shock) for both the objectionable behavior (running off) and the desired behavior (returning home) is absolutely illogical and will only succeed in thoroughly confusing your dog.

Let's put this concept into human terms... Let's say your fiance loves to go fishing and typically fishes at Lake Deep Blue Sea off Pier Lovely. One day he decides to fish off of Pier Opposite Bank, he casts his first line and someone comes up and smacks him upside the head because that pier happens to be private property. Yikes, ok shouldn't do that, so the next day he goes back to Pier Lovely when someone comes up and again smacks him upside the head. They did this why??? Because yesterday he ran off and today he came back?


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

CarrieEmma said:


> Hi all, thank you for accepting me into your forum.
> I have a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees as my goat guardian.
> 1st is this an okay combination?
> 2nd - She is just over 1 year old and when I let her out the door or out of the pen she bolts away.
> ...


I really hope your fiance is better at training women than he is dogs!


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## CarrieEmma (Sep 30, 2021)

I sincerely appreciate you all! It was below-zero winter when I got Emma so I didn't think I could leave her out there 5 months old. I did acclimate her to the goats as much as I could, but I guess she *is *more of a pet. When I put her in the goat pen now, she chases them playfully and I'm afraid to leave her in there as she might hurt them on accident by mouthing their legs. 
I've had her 10 months. We have 5 acres not fenced. The goats have a pen about half an acre. I had a much smaller pen when I started which the larger pen surrounds, and is where we keep all the dogs during the day (bulldog, shepherd). When I open any door she runs house, goat pen, dog run. I'm training her to sit before she runs out hoping that's a good start.

SHARKER BABY that's a great analogy

HIDDENSPRINGS and 101PIGS what breed of guard dogs do you have?


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

Because your dog is half non livestock guardian, there's a good chance she may never behave like one so don't hold that against her. Proper research is key before committing to a large, intelligent animal.

You're going to need a fence for your dog to keep her on your property, LGD or not. Dogs have no concept of hard boundary lines- that's a human concept- so launch up a good fence, hotwire might be needed.

It's okay that you had her in the house, it keeps her flexible. Her 1/2 pet breed St. Bernard could be working against her, so again, don't begrudge her poor mix.

What sort of acclimation have you done with her and the goats? Tossing a dog in with livestock (prey animals) and thinking she'll know what to do isn't setting her up to succeed. You should have her with you on a lead when you're outside and doing chores for automatic correction on what she should and shouldn't be doing with your animals. When you aren't there, she can be tethered with the goats so they can get away in peace and she can still be with them.

Since she has no other dogs to learn from and comes from a dubious mix of genetics, you and your husband need to step up and train her to at least be a decent dog (manners, basic obedience) and maybe, maybe, maybe she'll have some LGD traits you can use.

Definitely spay.


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## rbelfield (Mar 30, 2015)

i raise great pyrenees, for pets and for LGD. but generally, its either, or..most dogs wont bond with your herd if you keep them as house pets. great pryrenees are notorious for roaming. you will absolutely need a fence. these dogs also learn much easier with positive training, rather than negative. they will hold a grudge if they feel they have been treated unfairly. if shes over a year old and been playing with the goats already, i would not consider her a candidate for a LGD. she wont be trustworthy. possibly because of her mixed lines, possibly because of no early training. i wouldnt risk my goats. build a fence and have a big fluffy white pet!


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