# LGD and children



## SAHM (Mar 8, 2005)

We have a fully fenced 5 acre place, and within that 5 acres it is cross fenced multiple times, two larger pastures, three smaller areas, a barnyard and two paddocks. Lots of fence. 

We have goats, chickens, turkeys, geese, older dog, cats and soon cows. More importantly I have four young children ages 1,3,6,8 and they have friends that will come to visit as well

so while I need to keep the coyotes at bay- I need to also know my children are safe

and our goats are dairy goats, so they are handled daily, so we will need to be in close proximity to the dogs 

I understand that I dont really train a LGD per say, like I would train my agility dog, but rather they will stay with teh stock - and I like that

I am reading about the multiple kinds of LGDs and at the same time reading about general farm dogs too- 

I am looking at getting a pair of LGD ... or maybe a pair of farm dogs... or maybe a pair that would work together one LGD and one farm general good ole dog

I want the dogs to live outside with the stock
my husband is in the navy and does deploy for long periods of time, so I also like the idea of a farm dog that was just sort of where the action was, and then a LGD that stayed with the stock, and they worked together maybe? Would they do that if I got them both as pups?

I am looking at the English Shepards and the maremmas-- but still really looking-- there are so many breeds to consider

first question-- what does it cost to keep the maremmas? I was reading that some breeds of LGD have lower metabolism and don't really eat as much as one would think since they spend most of their time- watching and waiting, not patrolling or hunting, etc-- but I know different breeds protect in different manners, right?

what do you feed yours, and how much of it ? I would love to hear what you have and what you feed

when working with a pair- could I train a ES and a M together and they would get along and work together? Or are maremmas just going to want to work with another LGD?

The other idea was I could just get a pair of farm dogs- two english shepards, or two mixed breeds- just two farm dogs- and train them as I would train a LGD - they would still be around us as a family and maybe not as effective as LGD, but maybe they would be enough??

We have a 13 year old mixed breed wonderful dog Vanity, she is great, but she slept through the coyotes taking half my flock in the middle of the day

also with maremmas-- when a stranger comes onto the place-- how do they assess what they will do? Kids that just bolt out to play with the cute baby goats? What would the knee jerk reaction of a LGD be?

and.... locating a LGD- I am in WA, if you have a breeder or a farm you would recommend, I would love to hear about it

and... puppy training, so I am reading that they will not really be guarding for a few years yet, what are your favorite sites for training LGD? I have been researching a lot, and think I have the general idea
I am familiar with working dogs, but like said often LGD are not like training other dogs where you are training them to listen to you- so I apprecaite your time answering the questions and will keep reading all the great posts here- thank you!



I think the thing is do I want a dog that is really great at doing ONE thing- or do I want a dog that is kind of okay at doing a bunch of things? I think I am leaning to the LGD that is really great at one thing... as long as it is safe with my kids to do what they will do 

okay- I will stop babbling here now


----------



## Chaty (Apr 4, 2008)

I have 4 LGD's and they are GP/Anarolian. I love mine and they know their job. It is to protect. @ will watch the skys and keep critters away from the chickens and the other 2 watch the goats. When the goats go out there is at least 2 with them and sometimes 3. No they dont eat as much as som think. A fat dog is a lazy dog. Mine are socialized as I wont have a dog I cant touch. Mine would watch over my grandkids and are friendly to a point. If they feel I am threatened they are on guard and they wont even let a stray dog or cat stay here.
It basically depends on your area and how much land you have as mine do sometimes patrol the neighbors place also. My neighbor likes my dogs as 1 of them was there one nite and saved a calf for him as it was snowing and momma cow was delivering and my dog stayed and kept it warm. He would of probably lost the calf to freezing but my Mia did her job. I have 2 males and 2 females, dont breed anymore so nuetered the males. I have pups all over the 4 states and have had calls for pups again.You do need to train them to a point and they do need a job as when they dont have 1 they can get into trouble. Mine are fearless and will take on wild hogs and coyotes. I love mine and they have protected my stock with no problems. Good luck with your choice.


----------



## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

I have a couple lgds Pyr/Anatolian and they do great with kids and visitors besides being amazing lgds. Socialize extensively especially when they are young. I recommend obedience training too. As far as the ES and lgd working together, they are different types of dogs. The ES has a much higher prey drive and could very well encourage the lgd to start unwanted behaviors like roughing up the livestock, or chasing.


----------



## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

Maremma's, they protect my grandkids when they come over and watch them too just like the flock.


----------



## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

LGDs do not attack children. They would die for your children. They protect them. That is just how the breeds operate. Since you have children, I would get a softer breed like pyr, maremma, or anatolian rather than the harder, more exotic ones. That would make your more comfortable.

But none of them would attack your children. They aren't like that at all. They protect what belongs to them, they never attack it.


----------



## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

My Pyrs came from a breeder in British Columbia and their dogs have excellent temperaments. If you want the name, pm me. The dogs have been incredible with my kids. If the girls went separate ways on the property, the dogs would split up and one would go with each girl as if by prearranged signal. The Pyr I have now, Guinness is truly the kindest and best dog I've ever known. He's the only dog I trust implicitly with child or animal, and I've had a lot of good dogs.


----------



## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

LGDs are generally very benevolent with children, especially "Their" children. I have an Akbash dog, Whaley, whom I acquired at 3 years of age. He had been around children in his former home, but I don't have any, so in the 5 years I've had him he hasn't really been exposed to children. We had a get-together the other night and a friend brought their toddler son. Whaley was WONDERFUL with him. The child walked over, fell on, poked, prodded, and pulled at him, and he just laid there and took all of it with no hint of resentment. He could have gotten up and walked away at any time, but seemed to actually enjoy the attention. I think it is hard-wired with these dogs.

You are correct about LGDs requiring less food. My 130 lb. Akbash eats two cups of premium kibble a day (whereas my 70 lb. German Shepherd eats 3 cups). He is in good lean condition, not skinny.

LGDs and farm dogs can work together, but if you have a herding breed, they may take offense at the dog if it tries to herd "their" livestock. But if raised together, many LGDs seem to understand that the herding dog won't harm their stock, and indeed may allow themselves to be herded along with the stock.

It works best if you get opposite-sex dogs, one male and one female, to minimize fighting. LGDs are notoriously food-aggressive, so they should always be fed separately from other animals. But aside from food, there is rarely much for a herding dog and a guarding dog to fight over. For example, my German Shepherd, Luka, is a ball nut. She would die for her ball. Whaley, the Akbash, could not care less about a ball, so there's no competition there. Luka wants to be with me, wherever I am, 24/7. Whaley wants to be out with the stock and though he loves people, he doesn't need to follow me everywhere I go. So there's no competition over my attention. The two dogs just want totally different things out of life, so they get along great and even romp together occasionally.

It works out great for us having the LGD and the "farm dog" here. Luka is my house dog, my farm dog, and gets to go places with us. I feel safe with her around. Whaley is the outside dog, the perimeter guardian, always stays on the property to watch over things. Nothing and no one gets near the property without him letting us know. At the same time, he is wonderful with any person or animal I introduce to him from the outside.


----------



## lexa (Mar 30, 2012)

If you want to have general farm dogs or farm dog LGD pair, I would get one at the time instead of two pups together. If puppies are brought up together they pay more attention to each other then their humans.


----------

