# My LGD Choice



## kdalton324 (Jun 20, 2015)

So before I get into it, I know that a lot of you will not agree with me getting a LGD, but I have done the research and I believe that I am making the right decision for my family, my livestock, and my farm. 

We recently had a neighboring dog blow through its underground electric fence and killed several of our egg layer chickens. Well in response to this I will begin by fencing in one acre of our property, continuing into the winter and fencing in the other acre that we own. We currently have chickens, ducks, and rabbits. In the very near future I plan to purchase a breeding pair of sheep and possible a calf to raise out for beef. 

I have done a ton of research on the different breeds of LGDs and have settled on a maremma. I believe that their smaller size and tendency to stay with their charges vs. roaming the boundaries will be a benefit to our small farm. 
Between my mother in law, my wife and I we have a good amount of experience raising animals and training dogs. However none of us has owned a LGD before. I am hoping to get some input from people who has successfully integrated a LDG into your animals with there being no other LGD there to lead the new dog. Also what are some successful ways to bond a LGD to a chicken flock? Finally, I am looking for some maremma owners who might have some input as to good breeders for puppies, or even slightly older dogs who have been working on farms already.


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## wiscto (Nov 24, 2014)

I'll let others give you real advice, but I'm going to ask a question because the answer might help you out as well. Would getting the opposite sex from the neighbor's dog help create a diplomatic outcome if/when the dogs disagree on killing the chickens?


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

That&#8217;s food for thought, Wiscto.

If you get a puppy, socialize the puppy to the chickens. Chicks may be even better. You want to have a good &#8220;leave it&#8221; and never leave the puppy unsupervised with the poultry. As it gets older you can trust it more and more. The chickens should feel comfortable with the dog and vice versa. What you don&#8217;t want is the puppy/dog &#8220;playing&#8221; with the chickens. Guardians don&#8217;t usually have a strong play drive, like shepherds do, so as long as you pay attention the chickens should be safe. You might want to feed the dog with a treat dispensing toy to get out any playfulness on something safe.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Thatâs food for thought, Wiscto.

If you get a puppy, socialize the puppy to the chickens. Chicks may be even better. You want to have a good âleave itâ and never leave the puppy unsupervised with the poultry. As it gets older you can trust it more and more. The chickens should feel comfortable with the dog and vice versa. What you donât want is the puppy/dog âplayingâ with the chickens. Guardians donât usually have a strong play drive, like shepherds do, so as long as you pay attention the chickens should be safe. You might want to feed the dog with a treat dispensing toy to get out any playfulness on something safe.


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## kdalton324 (Jun 20, 2015)

wiscto said:


> I'll let others give you real advice, but I'm going to ask a question because the answer might help you out as well. Would getting the opposite sex from the neighbor's dog help create a diplomatic outcome if/when the dogs disagree on killing the chickens?



Only if the LGD wanted to keep her job.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Kdalton324 are you saying you only have two (2) acres for your livestock and that those will be fenced by the end of the winter? Are you wanting that LGD to live "with" your livestock inside that fence or be a "family" dog too? Will your fencing keep that neighboring dog out? How old is the Maremma you're getting? Do you have other types of dogs?

I've only had one LGD and it is a Karakachan; however, the questions I just asked were an important part of what I needed to know in order to better work with the LGD I chose, i.e. Valentina. 

Since I've not owned a Maremma I can only tell you what I did to successfully integrate my LGD (Bulgarian Karakachan) with the animals (dairy goats and assorted fowl) as well as a grown labradore. Maybe it will help you as many LGDs have similarities.

I got my pup when it was still a baby so my grown lab had strict instructions to tolerate her, which he did reluctantly at first, then later beautifully...until she was grown. LOL I did this by strictly supervising their interactions with each other.

I socialized my pup with both the fowl (chickens, geese & guineas) simply by watching her closely. (I live on 6 acres that is totally fenced and all my animals/fowl free-range 24/7. I can see what is occurring with them most of the time.) I never ...no never... put a leash on my LGD except when taking her to the vet. Thus, everything she learnred was while she was free to roam around the acreage at will. The only thing I actually had a problem with was her eating as she was initially determined to eat what she wanted when she wanted. (Often I was glad she was a baby as disciplining her well during this stage made for a rather smooth adolescence.) 

When disciplining her it was always without anger! It was rarely verbal! And it was very fast/short-lived. I've picked her up by the back of her neck (like her mother would have), then set her back down letting her know by such actions what she was doing was not wanted. And I have turned her on her side at times, though those situations were very, very few. I can only remember two of them, i.e. once when she was determined to eat the eggs she had just found and once when she was given a raw meat/bone. 

All thru her baby months I focused on what I "wanted" her to do and not so much on what I did "not want" her to do. This helped create a positive bond that is now quite obvious. (She is 3 yrs old.) This also let her become a very confident canine while, simultaneously knowing I "could" step in. (When I taught her to let me trim her nails, I did so with a muzzle the first few times. Now I can trim her nails and do whatever needs to be done without the muzzle. She might growl to let me know she doesn't like what I'm doing; yet I know beyond a doubt she will not bite me.)

I know of no way to "bond" any dog with fowl. I have learned thru the years that "all" dogs will respect fowl IF THE OWNER EXPECTS THEM TO DO SO.

Being that my search was heavy on the Karakachan, I do not know of any Maremma owners/breeders.


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## kdalton324 (Jun 20, 2015)

motdaugrnds said:


> Kdalton324 are you saying you only have two (2) acres for your livestock and that those will be fenced by the end of the winter? Are you wanting that LGD to live "with" your livestock inside that fence or be a "family" dog too? Will your fencing keep that neighboring dog out? How old is the Maremma you're getting? Do you have other types of dogs?
> 
> I've only had one LGD and it is a Karakachan; however, the questions I just asked were an important part of what I needed to know in order to better work with the LGD I chose, i.e. Valentina.
> 
> ...



Yes the dog will live with the livestock. I have just over two acres that I will fence in, I don't plan to have a ton of animals, which is a double edged sword. Every animal that I have becomes more valuable because I do not have others to simply replace it. 

The fencing should be enough to keep the dog out. It is 4 foot woven wire with a single strand of barbed wire set at 5 foot. 
We have two small dogs that have their own separate yard to run around it, and my mother in law who lives on our property has two blood hounds. 

I haven't purchased a dog yet or even begun talking with someone about buying them, but I was hoping to find one about a year old or so. Preferably coming from an active farm.


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## LuLuToo (Dec 19, 2015)

If you are on Facebook, there is a Livestock Guardian Dog group there which should be able to help with all your questions.

LuLu


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