# Getting a LGD for first time



## Sunnydaze123 (Mar 25, 2015)

*I am getting a LGD this weekend - female, Anotolian Shepherd/Great Py mix - rescue, about 1.5 yrs old. Lady who fostered her said she was out with her horses, goats, chickens, etc and no issues. We have horses, goats, chickens, ducks and a barn cat - she will chase the cat but Mandy is very saavy and not worried on that.
We have recently lost 7 adult ducks and 12 babies to coyotes here - this dog has not been "trained" to be LGD but what I read, the breed(s) have that instinct in them.
I would love some feedback on how to introduce her to our farm animals - she comes to me this Saturday. She is sweet natured and friendly - is food aggressive, but she won't be with our other 5 dogs here. 
Any information on how to make this a successful transition would be most helpful! :lonergr:*


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

Your taking a big gamble here that this will work. What does being out with horses, goats and chickens mean? Has she been living with them 24/7 or simply seen them on the farm and was okay under supervision? There is a huge difference between the two. You then say that she has not been trained as a LGD so I am going to assum she is not bonded to stock or living with it. LGDs need to bond with the stock they are going to protect as a puppy. She may have the instincts in her, but if she is bonded to humans that is her flock and she will not want to stay with the animals if she has been living as a pet. If your going to take on this dog I would start as if its a puppy, put her in a kennel in the area were the stock lives so they cannot come in direct contact but can get to know each other. Walk her around the stock on a long lead around the perimeter a few times a day. After a few weeks let her loose under supervision and see how she does and build up her time spent with them off leash till you think she is trust worthy and cross your fingers.


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

We are missing a lot of information to be honest, but based on what you have posted. My opinion is so far it sounds like a bad idea. I too am not sure what "Being around these animals" and "Not trained" really means, these are contradictory statements. You also say you have 5 other dogs? but have a coyote problem? Then you mention she is food aggressive, but say it will not be a problem with your other dogs? not sure what that means? 

In all honesty here is what I am hearing, when you tel me you are taking in a rescue as your first LGD. I have a problem with coyotes and instead of spending the money to get a well trained dog from a reputable LGD breeder I am going to take a rescue dog with some issues and no training and hope I can make it all work out. Sorry, I am not trying to be mean, but I agree with the previous poster, you are taking a risk. I know people are sometimes short on money and I know people like to think they are rescuing something, but from what little info you have posted. I think it is a bad idea.

Please be aware also, many LGD's are discarded because new LGD owners did not know how to train them and allowed them to pick up some bad habits and it is highly unlikely someone new to LGD's will be able to train them out of the bad habits. I would compare it to someone having never raised a teenager deciding the first teenager they are going to attempt to raise will be one from a juvenile facility with a drug problem.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Sunnydaze123, I must agree with the other posters. From what you've said, you really don't understand what it means to be an LGD, i.e. what it needs. Maybe I am wrong; and it would help to correct any assumptions if you gave a little more information.

1. "out with horses, goats, chickens, etc. and no issues" .. Was this dog off leash? Was this dog with these animals/fowl ALL the time?

2. "not been 'trained' to be LGD" .. What do you actually know about the time she had with her parents? 

3. "food aggressive, but won't be with our other 5 dogs" .. What makes you think this aggression will not show up with your other dogs?

A successful transition? If I were in your shoes, I would do what one poster suggested, i.e. starting her in a protected area inside your barn with the animals she needs to bond to, taking her out on a long leash VERY OFTEN to both get acquainted with your place as well as to "socialize" with your other dogs.

I think you just may have your hands full; and I suspect it will take a lot to get this new dog to fit the way an LGD would had its first year and half been not been thwarted.


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## DaniR1968 (May 24, 2008)

Sunny will not be coming back. You successfully ran off someone who came to you for help. Instead, you were demeaning and made her feel like an idiot. 

Maybe instead of jumping on her and telling her how bad the idea was, you actually provided some help to try to make this work or explained in a less demeaning manner why it won't work. 

While it doesn't always work to take a grown LGD with no training and turn it into a LGD, there have been a lot of stories of it working out. My own LGD is more bonded to the family than animals but nothing (other than hawks) comes inside the fence because she still does her job and keeps what doesn't belong, out. 


I'm the one that sent her to this group and told her what a great group this is and how she could get lots of good advice. How stupid do I feel? I will not be recommending this website to anyone again. It used to be a friendly place to come for advice.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I am sad that the responses were not well received. It was not my intention to upset her in any way; and my read on the other posts was that we were all simply trying to get more information so we could offer suggestions that might best meet her needs for that dog as well as let her know what she might need to be concerned about. Also, in re-reading the responses, I find there were a few suggestions given despite the lack of information we had.


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

Dani, Sorry you feel that way. I certainly did not mean anything I said to be demeaning. She ask for our opinion and we gave it. I know I have read many post from the others who posted above and know they are not in the habit of demeaning others and I do not see anything demeaning in their post. We gave the most accurate information we could based on the limited information presented.

I do apologize to the OP if you were offended by my post, it was not meant to be offensive, but I will not lie to you and tell you I think it is a good idea, when I do not. I would have offered the same advice to my best friend if they offered up the same scenario.

I will say I am a bit confused by your post as you say you sent her here for advice, but then say you have a well trained LGD. Since you know her, seems you could have helped her to begin with.


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

DaniR1968 said:


> Sunny will not be coming back. You successfully ran off someone who came to you for help. Instead, you were demeaning and made her feel like an idiot.
> 
> Maybe instead of jumping on her and telling her how bad the idea was, you actually provided some help to try to make this work or explained in a less demeaning manner why it won't work.
> 
> ...


Jumped on? Give me a break, they asked for advice and they got it. Just because it wasn't the answer they wanted does not mean they were demeaned. This used to be an active board with new posts each day. Now sometimes it goes a week or so with out a new post. Hmmm maybe thats because all the people who used to post regularly got tired of the people who are not mature enough to handle an answer they didn't want to hear.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

I read all of the responses, and had it been me asking the original questions, I would have appreciated the advice given. I saw nothing demeaning in any response, only information that I would have been glad to have in that situation. 

I'm sorry the OP didn't feel like he/she got help, I think they got a lot of good information. Hope it all works out with the new dog and the existing 5.


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## use2bwilson (Jul 3, 2014)

I think that it is great that you adopted a rescued LDG. Many of these rescue groups are very knowledgeable of the breeds and know how to assess guarding skills. If a dog had the skills they will place the dog with the right working home.

I too have adopted an adult LGD from a rescue and I highly recommend it!! Our dog is an absolute gem and has been living and guarding our goats and chickens now for 4 years. He is a total sweet heart with people yet very devoted and dedicated to keeping his goats and chickens safe. He is an akbash and about 9 years old now. He originally ended up in a high-kill shelter in Wyoming. We assume he was off of a large working ranch and as a young un-neutered male, strayed too far from the herd and was picked up by animal control. He was rescued from the shelter by a rescue group and was adopted by a vet and lived with his new family for a number of years. Although you would think a vet would make a wonderful devoted owner, for some reason they allowed their dog to roam the streets for days at a time and then eventually surrendered the dog back to the rescue group.
Although our akbash did not have a typical upbringing or typical guarding experiences, he has been a wonderful LGD for us. He is a beautiful magnificent dog with thousands of years of guarding experience hard wired in his brain. That becomes very clear any time a coyote appears in the distance. We live on 20 acres with very high predator activity and we have not lost a single chicken or goat in the years we have had him. He provides us the peace of mind that our goats and chicken are safe and able to free range safely. Before our akbash arrived, we lost over a half dozen of chickens to fox or coyotes.
He has worked out so well that we have adopted a second female akbash from the same group.
Our rescue group recommends that you set up a temporary pen near the animals and allow your new LGD to settle in and watch the routine of their new surroundings. Although most LGD will not show the stress they are under during a transition, a new home is a big change and it is best to give them a safe quiet spot to settle in for a few weeks. Obviously, you should monitor initial interactions between your new dog and the animals but, in my opinion, it is pretty obvious if a dog is interested in chasing (or killing) a chicken or goat within the first moments of meeting. This does not mean you should not continue to monitor and be responsible and involved in the interactions in the first few weeks. 
There are lots of working LGD that find their way to shelters and can become wonderful guardians with a little time and monitoring.
I hope your new gal settles in and is a great guardian for you.


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## wiscto (Nov 24, 2014)

Couple of observations, particularly for Dani and Sunny. I think people were really just looking for clarification. I don't think that you should infer too much about their tone or feelings about you. 

I have a couple of thoughts that might help, in case Dani can talk Sunny into returning.

1. I think what Sunny meant is that the Pyr is food aggressive, but will not be around the other dogs, so this could be a non-issue except that Sunny herself could be in harms way?

2. Sunny, you put "trained" in quotations, which suggests to me that you feel the dog hasn't been formally trained but has shown some aptitude for that role? I think you might have the dog at this point. Have you observed any guarding/bonding behavior?


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## Osteve (Apr 13, 2012)

I found the posts very informative as to LGD I know very little. I But I do know a bit about dogs, in my case hunting dogs. And as to breeding and "training" there is a lot to learn about each. Certain dogs may be bred for a specific task but they must be trained. Certain breeds will adapted more easily to acertain tasks if that is what they were bred for. Training starts at day one.


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