# Alpaca, llama or a dog?



## Donna1982 (Jun 14, 2011)

We were offered an Alpaca for free a few weeks ago and we have been thinking about it for awhile. We know the man well that owns him but the only thing that worries me is when asked "how does he do with goats?" His answer was "He does great with my goats." After thinking it over I am wondering if that means he does good with ONLY his goats or what. We haven't had a chance to talk to him since then so we haven't had the chance to talk more about it. But since then we have been doing A LOT of talking about what to use. 

Llama or alpacas from what I have seen are awesome guard animals once they know "their" goats. I've seen mom's come after humans when trying to catch a goat so that makes me think twice. 

Now like a Great Pyrenees or other dogs for the most part will back down from the owners when they need them to. My only thing is I already have four dogs... and don't know if I want another dog.

So if everyone who has either can give me their pros and cons that would be great.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

I too thought about the llama/donkey options for my sheep, but in the end I decided to get dogs. 

I really didn't want to have to learn about yet another animal and it's food/vet needs, and while I think those other animals probably do a good job for a lot of people, IMO when my flock is threatened with a pack of coyotes or a big cat, I want something that can fight back with pointy teeth.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

alpaca are MUCH too small to be livesotck guardians...
they are often "protective" in a bluff, but when it comes down to it, anythign larger than a medium sized dog can and WILL take an alpaca out.
most people with alpaca either have LGD's or a guard llama to protect the alpaca.
the alpaca will live happily with goats, but arnt big enough to act as a guardian.

a llama or a donkey/mule would be a better choice if your looking for an none dog option...and a guard donkey is the better option unless you want to learn how to shear an alpaca/llama (as most sherers wont come out to do 1 animal and those that do charge enough to make up for the lack of head lol)


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## Donna1982 (Jun 14, 2011)

Thanks for your answers. I was wondering the same thing foxy about the size. I have never seen a donkey that liked goats... so I dont know about that one. I don't mind shearing a Llama at all. Actually would want to do it sell off the fiber. Hmmm... so I guess it comes down to a Llama or a dog for us. Got a lot of thinking to do. 

Again thank you both.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

i love llama and alpaca  so id absolutly go for a good guard llama in a heart beat if you feel comfortable doing the shearing 

ive met many guard llama that are just fine with their humans...however they dont distinguish betwen good dog and bad dog so youd have to be carefull not to let guard llama around your pet dogs and visa versa.


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

My MIL got some mini donkeys to guard her goats, the key word here is "mini". when a dog come up to the pasture the donkeys ran one way, and the goats ran the other. 
I agree with Alpaca's being too small to be intimidating. I would love to have a gelded Llama they can be sweet and gaurd, however in a coyote pack situtation...remember they are prey too.


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## Donna1982 (Jun 14, 2011)

My mom has mini donkeys and they HATE goats. So I guess I am a little unsure about that. Maybe if we get the Llama young enough and teach them we can do what we want to the goats he or she wont come after us.


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## horsepoor21 (Mar 14, 2007)

We have a guard donkey . 
Actually ,he's a BLM burro ,but anyway , he's great with our goats and sheep , he doesn't guard them ,but he does guard his territory . He knows our dogs and is okay with them though he does pin his ears back when they come too close .
I saw him take after a coyote this past winter that got in the sheep pen , he sounded like a freight train going after that thing ! It was unreal , he beat the tar out of that coyote , it was screaming as it ran away with it's tail between it's legs !
We also have LGD's as they can go from pasture to pasture ,pen to pen , and guard our home and family as well .


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## laughingllama75 (Jul 15, 2011)

I have llamas.....used as guards, pet and PR. Some make great guards, some do not. A LOT of people who use guard llamas do not handle them much....they tend to get the lighter wooled so you dont need to do much fiber maint. on them. That would be a drawback, if you want to sell wool (wool from one llama wont rbing much anyway, check pricing in your area). They would need to be groomed ona regular babsis to keep the coat from being matted and worthless. Llamas need yearly shots, toenails trimmed every 6-8 weeks or so and depending on if you live it whitetail deer country or not- they will need an injectable wormer called Ivermecin or Dectomax to prevent meningeal worm. That NEEDS to be done every 4-6 weeks. Llamas do not each much, I feed about a bale per llamas, per week (maybe a little more, depending on bale size).
I have 2 males that are AWESOME guards....they have chased coyotees, black bear and fox. they have killed 2 groundhogs, 1 fox and 1 skunk (almst killed the neighbors g. shep that got in with them, poor old girl was just lost and not bothering anything!).
I have females that guard awesome.....they are almost better than the males. 
If you want llamas, make sure they are gelded (the boys), over 18 months and been in with the type of livestock you want them for. And YES, they DO get used to your dogs. I shear many clients llamas, and they all say the same. They are great guards for my calves and mini horses. they do not care for the hogs at all, but they know the hogs would just as soon eat them as not. Can't blame the llamas for wanting to steer clear! Hope this info helps you, weather or not you decide to go with them is up to you but I don't think you will sorry if you do. 
Let me know if there is any other questions I can help you with.....I love to talk llamas and hope I didn't bore anyone!


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## Faithful (Jul 15, 2011)

I had a donkey with my goats, he would put his theeth on the back of their necks I was scared he might hurt them, I think he was tring to play, but it was to rough.
We went to anatolian shepherds.we have pups.
Arkansas


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

a few things to keep in mind
150-200 tom mt lions REGULARLY bring down 600-800# bull elk and 1200# horses.
i know of a lady whose two 90-100# mastiffX trained for personal protection pulled down her warmblood and would have killed it if she hadn't called them off.
30-40# bobcats regularly pull down 200-300# buck deer.

100# dogs can and have taken mt lions by the throat and killed them (or would if not pulled off by the leoneros)
100-120# gp or anatolian can hold of a 100 mastiff long enough for you to resolve the problem and a kangal or bos could stand fair chance of killing such a dog
most any dog bigger than a chihuahua can run off a bob and most any dog w/ enough size can kill one if they have to.


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

What sort of predators do you have in your area? How large of an area needs to be guarded? How many goats? Goats are pretty independent and don't always stay together like sheep do. The donkeys I've had did fine at protecting a very small group of sheep that stayed together. If the goat didn't stay with the sheep, then he was fair game for coyotes. Same with the Llama. He stayed with the group, up to about 20 sheep. If a coyote manages to get in and split the group then the ones who panic and run are fair game. Before acquiring a lgd I was still losing sheep to coyotes even with a donkey and Llama on duty who were protective. A lgd on the other hand will try to cover the whole area and will aggressively go after the predator, not just stay with the group and cause a fuss. The difference is a lgd is a predator as well, and protective. The Llama and donkey are not predators. If you just have a few goats, like less than 10 and they are close to the house you might just get by with some electric fencing and/or putting them up at night.


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