# 2 pups together or separate and what age?



## Aussierancher (Jan 2, 2012)

This is my third attempt at posting, I am going to save it this time, because it just keeps getting lost.

I have some sheep, a few katahdins and a few dorper. We will have lambs in spring and I have some more ewe lambs also coming in February. We are looking to eventually have a flock of about 40 head.

Coyotes here are bad. I got a Pyr puppy about a month ago. She was approx 9 weeks old when I got her. The litter was a giveaway litter, so I had my doubts when I went to look. But they did all look purebred, both parents looked purebred. Mum was around a few goats and chickens, dad guarded the whole neighbour hood and belonged to the neighbour. I gave the puppy her shots and wormed her when I got her home. She was very timid so I put her in with a couple of my working border collie pups but after the second night she had started to bond with them. I took three quiet weaned ewe lambs and put her in the barn with them. She screamed and yelped when she first saw them, they didn't even go near her. Within an hour she was snuggled up and sleeping with them. 

It took about a week for her to finally come to me. Fresh meat worked wonders. At first she was timid and would run to the sheep for protection, now she greets me every morning and night when I go into the barn to feed her and the lambs. She sits and has manners, takes food very gently out of my hand. I handle her all over, look at her teeth and touch her paws and clip her nails once in a while to keep her used to this sort of handling. When I go to leave the barn she follows me halfway and then runs back to the sheep. She doesn't try and get out the door with me, she prefers to be with the sheep. So she is bonding quite well. She isn't rough with them, so far, but she is still a baby. The barn is open fronted and has cattle panel fence across the front of it where I can see from the house. It is a large barn (I use it to ride horses in during winter).

We are definitely going to need more guardian dogs as we increase our flock, so I am thinking about an Anatolian puppy which will be ready in about a month. They are from a long line of working dogs and have been born in the pasture/barn and raised with sheep. With all my research and reading, I am still wondering which is the best way to go with having two pups together. There are so many different opinions. Obviously there are pros and cons, but I want to weigh up both good and bad. 

I have heard..... two pups will bond to each other and not the sheep..... I have heard.... two pups will be rough and want to chase the sheep..... I have heard that two pups will keep each other company and won't play so much with the sheep..... I have heard that two pups will learn to work together.....

In my opinion, it depends on the dogs, the temperaments, the training, the enviroment, the sheep, the temperament of the sheep... there are a lot of factors that go into this and no two dogs or situations are the same. My idea is too put the pups together and watch and wait and be vigilant in training, being patient and putting in the time.... I train working dogs, horses and I used to train assistance dogs for people in wheel chairs, so I understand that nothing comes quickly, there is no quick fix, it takes dedication, patience and often hard work to get the desired results and if the basics are covered, there is a solid foundation and less can go wrong. I figured that if the pups ran the sheep and wanted to chase, I would separate them, in the barn. Put a few quiet ewes in with each dog, each with their own area, but separate them with cattle mesh fence, so that they can still see each other and interact but where they cannot both get rough with the sheep. Maybe if when they are adolescents and if they were getting rough with the sheep, I could put them in a pen with the rams who are quite dominant themselves and would not tolerate being chased. 

In the meantime the rest of the sheep are out in the pasture during the day and I have to lock them up in another barn at night, which is a chore but for the safety of the stock, it must be done until the puppies are old enough and dependable enough to do their job. 

Any suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## HappyFarmer (Jun 17, 2006)

It looks like this was answered in another post, I'll add my $.02 later on the other thread.

HF


----------

