# brought home my LGD pup today!



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

this is duke, he is a 7 week old anatolian shepherd, and is awesome so far, very attentive, assertive. we are slowly trying to introduce him to our house dog just so they at least know each other a bit, I dont plan on them really running into each other to much when we move onto the property next month, but I thought they should at least be introduced. if anybody has any tips, advice or any thing of the sort please feel free to chime in, I will be getting two pigmy goats in the next 2 months so he may start living with them and bonding, i think until then we will start on rabbits and chickens. I know it will be more difficult bonding later but I took a chance, the least expensive anatolian breeder that actually works their dogs in oregon was $1500, I got this little guy from a breeder 40 miles from my house, working lines and payed 1/3 the price because I didn't need the pedigree. anywho look forward to hearing from you guys, here is DUKE, Oh yeah he is an Anatolian.:hobbyhors


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Congratulations Jolly Rabbit! That is one fine looking Anatolian!

I can share with you what I'm doing with my Karakachan: Since I won't have any animal around me that is not sensitive to my controls, I started her out from the first day (at 8 weeks of age) teaching her specific words while playing with her. The play was to teach her to let me touch her anywhere, examine her paws/toes/flanks/ears, even under her neck and on her belly. What I wanted her to learn was her name, to come when called, to stop whatever she was doing when told to and to leave an area when told to. What has worked real well in regard to all this are: "uh uh" (stop what you're doing), "get out of there" (leave an area the way you came in), "drop it" (let go of whatever I want to take and take hold of what I give in its place) & "good" (always finding her doing something I want her to do often and getting lots of pets...sometimes a treat). In less than 2 weeks she has learned these words, which made her trip to the vet quite easy.

Today I took her (Valentina) to the vet, where she had a complete physical, stool sample & blood workup; and she got her parvo/distm/etc. shot (If I hadn't already trained her to the leash, it might have been a terrible trip; however, David had been walking her around on the leash daily for the last week and today she knew she did not need to fight it. She was actually on that leash from 11 am to 8 pm without problems because of the prior introduction to it.)

Most of all, Jolly, enjoy him and let him know he is safe to explore and develop his own specific personality...within limits you set for him.

Since I'm still learning from this little LGD, that is all the tips I can give at this time.


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

thanks, he is a blast to watch, so different from any of the 3 dogs I have owned in my life. We are starting to do basic training, his collar will go on him today. Last night he was with the rabbits for about 5 minutes, its amazing he has almost no prey drive, one of those "I didn't believe it till I saw it type things". So anyway this will be a challenge and some work but I think it will pay off int he long run.


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## Xplorer (Sep 23, 2010)

Cool pup, good luck with him.


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## terradura (Mar 19, 2012)

Nice looking pup!

I know what you mean about the prey drive. All the dogs I'd ever had or been around were crazy to chase and kill whatever moved. I was amazed when we got a LGD to see its lack of interest in chasing things.


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

its insane, like night and day, tried really hard with my boxer/doberman and still a year into it he will chase anything down that moves! Can't wait to start him with goats. I just found out the property is filled with bear & mountain lion signs. (scat & tracks) from no one being on the property for so long. So I guess for a while it will be my trusty dobie/ S&W .357 mag while I am working around there. Duke has a LONG WAY to go! LoL


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## Marleydexlola (May 24, 2012)

He's a looker!! Congrats, introduce SLOWLY and supervised


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

thanks, what is the latest age anyone has heard of an anatolian or any lgd for that matter being introduced to livestock and still being succesful.


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## krebolj (Feb 23, 2013)

I got my pyr as a puppy, raised her inside in a neighborhood for two years and then put her out to guard the new goats when we bought a mini farm. No incidents.


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

thank goodness, I know I am taking a chance and going against the grain, but success stories are always reassuring!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Seven weeks is too young to take a puppy. It would be better if the two dogs were together rather than apart. The older dog will mentor the younger one.


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## terradura (Mar 19, 2012)

JR -- We have a place near the Oregon border. Our high-prey-drive mutt made it her hobby to chase deer. So, watch out with your dobie/boxer on the deer. Some people shoot dogs they see running deer. The other danger is that they run off after a deer and end up being a meal for a mountain lion or get hit by a car. We've used a shock collar to cure our other dog from chasing deer, but he is an English Shepherd and was not very intense in his pursuit to begin with. We will now move on to work with the other one and hopefully cure her too.

For our situation, a low prey drive is a blessing. Low prey drive + protective.

Have fun on your new place!


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

I know and he WILL chase, which is what bothers me. I plan on working more and more with him, he really is a great dog. I am hoping to turn him into a great "farm dog" just to follow me around and keep me company, guard the house and so on. What part of oregon if you don't mind my asking, we are gonna be in the grants pass area, southern tip of oregon.


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## terradura (Mar 19, 2012)

JR -- The boxer/dobie sounds like a good one. I'd expect smart and athletic and very bonded to its people. I had a GS/boxer cross once and she was like that. Actually she got hit by a car when she chased a deer across a road. So there is that prey drive again.

The Grants Pass area is beautiful. I lived south of there, in Yreka, for a time and visited up in your area. Very nice.

Our place in is in the NE corner of California. But, right now we are live and work in southern California. Our transition to the homestead is lagging behind yours!


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## tracerracer (Oct 6, 2012)

jolly rabbit said:


> I know and he WILL chase, which is what bothers me. I plan on working more and more with him, he really is a great dog. I am hoping to turn him into a great "farm dog" just to follow me around and keep me company, guard the house and so on. What part of oregon if you don't mind my asking, we are gonna be in the grants pass area, southern tip of oregon.


I am just 'up' the road from you in Southern Douglas County ( way southern about 30 miles or so from GP  ) I think I know the $1500 breeder you speak of and like you, all the certs and papers mean squat to me.......... Can they work, are they 'sound', do they come from working lines............ That is what mattered to me....... He's a Beaut , a little 'young', but it is what it is.... He is not 'ruined' because of that .............. Good luck ( and it's nice to see someone from my neck of the woods  )


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

yes I agree it is too much, dogs are such a risk, you never know if they will workout. Don't get me wrong the breeder seemed nice & knowledgeable but $1500 with a spay/neuter contract and $2500-$3000 with papers seems downright ridiculous. I told my wife if we ever get a really good female later on down the line, we may have both tested make sure they are healthy and sell some pups at a reasonable price. There is no reason the average joe can't find a nice healthy well bred dog for under $1000, heck for under $600. I have only found a few people offering at lower prices, I know goatress has very reasonable prices and I think I found a kangal breeder in central cal that also has fair prices. One breeder even had the gall to tell me $1500 is nothing compared to what my losses will be if I don't get a dog. Yes that is correct but that does not mean you get to rake me over the coals because I need a dog! Hopefully,mi will talk to you more or see ya around, are you into rabbits by any chance, I am bringing my rabbits up from cali, bringing some new blood into the area, I have cali's, american blues and standard rex.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Good for you! You will love him. LGDs have such unique personalities with such great devotion and kind ethic. You will just really enjoy him.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

jolly rabbit said:


> but $1500 with a spay/neuter contract and $2500-$3000 with papers seems downright ridiculous.


It seems downright greedy. You can get a good LGD for a fraction of that price, and none of the attitude.


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## terradura (Mar 19, 2012)

jolly rabbit said:


> There is no reason the average joe can't find a nice healthy well bred dog for under $1000, heck for under $600.


LGDs for under $600 are often advertised in the classifieds of Capital Press:
http://www.capitalpress.com/classifieds/

I've commonly seen them for northern CA, OR, WA. No pedigrees and from working ranches.


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## Traci Ann (Jun 27, 2005)

Wow!! That is an insane price! We raise and sell LGD pups and charge $75! I felt greedy pricing them at that!! We do Pyr and Ant cross and LOVE our dogs! Right now we have 7 pups and mom in the training paddock with a goose that teaches pups don't mess with me and I have feathers (looks like chicken/duck/poultry!) and a mama goat and her baby. I <3 our LGD's and would NEVER get another kind!!


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Traci Ann said:


> Right now we have 7 pups and mom in the training paddock with a goose that teaches pups don't mess with me and I have feathers (looks like chicken/duck/poultry!) and a mama goat and her baby. I <3 our LGD's and would NEVER get another kind!!


The goose is a good idea. They are so bossy, and would teach young, small, LGD to stay away from them. What a great idea!


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I'm enjoying this thread. 

The LGD breeds are quite pricey for the most part, though I've found a few breeders with "sensible" sales conditions. (Those who want to control what you do with your dog after it is sold are just asking too much, though I do understand their farm name is on your dog's registration papers; and should you breed it in a way that does not reflect positively on their farm, it could cause them some headache.)

You've got a great pup. I love the Anatolian breed even though it is not what I would use on my small 6 acres. Still the "prey drive" is significantly reduced compared to other guardian dogs. (I've been noticing with my little Karakachan puppy that, though she will "puppy play" with the goats/chickens, she literally has no "prey" drive. This is quite comforting to me.)

Love the idea of the goose! I remember a duck we had a few years ago teaching my German Shepherd not to mess with her....what a sight!


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

What an adorable little pup! I hope he turns out to be the perfect fit for your farm.


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

we are hoping for the best with him, he has a great temparmant, listens, kinda, maybe,sorta  but I think he will work out fine, I put him with the buns a again the other night, he nipped once, got corrected, layed down and just watched the kit for about 10 minutes straight, if the kit moved, he moved. It was very interesting to watch. As far as the prices and breeders go, it just makes it that much easier to pick a breeder when people put stipulations on the purchase of an animal. Put a fair price on a product sell it, and mind your business. When I sell breeding animals, I am super helpful with my customers, I want them to do things correctly, they all know they can call me with questions, the only reason I even ask my customers if they are breeding is I want to make sure they get the best quality I have, I sell the pets as pets with no papers or tattoos and I drop the price accordingly. ( not by hundreds or thousands!). Anywho I will get off the soapbox, this was just my opinion, either way I am happy with my mutt! And after he is older and working I will probably get another. Just gotta find another breeder LOL, its a never ending cycle!


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## Rock (Jan 5, 2009)

Good luck have fun train for short periods a few times a day:clap:
Your view on breeders pricing may change if you had their bills. To give you and idea, this is just maint stuff
Not counting puppy's
$5000, food
$2880 flea and tick program (includes premises)
$1500 ins.
$750 lic.
$400. wormer,s
$200 misc (quick clot, wipes, q-tips, dremal stones for nails, alcohol, peroxide, acv, pinesol ect)
$100 injectables & naseljec (vaccines ect)
None of that takes into account the time spent with the dogs, in care feeding training grooming showing working competing, or entry fees to show and compete_(I took a year off and paid the mortgage on both my commercial building on a 4 lane us hwy with the money I did not spend at shows)_
Now I do all of their care myself, except for rabies shots, so if I had to go to the vet for everything, it would be 2-3X more expensive. _(I do agree that $1500 for a spay/neuter is out of line, if the dog is not breed worthy, cull it or render it unbreedable and give it away.)_


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

Rock, I completely understand and agree this is for a professional setup, and you deserve to make your fair share for time, work, and knowledge! what I don't agree with is being taken advantage of and people charging up the wazoo for a "product" that only a few people have, and this is my opinion of what happens YOU charge say $2000 dollars for a dog, you care about the breed, you breed for confirmation, character and working ability overall a very good breeder except your price, now joe schmoe comes along and see $$$ and says well I want some of that so joe buys 2 dogs who are not good match ups and breeds, does not care about the breed or standards or quality just looks and money, so he sells his dogs for $1000 which is what you should have sold your dog for (fair price), but now all these crappy dogs are flooding the market and more people are breeding those crappy dogs, so now you the GOOD breeder have to work twice as hard to prove you have better stock and justify your prices. this is done with dogs, horses, electronics whatever. again just my opinion. feel free to counter, I like where this thread is going.


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## aart (Oct 20, 2012)

Rock said:


> Good luck have fun train for short periods a few times a day:clap:
> Your view on breeders pricing may change if you had their bills. To give you and idea, this is just maint stuff
> Not counting puppy's
> $5000, food
> ...


So....are these costs for one year.....and how many dogs? 
With a time frame and number of animals, these costs would be much more meaningful.


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## Rock (Jan 5, 2009)

aart said:


> So....are these costs for one year.....and how many dogs?
> With a time frame and number of animals, these costs would be much more meaningful.


Yes 1 year, that is for 7 dogs.
JR, you hit it on the head, there will always be people trying to make a buck without the quality of product in mind.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

How is Duke doing?

I am thinking since your area will have such "large" predators, you may want to consider getting another LGD rather quickly. (I would hate to hear about Duke's being torn up by one of those large predators.)


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