Trying to help a friend do some research on adding a livestock guardian dog to her small(ish) farm. She is looking for an outside-only dog to protect her horses and various other livestock animals from predators and let her know when someone arrives on her property. Also hoping for a dog that has a good reputation with kids (every breed I read about says they are good with kids!) but we are sure some can be better than others. A majority of her day is spent outside, so new dog will only be alone during the night and will still very much be a part of her family.
Do any of you have favorite breeds when it comes to livestock guardians? What makes that breed special IYO?
Will Rambeau Moderator Reg: 01-25-2003
Posts: 5983
Loc: Idaho
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I think that overall, the Great Pyrenees would be the best balance between a livestock guard that would tolerate children.
There are many homestead owners that breed working Pyrs, easy to find with an internet search ( they're very popular in my area of Northern Idaho, and we have every serious predator in the U.S. represented here, with the exception of alligators! )
I'd look for one from working parents and it would be great if she could find someone local to mentor her through the process if she goes the pup route.
When raising a guardian dog you need to remember that they need to be bonded with the livestock to best do their job, so they're often treated in a much more aloof manner than companion dogs are.
Their pack is the livestock so to speak instead of the humans.
The people I know with them make sure that the dogs are comfortable being handled for when it's needed but other than that they're interaction is minimal - a scratch on the head when they feed them, etc., but not lots of human interaction or formal training.
The farm I did my herding at had a nice working Pyr. I think they are more "sound" around kids the a lot of the other LGDs.
To be effective the LGD should be raised with the stock from the get go. Not sure if making a family pet out of it would be the best way to go with it though.
A good jack, jenny or a lama would be an alternative herding guard.
Thanks for the info Bob. I know she wants what is best for the dog in a guardian situation, so I think she'll take the aloof attitude and do it well. It will be new to her as she has never had a true outside dog before, but she's good about letting animals do their jobs. The reason for picking a dog over a donkey or llama is because they have the ability to patrol more than one pen or paddock of animals with ease. (and they eat less!)
Yep, just grass. But in the winter, on a small farm, every animal you have to bale hay for counts. Adding in the labor costs, machinery and actual cost to grow quality hay outweighs the benifits of having one or more extra hay eating animal in each pen.
Going a little farther into the cost explaination, 1 quality llama costs about $1,000. Most of the time, they won't thrive unless you have 2 together, so she figures 12 llamas for her 6 pens and that is 12k just to have them bought. Factor in the feed, transport costs likely from multiple farms, extra vacc. they require because of their suceptability to deer illness and that is really too expensive. Donkey's are a bit better but still fall along the lines that 12 donkeys are much more expensive to obtain and maintain that even 2 relly well bred livestock guardian dogs that can do the same job and more.
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Livestock Guardian Breeds
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