Livestock Guardian Dog (Behavior?)

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Our Anatolian Shepherd Dixie had developed some bad habits. She runs our goat out of their barn and the goats are very scared of her. We got Dixie when she was about 7 months old and she had been a yard dog with other dogs, no livestock. We've had her about a year and a half and she has just started this. When we first got her we put her in with Great Pyr and goats and she seemed great and is a very good guard dog. We've tried putting her in with the calf and she keeps him away from the hay. We put her in with the turkeys and she had them all in one corner. I think she is bonded with humans and we just don't know what to do. Find her a good home?? She's got her own dog house in the goat pen and she runs between the two guarding them both. This is very sad for us because Dixie is a very good girl, or was! Thanks in advance.

-- sherry in Arkansas (chickadee259@yahoo.com), February 08, 2002

Answers

Response to Lifestock Gardian Dog

Everything I've ever read or seen about livestock guardians says that they HAVE to be raised with the livestock from day-one for them to properly bond with them. That first 7 months that Dixie should have been bonding with and learning to "be" livestock, she was learning to be a dog. So instead of protecting the animals, she is protecting territory from the animals. Whether you can break her of this habit is very doubtful. I'm sure someone will come on and tell a story about hand raising a pup that then took to the livestock and did a wonderful job, but they would be the exception. The lgd's I've personallly known were not bonded to humans or other dogs and were totally devoted to the stock.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), February 08, 2002.

Response to Lifestock Gardian Dog

The majority of LGD owners do not understand it, but LGDs see the world in a very particular way---a way you cannot fight, but have to work with. Everything is status to them, and the higher in the hierarchy they rise, the better they like it. As she matures, your Dixie is attempting to become the 'alpha bitch' in your 'pack', and as such is making decisions about how to act that are conflicting with your own.

You, the owner, have to be the 'top dog' on your farm, or the LGD will go around bullying the stock in their own, unique, power-mad way. Now please understand, you *cannot* intimidate an Anatolian physically---that's a plane they understand totally, and have you outclassed, without question! What you have to do is dominate them mentally, and since they are very intelligent dogs, this takes some doing.

First off, (and these are all strategies that you should have used from the beginning to avoid this problem) take any free choice dog food away from your LGD, and feed her seperately twice a day. Make a point of taking her food away from her a couple times a day,while she's eating, until she begins to understand that you are the sole source and controller of her food.

Then contrive to make a dog-proof pen that you can contain her in, and whenever you see her bullying the stock, lock her in it alone, out of sight of the animals, for two or three days. LGDs find this isolation far harder to deal with than scolding or even beating. Repeat as often as needed.

And watch her very closely. Whenever she offers inappropriate behavior to the stock, pitch a rock or clod of dirt at her as hard as you can, and yell 'leave it!". There is something in the act of throwing that LGDs find supernaturally weird and so are deeply impressed by, so this sometimes works when nothing else will, especially with pups.

The problem with your dog is not that she is bonded to humans, but that you have not made it perfectly clear who is in charge. She sounds like a naturally dominant personality, and these dogs, while challenging, can make the very best LGDs of all, but only if you can learn to take the dominant role in your 'pack'.

It's up to you.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), February 08, 2002.


Response to Lifestock Gardian Dog

Let me add that, in my experience of raising and owning LGDs for the last 10 years, Dixie's behavior is very common in LGDs, particularly in what we call "hard dogs". In each litter, there are always some very pliable, "soft" pups born who never do much but hang about, and also "hard" pups who are born leaders, & which make outstanding guardians (especially in high predation areas), but who want to be the boss.

If you really need livestock protection, these "hard" dogs are the way to go. They take intelligence to handle, but are the ones which will give up their lives to protect your farm.

Where these "hard" dogs get into trouble is when their owners do not understand the dynamics of pack life, and wuss out on them, treating them like overgrown housepets. The dogs always take over at that point and it's usually a mess. But if the owner can learn to take a dominant stance, the dog will also learn to accept its proper role on the farm.

So the upshot is, if you can learn to change your behavior, Dixie can too.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), February 08, 2002.


Sherry, Julie might be able to tell you also, if there is a National Breed Club for ASD's and you would get more good advice there also. I am a great believer in getting into a specialty forum and club for people who have had years of experience like Julie. I would just add that just because a dog is a "guardian dog" or "herding dog" or "retriever" that doesn't mean that the dog just automatically knows what it supposed to do. A herding dog well be a worthless pest to the stock without training in how and when you want it to do its job. Instinct and drive and focus are not enough. Training is the key. Good luck, LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 08, 2002.

Hm. Lots of good advice from other people. The behavior you mention I have only seen in my Maremmas when they were young...6-9 months. And yes, that is a period when they are checking out pack structure and figuring out dominance. You might want to really watch her and see if she really is bonded to the livestock. I found that my male Maremmas tended to guard territory. Didn't make them bad guardians, in fact, they were very good. Anything on their territory for a short time, i.e. new livestock,etc. became something to be guarded. My females tended to guard specific livestock and their 'territory' was wherever the livestock was. Like someone said, lgd's aren't always easy but once they are trained they are a big part of the farm.

-- Karla Deithorn (kdeithorn@earthlink.net), February 08, 2002.


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