More Hard Decisions (Dog Gone It!)

[Carol Dee]

Everyone is giving good advice here, especially amkuska.

Secuono, who occasionally comes online here, seems to be very excellent with dogs. She, and some others I can't remember who, have a breed of dog that seems perfect for small farm/garden places.

Shoot* I can't remember the name of the breed, but it is something synonymous with "really good protective, even maternally protective, friendly to friends, frightening to bad things, really great breed of dog". I'm sure that's close! To the uninformed like me, they look kind of Samoyed or Pyranee.

She's put up photos of them mothering lambies and watching the chickens.

Marshall it sounds like you are thinking of Maremmas A TG member peteyfoozer owns 2 and has an interesting blog (Range to Range) of life on the ranch with those wonderful dogs.

 

[ninnymary]

Seedo, I think the best advise was said by Bay. I would do volunteer work for that breeder and see where it goes. You will learn a lot about that particular breed and who knows maybe he'll like you so well that he may give you a big discount when it comes time to get your puppy! Heck, if he likes you as much as we do, he may even give you one. Of course, you have to put in your dues.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

You have been given a lot of great advise, every member here has great repect for you. What do you want the dog for a pet or LGD ? If you want a dog to guard your livestock and have coyotes you need at least 2. 1 dog no matter how big willn't have a chance against a pack. Go to sister site backyard herds and read about LGDs

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Thanks for the great advice everybody!

Although five years or so does seem like forever at the moment, I am more than willing to wait that long. I do have my whole life ahead of me, and with how healthy that I think my lifestyle is, I bet that I'll live to be 100.

I was originally looking at the Tibetan Mastiff as primarily a herding dog. We'll be doing meat goats for profit in the near future, and with all of the stuff that we're planning to do we could use the extra help herding them. We build our coops and barns well, have heavy fencing up around the pastures, and lock the animals up at night so I think that the animals are protected enough. A thief is also not likely to mess with somebody with a huge, ferocious looking dog. Most of the predator problems here come directly from racoons. No problems with coyotes although we have seen a small pack of feral dogs - standing a few feet away from our 4ft fencing.

I'm currently looking into smaller breeds and found a few that look appealing. I've always thought that Australian Shepherds were nice looking dogs, and they're easily found for sale. Canaan Dogs are a nice looking multipurpose breed, the Kennel Club's Website also says that they are easy to train. The Swedish Vallhund is similar, smaller too. Mudis would be my second pick but those are a recent import from Hungaria, so still very expensive. Bad memories with the Collie, but I'm still willing to try it. I now that any of these breeds need to have a job to do, so it's going to be waiting until we get the goats for sure. The dog would also have to stand possibly getting beat up on by geese without striking back, but that would probably be something that's going to take some training.

Kuska, it makes me laugh when I think of a little Chihuahua herding sheep; I never knew that they could do that I've always thought of Chihuahuas as more of an ornamental breed.

I'm actually not sure were the sellers of the house live. The most we've done was drive by the place to admire it a couple of times, and now its up for sale - and affordable! As both parents are working for the next week or two and with farm conferences coming up, we're not going to be able to take a look at it soon. The most we can do is keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't sell before we get over there. I will see what I can do as far as getting experience with the dogs goes. (Did I mention that I appreciated the good advice coming from here?) We have found that the people living in this area are extremely nice, neighborly, and generous; completely different from what we've found a few counties north! Maybe they'll need help with some work, so I can get a better price. Like I've said - we've seen some pretty weird stuff going on up here, everything's possible!

Thanks again everybody! You're all a great help!

 

[bobm]

You have received very good advice here. The Tibetan Mastiff is a large and slow maturing breed with a lifespan between 11 - 14 years. As such, it will take 2 - 4 years to reach maturity... and guess what, puppies and immature canines like to chew and chew and chew. So you may have an expense or two in replacing furniture, doors, kitchen cabinets, sheetrock, siding, etc.. Another expense for many large dogs is hip displasia, stomach torsion, cancer, and as a guard dog / livestock guardian wounds from protection activities. So be prepared for hefty ( into the THOUSANDS) Veterinary surgery bills.( I have Necropsied hundreds of dogs at a University Vet. Med. Teaching Hospital). Due to it's heritage of a primitive dog and as a livestock guardian, they are very independent thinkers, so they need constant reminder as to who is the alpha in the pack / household. It also has a long outer coat with a dense undercoat, so be prepared for tons of shed hair. I wish you luck in choosing the right dog for you. PS. One of the best horse herding dogs that we had was a 8 lb. spayed female Chihuahua. The best combination herding / guardian dog for sheep was a Mc Nabb. The best guard / family dogs for us were Boxers.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Oh my gosh you guys are impressing me with the chihuahua stories!!! I've never had one, i'll have to consider them next time we're looking for a dog to adopt! Sure sounds more helpful than our current lap dog the llaso apso. His only job lately appears to be dumping over the big dog's 1 gallon sized water bowl, what a dork!!

 

[thistlebloom]

Our favorite breed for home guardian/kid sitter, and I mean kid sitter literally as that's what the kids did to them, were Newfies. Best dogs ever.

 

[AMKuska]

Oh my gosh you guys are impressing me with the chihuahua stories!!! I've never had one, i'll have to consider them next time we're looking for a dog to adopt! Sure sounds more helpful than our current lap dog the llaso apso. His only job lately appears to be dumping over the big dog's 1 gallon sized water bowl, what a dork!!

You might be surprised what he's capable of. I took my dogs to tons of different dog sport classes to see what they liked/didn't like. They've enjoyed almost everything we've done. (Though I will never be able to persuade them to dock dive, even if the prize is a t-bone steak.) What ever they end up liking is what we pursue. You'll never know until you expose them to it and see what they think.

 

[canesisters]

I'm not a fan of Chihuahuas, but I'll throw this in. A hundred years ago I worked at a riding/rental stable. At the start and end of each day, the manager's chia-dog herded all 50 horses between the paddock and the night pasture. Now... they would've gone with or without Red, but he gave it his all and could often be seen swinging from the ends of a strayer's tail.
And I just want to toss out a plug for the wonderful mixes out there who are desperate for a home and willing to learn & perform a job.

 

[thistlebloom]

Cane, our first Newf was a litter cull dropped off at the shelter that a friend of mine worked at. She had been left there to be put down, but my friend smuggled her out for me. She was a wonderful, wonderful, companion. She had numerous confirmation flaws and entropian eyelids
(fixed by my horse vet) but she had a heart of gold and was protective of us.
She was the best rattlesnake alarm system you could wish for! If there was a snake anywhere on the property Koonar would bark and keep barking while she stood watch over it until we came out to dispatch it.