More Hard Decisions (Dog Gone It!)

[897tgigvib]

Yep, what Cane and Thistle just said. Don't know about the shelter/rescue system run by Angels from above you have in your area SeedO, but some of the finest dogs, (and cats btw), you will ever meet are HEINZ57, or KINDASORTAS, or MAINLYTHISNTHATS. These breeds are found at rescue shelters. Around these parts the rescue shelters are run by Angels from above who keep their wings tucked inside their shirts trying to hide their identity as Angels.

These places have dogs that look kinda like Irish Setters, as friendly with kids as Golden Retrievers, can snuffluzzle out a missing baseball better than a coon hound, fight off a critter as good as a Rotweiler, and scare off a bad guy as good as a Doberman, and be eternally grateful to you for being his very own forever person. And that's just one of them there!

I vote for you at least visiting the shelter. 'sides, they may have some tips about what works in the area.

 

[bobm]

If one has a cattle ranch one wants a working cattle dog such as the Australian Cattle Dog to herd them , if one has a flock of sheep one would use a Border Collie to herd them, but if one has chickens that cattle dog or collie will be nothing more than a total pain in the neck. When it comes to mutts from shelters, they may be OK as something to play with, or pet, or to slobber on you, or just be a companion. But when it comes to actually doing an actual specific task and doing it well and right NOW on a working ranch / farm one wants a dog specifically bred for that purpose. A purebred dog is selectively bred to be a specialist to perform certain tasks such as herding, guard, hunt, track, or pull a sled, or ? and do it well . While a crossbred mutt may or may not perform a wanted behavior depending what trait that it inherits as a dominant trait, and the majority of the time it inherits the hidden dominant performance trait opposite to what it may physically appear to be like . Do you want a specialist doctor to perform a heart, or cancer, or an organ transplant, or ? surgery on you or your loved one, or how about your next door neighbor. The latter choice would be a roll of the dice with the odds stacked against you!

 

[HEChicken]

I second the idea of a shelter dog.

3 of my friends have working LGD's to protect their flocks of poultry. Two of them have lost birds TO the LGD's during their puppy stage and all three of them have had predator losses despite the presence of LGD's.

Meanwhile, I have two adopted shelter "mutts". Because I already kept chickens prior to getting the dogs, having poultry-friendly dogs was a priority. I turned to a local rescue that allows a home trial prior to adoption.

Dog 1 came to visit. While on leash and sniffing around, a chicken came around the corner. Dog 1 stiffened and stared. The chicken, on seeing a strange dog turned and ran, flapping and squawking. Dog 1 kind of shrugged and lost interest.

Dog 2 seemed to do well initially so after a week we let him out unsupervised. Seeing a chicken go running past the window followed by a black and white "streak", we realized we would never be able to trust the dog and he returned to the rescue.

Dog 3 came to visit and at first glimpse of a chicken looked submissive and a little scared.

3 years since the adoption of Dog 1 and 2-½ years since the adoption of Dog 3, we know we made good choices. Both are so poultry friendly that they sleep in the chicken yard at night, deterring would-be predators by their presence, even if they are not specifically bred as LGD's. During the day they have free run of the property, again deterring would-be predators by their presence, and, in the case of Dog 3, alerting us to the arrival of any unrecognized vehicle or person.

In all the time we've had them, we haven't lost a bird to a predator - and our flock of 100+ birds free-ranges. Each dog weighs about 40lb and eats approximately half that of most breeds of LGD. They don't spend all night barking (my friends with LGD's all tell me their dogs bark all night when they are "working"). And they have proven MORE effective than the LGD's in the sense that my friends with them have still had predator losses.

There are many pure-bred dogs in shelters in addition the Heinz57's. You can find dogs that will retrieve naturally, herd naturally and guard naturally. Just because they had the misfortune to wind up in a shelter does not mean they cannot become an effective working dog for you.

 

[thistlebloom]

Even some of the purebred dogs fail to perform at what they were bred to do.
I have an Australian cattle dog( aka 'heeler") that was offered to a new home because she would not herd the cattle.
Nope, she would sometimes be found out in the pastures taking a siesta with them however.
She works fine in her new position here. She's not a chicken chaser, and I don't have a moments hesitation letting the hens out loose with her.
She lets us know when a car pulls in the driveway or when a stranger walks down the road, but doesn't bark unnecessarily. Another odd thing about her is her complete disinterest in chasing deer. When we bike in the woods and spook a deer out she sticks right with us like she was glued to us.
I admit she's an anomaly to the breed.

 

[Wishin']

Seedo I would strongly recommend going to the Lgd section on Backyard herds ( I know your not looking strictly,for an LGD but more of a herder/protector but the herders and the Lgd people tend to both hang out in that section.) While mutts and rescues are great, they are hit and miss and if you need a dog to do a job you need to be confident it is capable of doing it. If you pick up a a mutt/or rescue that has dominant retriever traits when you need a herder your gonna have a problem on your hands. I'm not a member on BYH but I do lurk, and I would go to SouthernByChoice, she has worked with many dog breeds for all sorts jobs including the Tibetan mastiff, as well as many herding breeds, LGD breeds, retrievers,pets, home guardians,..ect. I think she could help you figure out the type of dog that would be best for you based on what you need. Even if getting a dog is still a few years away, just go over their and ask some questions.

 

[catjac1975]

You need to choose a dog that is known for what you want it to do. You usually cannot train a purebred to NOT do what it is intended for. Get a dog that is bred to your needs. A good dog is a full time job for at least the first 2-3 years.If you cannot afford a dog you can try for a rescue but a novice should not take on a problem dog. But, many people give up dogs easily for small reasons. I am assuming you cannot afford your dread dog because they are very expensive. Pets cost a lot of money to own. There is now way to know how the health will be in a dog, except to go to a reputable breeder. But that equals a lot of money. Vet costs for a healthy dog are very expensive. I love my Dalmatian but she ate holes in 2 walls as a pup. And I have had 3 other dalmatians. She is 5 and a great dog, but I am willing to put up with the early pains for the joy of her company.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Seedo I would strongly recommend going to the Lgd section on Backyard herds ( I know your not looking strictly,for an LGD but more of a herder/protector but the herders and the Lgd people tend to both hang out in that section.) While mutts and rescues are great, they are hit and miss and if you need a dog to do a job you need to be confident it is capable of doing it. If you pick up a a mutt/or rescue that has dominant retriever traits when you need a herder your gonna have a problem on your hands. I'm not a member on BYH but I do lurk, and I would go to SouthernByChoice, she has worked with many dog breeds for all sorts jobs including the Tibetan mastiff, as well as many herding breeds, LGD breeds, retrievers,pets, home guardians,..ect. I think she could help you figure out the type of dog that would be best for you based on what you need. Even if getting a dog is still a few years away, just go over their and ask some questions.

I've become a member of BYH just now, I just have to wait for Nifty to approve of me as a member and then I can send Southern a PM.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I'm currently doing some reading on the different herding breeds, they're are also some multipurpose ones. Since I mostly want the dog for herding, I'm planning on a specific breed. I've checked out some online rescues just out of curiosity, and will look at some of the breed-specific online rescues. I do not know where the local shelter is but will stop by there when I can, it shouldn't be too hard too find. Although I would like to help some of those dogs and cats out, but I need a specific breed. But I will still look at the shelter and see if I can find any purebred herding dogs or maybe a mix-breed that looks like a cross between some of the herding breeds. I'm still doing research and have found a few smaller herding breeds that would be slightly cheaper to care for but still able to do the job of herding (no Chihuahuas, I'm not a huge fan of them).

Have any of you seen the Earthlings documentary? It's a real eye-opener and all about animal cruelty, including what happends to the animals at the pounds. If you decide to watch it bring several boxes of tissues as it is a long documentary and it's not one of those to make you happy.

 

[Smart Red]

I haven't added to this discussion because I haven't had much experience with dogs other than my own. Therefore, there was little I could add that would be useful.

Would you consider taking on and training service dogs? That would give you the experience of dog ownership without the medical expenses. You might get several young dogs in those years and plenty of experience with different dog personalities while five years race by.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I haven't added to this discussion because I haven't had much experience with dogs other than my own. Therefore, there was little I could add that would be useful.

Would you consider taking on and training service dogs? That would give you the experience of dog ownership without the medical expenses. You might get several young dogs in those years and plenty of experience with different dog personalities while five years race by.

That would be a great thing to do. But as both of my parents work I need to wait until I at least get my driver's permit. (I failed the vision test part, I could barely see any of the little digital numbers in the binocular thingy; I need glasses. I also failed the actual test by missing a few questions. Ma thinks I'll make it next time as many of the relatives on her side failed their driving tests the first time and passed the second.) I could have taken up training horses last summer but couldn't drive there. Hopefully that will change this summer.