dogs

[cattletom]

i dont have cows anymore or at least right now i dont. i was having some grass problems so i sold my cows to let the pastures rest for awhile. i have been thinking of getting a few goats for a while just for fun. my main question is this. i just had to put my australian shepherd(tana) tha i loved dearly to sleep cause of age. i have been thinking about getting myself and my 4 yr old son a new puppy. i have been looking at the great pyranese/ does anyone have one of the big dogs or does anyone know anything about them. or does anyone have any good suggestions for good dogs around the farm for protection/watch dog but yet loving and a good pet. thanks tommy

 

[treytex]

Until you get your puppy attached to your herd you could try a gaurd jenny or llama. I would watch the donkey closely until you make sure it doesnt kill the goats or the puppy

 

[sidney411]

Hello! We have a great pyreneese. He is kind and gentle but he is so big and strong I don't think he would be good around small kids. He could easily bowl a kid over by accident, he is very rambunctious. Others may be calmer, I have never been around any others. He is also kind of a loner, doesn't 'crave'; the human attention and interaction that I have seen in other dog breeds. JMO

 

[Ryan]

We have one at the ranch. She craves attention b/c she is in her run by herself. Probably one the sweetest dogs i've been around. Only problems we've had is like what Sidney said when she wants to play she is so big she can knock down someone pretty easily.

Also knew a couple of place that had either goats or sheep and they always had a Great Pyrenese out there as a guard dog.

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

After our blue heeler was killed last Dec. we got 2 Great Pyrenees (brothers age 3+ and age 1) Long story short--we liked them so much that we rescued a surrendered male from the pound. He is in the middle age-wise. We still really like these dogs. They are independant thinkers and obey only for want of praise. Seems like when they have their own ideas--that's what they focus on. They bark at night to warn off "predators" if you are keeping one in a yard by the house--might think on that a little. We neutered all of ours (they will breed a coyote in heat). Ours are grown so I can't give any puppy advice except to form really good habits early on as they will grow into BIG DOGS! some are larger than others. The brothers we have are around 95lbs and I am guessing 24" at the shoulder. The rescue is BIG. I am going to say around 175lbs or so and stands a good 5-6" over the other 2 at the shoulder. Gentle as a lamb with children! I have been pleased with starting off with adults. Good fences make good neighbors with these dogs--they tend to wander aways.

The BIG one

temperment

Also--they are really posessive over their food (to other dogs) Good luck! By the way my other choice for a kids dog is a Corgi! (less intimidating, less feed and good watch dogs though not as impressive with the actual guarding!)

 

[CKC1586]

BEAUTIFUL dogs!!!!!

 

[Kelly]

Just curious - How come not another Aussie? They are very loving dogs. At least mine is. But then again she also thinks she is a lap dog!

 

[Scotty]

Great guard dogs. Never heard of one doing bad towards children. A friend of mine raises sheep and hea has several. They had pups and the mom and dad you could pet. The pups were another story. I got bit trying to catch them for vacination. Now they are tranquilized to get yearly rabies shots. But I was told the best ones are that way. :roll:


Scotty

 

[cattletom]

i just cant decide what kind of dog i want. i might go back with an aussie but im not sure. i just wanty a good all around dog/ i dont want a g. pyrenese if they are going to bark all night long by the house. im just not sure what i want. any advice or good info on what you think the nest dog to have is let me know please. anyone ever had a plott hound or a catahoula.. tommy

 

[Scotty]

If you don't want barking, DO NOT GET A HOUND. They bark or houl at anything and everything.



Scotty

 

[dun]

For what its worth, my vote is for a Rott.

dun

 

[Medic24]

We have had two Great Pyrenes, they are great dogs, very loving toward us. But because they were not started with livestock, they never did get the hang of trying to protect them, except the second one was fiannaly catching on a bit, she would run like the wind toward any coyote howling, and would be gone for hours. They would bark at falling leaves or blowing wind. I believe they love to bark as much as they do eating.

Unfortunately the first loved to chase trucks, and that was her undoing, she is buried above the barn.
The second one loved to wander, we had put down just a few weeks ago, with a broken back, we assume she was kicked by a cow, as she loved to chase them about until they had enuff and they would start to chase back....she too is buried in the pasture next to the first, and yes, I cried over both of them.
I now just have a border collie mix who in fact has a terrific disposition, and have slowly begun to train him to work around cattle.

 

[jerry27150]

i have had a lot of different kinds, but the one i have now id great. he is miniature dalmation & a pointer he has the greatest disposition i have ever seen,loves to hunt anything, loves the grandkids and is a great watchdog. and could be trained to be a cow dog if i took the time, he loves to help round them up or just play with the calves

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

If you look at Great Pyrenees--arrange to look late in the evening--that is when they do their "warning off" Really it has not been a problem for us. It is a deep low short bark. Depending on your set up and the size of the place where you would keep your goats it may not be a problem. If, however, you make them your front porch dog (they will go either way) the night barking might not be fun. ours have free run of the county. For a time we allowed them a bed on the porch, but have since discouraged it. Now they actually prefer to sleep in the hay or loafing sheds. They still come by for a visit, or when called on for pot-licking. Ours are VERY smart and want to please so reform has been relatively easy. For an interesting story.....
http://www.pyrenean-journal.com/patous.htm

 

[Craig-TX]

We have a couple of GP dogs. I would agree with most of the comments above. They are not vicious but they're not like labs and collies either. I would not think they are the best suited for small children. If you get one don't let the boy play with the dogs while they're eating. Again, not mean dogs but not over friendly either. Perfect for what I'm wanting out of them. Like fellers said they tend to bark at night when a coyote or anything else is near, which is a lot around here. Impossible to break them of it. I guess it's because the protective instinct is bred into them. They will shut up if you get up and tell them to. The only other downside is in regards to their size and aversion to being restrained. Those dogs are hard to doctor. They don't like you trying to cut the cockleburs out of their hair or messing with them in any way. One had a bur in his paw and was limping bad, but wouldn't let me touch it for anything. Got some Mickey Finns from the vet for that one. It ended up taking about four X the dose they said to start with.

Craig-TX

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

Have to say CraigTX that that varies from dog to dog and situation to situation. I vetted all including IM shots and clipping the double dew claws with no sedation. Shots were done in the barn. "lay down--hold still--I said hold still. Good boy" was the extent of my troubles. Granted these 3 were raised more as pets than livestock guardians. The oldest was caretaker of some goats and sheep and a horse in MO--the other 2 were couch potatoes. It has been a year and they have really adjusted well. They stayed all night in the pasture with the mare that foaled last year and usually are the first to show me the new calf. In a lot of guardian situations where they are left isolated from humans (which I can understand) they would be harder to vet. For farm dogs--I think they can adapt to what you need from them. They are not obedient like my Aus shep mix, but they are loyal to a high degree.

 

[sidney411]

I could doctor my G.P. if I needed, but I have to keep him on a dog run or else he roams the country. He has no sence of 'this is our place, that is their place' to him it is all the same. I do have to have one heck of a dog run to keep him on it though! He doesn't do that much barking at night, only for a reason, if there are other dogs, or coyotes close by. He doesn't have the herding in him as far as I can tell, but he is not with the cattle. He is a real sweet easy going dog.

 

[Medic24]

When it came to grooming, and vetting, my first GP loved it and would stand still for hours if I would keep working on her,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I do miss her terribly.