New Akbash puppy

Help Support CattleToday:

Lannie

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
405
Reaction score
803
Location
South Dakota plains
Our old Pyrenees, Jasper, is turning 12 this January, and we lost his beautiful partner, Kiara, two years ago. He's been sad and morose ever since, although he still does his job as well as he can. Being a senior now, he can't run as fast as he used to, and sometimes things get past him, so we'd been on the hunt for a new partner for him for some time now. We finally found her. Meet Maggie, our future guardian dog!

10-08-21 Maggie 05.jpg

10-08-21 Maggie 02.jpg

Making friends with the old grumpy guy (actually trying to steal his dinner, LOL!) Sorry, it was low light and full zoom, and my camera sucks... but you get the idea.
10-08-21 Maggie and Jasper 02.jpg


She's deadly smart and learns SO fast, it blows my mind. She's the first puppy I've had since 1998, so it's been a little rough getting back into the puppy swing of things, but she's adorable, and I love her to bits. She's learned to keep her distance from hormonal calving cows, she loves all the barn kitties, and the chickens provide her with endless entertainment. She's one of the happiest puppies I've ever seen, but why not? She has all this room to roam and explore, and friends everywhere she turns.

She's going to be every bit as good a protector as Old Man Jasper, maybe better. When Jasper finally leaves us, I'm getting another one from the same breeder. I couldn't be happier with Maggie, and Jasper loves her dearly. He was a bit grouchy toward her at first, but she won him over. She has the perfect balance of in-your-face and submissiveness, and she knows where and when to use both. She's such a joy to have around! I've been moping over losing one of my house dogs (10 year old Dobe female) a couple years back, right on the heels of losing Kiara, but Maggie has brought sunshine and smiles to everyone here, including me! :)
 
I loved having two, watching them work together to get rid of a bad guy. Jasper is past that point now, but one day, I'll have two fast, sleek partners working together again. Jasper has, over the years, convinced the local coyote population to seek food elsewhere, but we do still have a problem with the odd fox here and there. They're so sneaky. I think Maggie will be able to take care of any intruders, as long as Jasper can help point them out. They could outrun him, but I doubt they'll be able to outrun Maggie when she grows up. I can't wait to see her full grown, but in the meantime, I'm really enjoying her floppy puppiness to the MAX. :)
 
It was an exciting day yesterday! MAGGIE GOT A BAD GUY! What is she now, three months and a week or two? Unbelievable! My husband Rich and I were on the couch last night watching TV after all the work was done for the day, and it had just got dark-dark. It was about 6:15, I think. Anyway, I thought I heard a bark, so I asked Rich to mute the TV, and sure enough, "BARK!" "BARK!" "BARK!!!" It was Maggie's baby-bark.

I got up and went to the door to see what Maggie was barking at, and she wiggled up to me, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, so I shut the door and went back to the couch. But bark, bark, bark again, so I asked Rich if he'd go out with the flashlight and see what was going on (I had my shoes off already). I was slightly worried, because usually when Maggie barks about anything, Jasper also barks and comes running to see if she's OK, and I didn't see or hear Jasper out there when I checked out the door. I was starting to worry that something was wrong with Jasper.

So Rich went out the door, then RIGHT back in, and grabbed the varmint pistol (the .22) and back out. POW! I had put my shoes on and was getting into my coat when I saw him just outside the back door fussing with the slide on the pistol. I asked him what was out there and he said skunk, but the .22 only wounded it and now the damn slide was jammed. So I turned around and went to retrieve my .357, which I handed out the door to him. Then there was BANG!! (Geez, I forgot how LOUD that thing is!) and Rich said, "He's DEAD!" Really? Duh! ROFL!

Of course, the skunk sprayed when he got the first shot, so the back porch REEKED, and Rich got covered in stinky-mist, so he reeked, but he changed clothes and it was a little better.

Then Rich told me the rest of the story, which just blew my mind. When he first went out the door, the skunk was right beside the back patio, and Maggie was holding it at bay, so it couldn't come any closer to the house and door. When Rich came back out with the .22, Maggie was still bravely holding the skunk back, and barking (actually, she sounded more like a hound, "Aaa-ROOOO" so now I know what her "danger-bark" sounds like). As soon as she saw Rich bring up the .22, she went and stood behind him. The .22 firing didn't scare her at all, she stayed right where she was, right by her daddy. Then when he came back out with the .357, the skunk had dragged itself about 10 feet into the yard, and Maggie was still standing near it, growling. Again, when he brought the revolver up to aim, she got behind him. HOW DOES SHE KNOW HOW TO DO THIS? When the .357 went off, she did startle, and ran off a few feet, but came right back to her daddy.

Meanwhile, Jasper, who NORMALLY hides in his dog house in the barn if he hears gunshots, was in the corral, about 100 feet away, barking like a fool. What courage it took for him to stay outside and bark, rather than go hide, but he thought maybe his little girl was in trouble. I don't blame him for not coming right up to where Rich and Maggie were, because I know how scared of gunshots he is. What he did last night was incredibly brave.

Sorry, I'm not done yet - this is turning into a long story, LOL! So a couple hours later, when Rich went to feed the garage cats, Maggie had been camped out right beside the back door, but got up and went to the garage with him to get some more loves and pets and atta-girls (Rich gave her a LOT of those after he dragged the skunk to the pit and dumped it). He put food in the cats' dishes, then while the cats were eating, he went and sat on his chair to visit with Maggie and keep telling her what a good, brave girl she is. But every couple of minutes, she went to the door and looked/sniffed around outside before coming back for more loves. This went on for about 20 minutes, then Rich finally shut the lights off and came back to the house, and Maggie posted herself right beside the back door again. She was protecting us from skunks. And badgers. Those are the two villainous bad guys she knows so far. (A week after we brought her home, she showed Rich where the badger was hiding in the garage so he could dispatch it. We'd been trying to get rid of that badger for two YEARS.)

I'm SO happy about the skunk! Jasper doesn't see them, or the badgers for that matter, as "predators," so he's never bothered to do anything about them, but Maggie does. And we have such a problem with skunks, badgers, and raccoons once in a while, coming in the garage looking for food. I have every confidence now that we won't have to worry about that anymore, not with Miss Maggie on duty. What a smart girl she is!

It amazes me that she's already "working, " and she's still just a baby! How did I ever get along without her?
 
Baby Maggie is growing into such a beautiful girl. And this isn't even a current picture, just the most recent one I have. This was about a week and a half ago:
11-03-21 Maggie 03.jpg

Unfortunately, she has entered her chicken-rolling stage. I was hoping to avoid it, but alas, it seems inevitable. Most of my chickens are old hens or roosters at the moment, so if she actually scares one to death, it won't be a great loss, but I'm working with her on NOT playing with the funny fluffy squawky critters. I need to get another batch of chicks at some point, but I'm waiting until she's over her chicken obsession before I do.

She was slobbering a large rooster in the corral last evening, and as we were headed out to do chores, I saw good ol' Jasper put himself between her and the rooster, then he laid down and guarded it until we got there. From what I've read, less than 1% of LGD breeds will actually bond with and guard poultry (they'll guard them if they're in their general guarding territory, but usually not individual birds). So maybe Jasper is one of those rare ones. He definitely stopped Maggie from molesting that poor rooster last night, though, that's for sure. (I scolded her roundly for her transgression when I got there, then put the rooster in the coop to recover. The rooster is fine, just a little wet.)

He also went in the garage a couple days ago and he NEVER goes inside a building except the barn where his shelter is. But Maggie had apparently been trying to play with a rooster in the garage, and Jasper heard it squawking, so he went in and shooed Maggie out the door (I only saw the end of this incident). Amazing. I'm glad I have him to help me with this. :) Again, the rooster was saved in the nick of time, LOL! I didn't scold her for that one because I didn't get there in time, but Jasper had already handled it, so it was all good.

She's become such a beautiful dog. Sometimes, Jasper will bark at a vehicle going too slow out on the road or the UPS truck pulling in the driveway, and although she's not helping him bark yet, she goes on full alert, and I can see what she's going to look like when she's full grown. It makes my heart skip a beat. She's gonna be a GREAT (big) dog!
 
I forgot, I do have some more recent pics. These are from a few days ago. Please ignore the tired old woman in this first one. The wind was blowing about 40mph and I'm a mess here. But you can see how much Maggie loves me. My heart belongs to her.
Maggie and Mom 1.jpg

And later, guarding the house from evil skunks and badgers:
Maggie 1.jpg
 
I forgot, I do have some more recent pics. These are from a few days ago. Please ignore the tired old woman in this first one. The wind was blowing about 40mph and I'm a mess here. But you can see how much Maggie loves me. My heart belongs to her.
View attachment 10514

And later, guarding the house from evil skunks and badgers:
View attachment 10515
 
Last edited:
Thanks, Jasper is doing way better than I expected he would. And now that Maggie is a teenager, he's being extremely patient with her. I think he loves her as much as I do.

The chicken-playing unfortunately continues. Last night, just at sundown (when they're all trying to go to bed) she grabbed another one. He was too big for her to carry, so she was "leading" him down the driveway away from the garage. I yelled a sharp, "HEY!" and she let go, and the rooster beat a hasty retreat back to the garage. Maggie was standing there with a couple of his feathers sticking out of her mouth, and it was hard to be mad at her because she looked so funny with those feathers. Like the proverbial cat that just ate the canary. LOL! I still pretended to be mad, though.

I've decided that by yelling at her (or "biting" her, or rolling her on her side) is only teaching her to be careful not to play with a chicken when Mom's around, so I've ordered a shock collar. We'll start with the beep, then the vibrate, and then if those don't work, that chicken will zap her when she puts her teeth on it. Of course, I'll have to be watching from cover so I can time it right, but this way, she won't know it's ME that's doing it. It will be the chicken.

I used one of these collars on my older house dog, years ago, when she used to chase the chickens that got in the back yard where she was, and she was killing the ones she caught. She has a MUCH higher prey drive than Maggie, and when she was "hunting," the tone and vibrate didn't make much of an impression, but a low-voltage zap did the trick. I think I had to press that zap button two or three different times and that was the end of her chicken chasing. They weren't fun to chase and kill anymore. Unfortunately those built-in batteries don't last long, and that collar is dead, so I have to order a new one. I'm pretty sure it should work at least as well as it did on the house dog, considering Maggie is only playing, not trying to actually kill the birds. Fingers crossed! I know she'll eventually grow out of this, but I'd rather it be sooner than later.
 
I think your idea with shock collar is excellent. And it is definitely best if she thinks the chicken is zapping her :)
Maggie is a very pretty young dog
 
Thanks, Jasper is doing way better than I expected he would. And now that Maggie is a teenager, he's being extremely patient with her. I think he loves her as much as I do.

The chicken-playing unfortunately continues. Last night, just at sundown (when they're all trying to go to bed) she grabbed another one. He was too big for her to carry, so she was "leading" him down the driveway away from the garage. I yelled a sharp, "HEY!" and she let go, and the rooster beat a hasty retreat back to the garage. Maggie was standing there with a couple of his feathers sticking out of her mouth, and it was hard to be mad at her because she looked so funny with those feathers. Like the proverbial cat that just ate the canary. LOL! I still pretended to be mad, though.

I've decided that by yelling at her (or "biting" her, or rolling her on her side) is only teaching her to be careful not to play with a chicken when Mom's around, so I've ordered a shock collar. We'll start with the beep, then the vibrate, and then if those don't work, that chicken will zap her when she puts her teeth on it. Of course, I'll have to be watching from cover so I can time it right, but this way, she won't know it's ME that's doing it. It will be the chicken.

I used one of these collars on my older house dog, years ago, when she used to chase the chickens that got in the back yard where she was, and she was killing the ones she caught. She has a MUCH higher prey drive than Maggie, and when she was "hunting," the tone and vibrate didn't make much of an impression, but a low-voltage zap did the trick. I think I had to press that zap button two or three different times and that was the end of her chicken chasing. They weren't fun to chase and kill anymore. Unfortunately those built-in batteries don't last long, and that collar is dead, so I have to order a new one. I'm pretty sure it should work at least as well as it did on the house dog, considering Maggie is only playing, not trying to actually kill the birds. Fingers crossed! I know she'll eventually grow out of this, but I'd rather it be sooner than later.
I used a training collar on my old cowdog 10 years ago to stop him from going under the fonce on the road and to stop chasing rabbits. One time was all it took on each. Got him as his head went under the hogwire. Next time he went after a rabbit and I hit the button. He came running about 100 yards and jumped in the big truck in the middle of the seat!!! He hasn't chased a rabbit in 10 years..
 
I forgot, I do have some more recent pics. These are from a few days ago. Please ignore the tired old woman in this first one. The wind was blowing about 40mph and I'm a mess here. But you can see how much Maggie loves me. My heart belongs to her.
View attachment 10514

And later, guarding the house from evil skunks and badgers:
View attachment 10515

Awe... thats strange everytime I'm in pictures some tired old woman keeps getting in my pictures too. 🤣🤡 Same freaking lady pops up in my mirrors!! We just have to embrace who we have become, where we have come from and be proud of that old person. I know when I was young and getting it I may have had the looks but didn't have a lick of sense. I'm happy to have aged having more knowledge. To grow old is a blessing. I find elders to be beautiful people. ❤
Maggie sounds like a wonderful dog. A blessing for ya'll, especially with ya'll getting older. ❤ She may need to be named Angel Maggie. 😉👼
 
I used a training collar on my old cowdog 10 years ago to stop him from going under the fonce on the road and to stop chasing rabbits. One time was all it took on each. Got him as his head went under the hogwire. Next time he went after a rabbit and I hit the button. He came running about 100 yards and jumped in the big truck in the middle of the seat!!! He hasn't chased a rabbit in 10 years..
Poor ol' dog! BAD fence! BAD rabbits! They can be SO dangerous! :eek: Hopefully, Maggie will find out that chickens can be just as dangerous! She's pretty smart, so I don't expect it will take her too long, either. ;)

You're a good story teller Lannie.
I have been told this before. I attribute it to a bad case of the blabberfingers. ;) There's a whole book (on another forum I'm on) of my beginning adventures in hobby farming and cow-keeping. It's pretty hysterical. If I could only find the time to pull all those posts together, I bet I could have it published, and retire in STYLE! ROFL!

Awe... thats strange everytime I'm in pictures some tired old woman keeps getting in my pictures too. 🤣🤡 Same freaking lady pops up in my mirrors!! We just have to embrace who we have become, where we have come from and be proud of that old person. I know when I was young and getting it I may have had the looks but didn't have a lick of sense. I'm happy to have aged having more knowledge. To grow old is a blessing. I find elders to be beautiful people. ❤
Maggie sounds like a wonderful dog. A blessing for ya'll, especially with ya'll getting older. ❤ She may need to be named Angel Maggie. 😉👼
No kidding, every time I go in the bathroom and see my grandmother looking back at me from the mirror, I do a double-take. When did that happen? I used to be HOT! Well, OK, that was 40 years ago, but still... ROFL! And you're right about the wisdom and knowledge. I sure do have a lot of that from these past couple of decades. Boy, howdy, do I ever! 40 years ago, it was the end of the world if I broke a nail. Now, I break one and say, "Where are the clippers?" The damn thing just comes off and no big deal. It'll grow back, right? And all the things I've learned from the cows... I could fill another whole book on just that.

And yes, little Angel Maggie is already my angel. She's going to be big, and she loves me more than life, and will protect me with every bit of herself. One day, when she's grown, I'll get a pic of her standing up, hugging me, and I'd be willing to bet she'll be as tall as me (and I'm 5'10"). One thing's for sure - I'll never have to worry about anyone ever talking smack to me again, whether they be two-legged or four-legged. :ROFLMAO:
 
Bahahahahaha!!! I bet in 8 or 9 months she will be as tall as you. I love your stories too. Maggie is a beautiful today. You could write a book just about Maggie or even childrens books about Maggie and Jasper on the farm. 😍 Look at the books The Wonky Donkey. 😆 That's good stuff. Simple yet good. Or any the Dr Seuss books. Do it do it!! 👏🏾📣
 
Sometimes I start talking like Dr. Seuss, and then I know it's time for a drink. 🤪

Maggie's collar arrived yesterday, on SATURDAY, from UPS. Surprised the hell out of me, but the UPS guy said everyone is working Saturdays now until Christmas. So yay for me! She gets her first lesson today!

I tried out the beep and vibrate and they're pretty good (loud beep, good hard vibrate), then I set the zapper on 50% and zapped my fingers. YIKES! Then I put it on 35% and still yikes! So it's on 25%. It will still make an impression on her, I think (it tingled my fingers REALLY good!), and I can turn it up or down from the remote, and switch from zap to beep to vibrate, so I can customize without having to mess with the collar. :)

It's a pretty nice gadget for $34.00, but as soon as I'm done actively using it and it sits on a shelf for a while, it will die, too, I'm sure. Someone should be able to come up with something that you can keep and use for longer than a few weeks or months. The instructions are a SCREAM! "The light on the receiver will be a breathing mode" (I think that means "BLINKING" mode) and so forth. Good thing I'm familiar with these things, or I wouldn't be able to figure out how to use it, ROFL!
 
I used a collar too, and yes Kenny, mine had a charger.

One zap did it for the girl. The big boy took a few zaps. She jumped straight up in the air set on 1. He would grit his teeth and take a 7 with barely a flinch.
 

Latest posts

Top