We have been looking for a livestock guardian puppy (LGD) since buying the dairy doelings, and Thursday we found what we were looking for. My mom ended up getting two, with the idea that they would play with each other, so they wouldn't try to play with the livestock. They are 3/4 Great Pyrenees, and 1/4 Mastiff. In our experience mutts are healthier dogs, and don't have the genetic problems of a lot of pure bred bloodlines. Having 1/4 Mastiff in them created a shorter coat than a pure Pyrenees. So they should pick up less stickers, and require less grooming.
For 11 weeks old these puppies are huge, but very sweet and intelligent.
Rhett
Scarlett
A couple of love bugs. They are so soft and squishy.
Massive paws.
Regardless of their size. Teddy Bear wasn't the slightest bit afraid of them.
Kimberly
7 comments:
So adorable! I love dogs. And I absolutely love their names! :D Your family is fantastic at picking out names, whether for dogs or goats or whatever else.
Congratulations! They are really cute. How will you go about training them to work with the livestock? Or is that purely instinct?
Well thanks Kara.
On the trip home I started thinking about names. Rhett and Scarlett was my Moms first idea, and I loved them! I told her they were perfect and that was it. We have never named any animals so fast.
Kimberly
Wendy,
It's almost purely instinct. They need to get socialized with the livestock and vice versa. We are going to make a pen in the front of the pasture so that they can go out there during the day, and be protected from the adult goats, till the goats get used to them. They will bond with the goats and learn their job. These dogs do not have the nippy instincts in them that every other dog has. I took them out with the chickens to see how they would behave, and they just watched the chickens. Even ones that zipped by us. Normally a dog would want to snatch those ones up.
We will just have to see how easy this goes. We have raised a lot of different breeds of dogs, but never an LGD.
Kimberly
What great pups-Rhett and Scarlett- I love it! I am not a dog person and I absolutely adore my Great Pyr, Asher. I could practically dedicate a blog just to him.
I think they'll be much better guardians than Teddy Bear ;)
Oh, one thing, may I suggest that you DON'T bring them into the house. Love on them, cuddle on them, train them, but make sure they know their place is with the flock.
Hi Kristin,
We have never let them set foot in the house. I know that would be a big mistake. They are such big fumbling klutzes, its hilarious. They have a pen in the yard, up by the house. During the day we have been putting them in a pen inside the pasture to be around the goats, and get used to them and visa versa. I hope we are doing things right for our situation.
Kimberly
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