Livestock Guardian Dogs

[goatgurl]

it's not that the Anatolians were roamers but they would be on one end of the place and the goats/sheep would be on the other. Katie was my first maremma and her partner at the time was jasper, a 120# 'toile male. when he died I went ahead and found another maremma because I really liked the way they worked. when most folks see my dogs they think they are pyr's because they are big and white and I have to explain the difference in the way they work. they come from
'different sides of the same mountain range. pyrs can be great dogs if you have good fences but I don't and will never be able to afford good fences all the way around my land so my guys work well for me. found some pics you might like of them. hope they'll load.

the first three pics are of Katie, under a tree watching her goats, looking at me like mom you know I hate to have my picture taken and lastly being a trampoline for some of this years babies.
next three are marco watching to see what emma is barking about, laying with a ewe who had just given birth and third just looking at me with that goofy grin of his. marco is 18 months old and came to me as an 11 month old dog. he came from a touch me not kind of farm and he is finally letting me pet him and scratching his backside for him. he is wonderful with the stock and so protective of them. he always lets me know when someone is pulling into the lower gate down at the road before they get to the 2nd gate into my yard whereas Katie meets folks with a wagging tale he greats them with a standoffish attitude and a watchful eye. don't know if you can tell from the pics but she is a very ladylike dry mouthed girl and he is a big goofy drooling guy. he has come a long way in trusting me but we have a ways to go yet.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

They look awesome.

My Pyr is the one that is more stand offish with the goats - not that she won't be right there if they need her - like cuddling a laboring doe on a cold night. I wonder if that comes from being a lone guardian for most of her life? She has always been the one that did everything and I think that made her back off a little so that she could see the big picture and you can't do that if you're right on top of the goats. But, Cowboy - the big Anatolian is an 'in your (goat) face' kinda dog. He was known for fence jumping when he was younger - but he's kinda outgrown that. He never wandered - he was just being social, lol. Now he is the self-appointed bay sitter. He loves his babies!

I have zero experience with Maremma's. Would love to meet one someday!

 

[Beekissed]

They are both gorgeous! She looks more like most of the pics one sees of the Maremmas, with a more delicate face and rounded head and he looks more like the GP and Akbash dogs, with a wider, blockier head and droopier flews. Both are very pretty dogs.

It can get very hard to tell the breeds apart at times, especially when they are the all white, fluffy coloring with those sweet, earnest faces. At least some GPs and Anatolians come with different coloring and that makes it a little easier.

 

[goatgurl]

lol, I've never had a maremma jump the fence but the first pair of 'tolies I had jumped over 48" woven wire with 2 strands of barbed wire on top to scare 2 years growth out of the neighbor down the road as she jogged past with her dog. she still jogs but no longer brings a dog with her. now she just hollers at kate and marco and they go, ok its just you. neither of these dogs is standoffish with the goats but he sure is with people and I don't have a problem with that. mom was still alive when I first got Katie and she was taught as a pup to leave folks alone and over the years she's watched emma get lots of loving so she now follows suit.
and bee I forgot to say how ben reminds me of the maremmas. he is more laid back, more willing to listen and learn and so gentle with his charges. that doesn't mean he can't goof off or goof up because he is still a pup but these dogs seem to me to mature mentally earlier than the tolies. I've only had one pyr in my goat raising life and spent so much looking for that darn dog that I swore i'd never have another one and I haven't. I know of so many people say they are great dogs and I believe if you have good fences they are but they are just not for me.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I have always liked maremmas and you're giving me even more reasons to like them!

 

[Beekissed]

That's good to know about Ben's traits...I was assuming it was from the Anatolian side he was getting that eagerness to learn and follow Jake's lead on things and his gentleness towards the chickens and cats.

His GP side of the mix is now wearing two receivers on his collar to increase his obedience to the line. One has a max level of 4 and the other one has a max level of 6 and they are both set on the max. He was using the fear of loud noises as an excuse to break the boundary and go walkabout, so I increased the deterrent levels and have been training him on loud noises.

Yesterday I put his thundershirt on and had my son shoot different calibers of gun there in the yard so I could monitor his reactions. They were significantly less than they have been in the past...he was clearly not enjoying the loud noise, which is normal, but he wasn't running, pacing, whining or barking and didn't have a distressed demeanor at all, so that was progress.

Thunderstorms now are not a problem for him...we've had so many of those lately that he no longer even has to wear his thundershirt but still remains calm during the worst lightning and thunder. He's even been sleeping through them now!

 

[goatgurl]

emma goes in the house when we are shooting but JJ stays with me. emma also lays beside me during thunder storms while JJ sleeps or if there is a really big crack she'll look over at me like are we ok mom? emma never use to be afraid of guns or storms until my psudos-SIL fired a couple of flash bangs up here and it scared the stuffings out of everything on the hill. ben and his boing thru a line reminds me of a little arab mare that I use to have. I had 3 strands of electric wire around my garden and I would go to work and when I came home after 12 hours she would be "trapped" in the garden. she wanted the veggies bad enough to go thru the fence but didn't want her freedom bad enough to come back out. was a good thing that I really loved her 'cause I could shot her a couple of times I was so mad.
I sure hope ben gets over that walkabout thing. he is at the right age to want to explore and expand his territory. I don't remember, does he still have all his boy parts?

 

[Beekissed]

I don't remember, does he still have all his boy parts?

Nope. And, apparently, some dogs of these breeds develop a fear of loud noises after being neutered! Who knew? If I'd known that I may not have been so quick to get him cut.

Each time he crossed his boundary it was during incidences of loud noises and when I was not around for him to see. Now I tie him to a run line when I leave for a couple of days....I was tying him up at night too but now I'm trusting him more after seeing how well he's doing with loud noises.

The two receivers are really doing a great job at keeping him away from the line too, so I'm hoping they will deter him from taking a running at it when he takes a notion.

 

[baymule]

Bee, I don't think neutering has a thing to do with fear of loud noises. Both of my GP's are intact and are shivering, drooling blobs of white fur when there is a thunderstorm or fireworks.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

And, apparently, some dogs of these breeds develop a fear of loud noises after being neutered

I've heard that too. Hopefully, like with Ben, it was just a 'phase' he went through.