Need help picking an LGD for our needs

[big brown horse]

We started with a Great Pyrenese puppy. I wouldn't even start with a year old puppy, myself, as I am very particular about how I want my dog to behave . . . otherwise I do not like dogs. I am a cat person, by nature.

Our puppy is learning our rules . . . which I've stated are very particular . . . and she is doing well, but it has been a constant job.

You can start training for basic things as soon as you bring the puppy home (should be about 8 weeks old). Check out the Monks of New Skete's book The Art of Raising a Puppy. Or get their book How to be Your Dog's Best Friend.

Our puppy is pure bred, but she was bred by someone who was not a professional. We spent $500 outright, but the vet bills and feed costs are definitely something to consider too.

Our puppy is already barking at anything she sees walking down the road. However, she knows the people we are friends with and doesn't bark when they drive up. She is mostly good at the "Stay" command (situation dependent . . . getting better at being less situation dependent) and has mastered "Sit." She is not quite 4 months old. I think she would be better trained already if we had more time to spend with her.

She is interested in our ducks, and will chase them for fun (we are working on correcting this behavior) but she does not attack them.

I vote Great Pyrenese. They are smart and good natured. Good with children and animals of all sizes.

Ok now that DrakeMaiden is gone until next week I can say this....

I adopted young adult dogs with bad habits, yet it only took me (with most of them) a week to correct. Puppies take much longer.

(Drake, she's my bestie. )

 

[pinkfox]

lol i took the protect the baby and rotty thing to mean given that rotties tend to be associated with the bad seeds in especally high numbers in her area she didnt want anyone of the bad seed type being drawn towards her family due to having a breed commonly associated with said bad seeds...

same as when you live in a bad neighborhood, having a pitbull seems to attract the idiots who want to use your dog for breeding or want to know if youd like to fight your dog...(or worse just steal your dog...)

 

[big brown horse]

Hey Pink Fox, we need to give BB a copy of Good Dog Carl don't we?

 

[big brown horse]

http://www.gooddogcarl.com/

I've never met a rotty I didn't like. However I totally get where you are coming from BB. In S. TX pits are over bred by the wrong crowd. It is causing a breed ban down there. Wild pits killed a mini horse stabled at my URBAN Houston stables along with a bunch of pet goats. It was awful.

 

[MsPony]

OH MY GOSH! My lab is that posh indoor dog, ugh. I yell at him to go outside, be a dog! Protect the chickens! And he just stares at me in his cute matching collar & leash, in his super clean skin & fur...then lays on his special bed (he has hip dysplasia.)

Argh.

 

[big brown horse]

...and one more thing and then I'll shut up, I agree with navajo, most large breeds eat less than regular sized dogs, like labs, goldens or boxers etc. After they top out as adults, they become low energy dogs...prefering to "watch out" over the herd and occasionally check fence lines, rather than romp around wasting, er, sorry, "eating up" energy.



P.S. My own sister refused to read the book Good Dog, Carl that I gave to her young kids b/c she worried that they would walk up to strange rotties. Even though naughty rotties aren't an issue in TX.


Ok, commence with your LGD dog search.

 

[Farmfresh]

I have TRIED to restrain myself ... but especially given your climate I have to go with my favorite hybrid once again.

German Shepherd X Siberian Husky

They will do what you need them to do as long as you spend that little bit of extra time to reinforce the "do not eat the chickens" rule when they are very young.

My first combo of this type was a cinnamon dog with a white heart face named Tramp. I was a little kid and I guarantee you NO BODY could have ever harmed me. He fought coyotes and stray dogs. He slept beside me each night. He could herd sheep or my horses like an old pro. He would let my bantams steal food right out of his mouth. Never had a sick day in his life and lived to about 103 ... OK THAT might be a bit of an exaggeration, but even the vet was amazed at his advanced age.

Right now there are three of these "mutts" in our family.

Cassie is our "nurse" dog and very loving and gentle. She would also rip into an intruder without hesitation.

My D1 has her full brother/litter mate Kooshie. He is a little more Husky in appearance.

And then there is my Sage pup!

Best of all - They are MUTTS! Sage was $100.00 Cassie and Kooshie were $30.00 each. They can eat anything in their path or on their plate. Winters = NO problem.

 

[Wifezilla]

That's the weird thing.... purebred husky = destructive pain in the backside without LOTS of care, time, and attention. Husky mutts = giant protective mushball. My grandma had one that had such strong maternal instincts she would line up her stuffed animals along her stomach so they could "nurse". She let all us grandkids climb all over her. If someone tried to pick on someone, she would put her body between who ever was fighting.

 

[MorelCabin]

Myself, I would go for the husky sheppard cross They really are a great all around family dog that you would probably never have to worry about, but are aso protective of thier families.
They are also cheap to buy and pretty plentiful in the North.

The rotties i wopuld stay away from as well...I have personally seen too many rottie and child incidents that ended tragically. An aquaintance of mine is a vet and we spent a summer a few years ago sitting at a baseball diamond while our kids played ball...he told me enough about his experiences with rotties to turn me off them forever as well.

 

[MsPony]

Sad, Morel I hate that people ruin breeds (owners, not vets) as I'm a HUGE pitbull lover/advocate.

My customer recently got one, we had a long discussion about why she got one, concerns pre-adoption, etc. He is the sweetest dog ever, I was down on the ground hugging him and he totally hammed it up.