The working dog...post a pic and tell us about them!

[Wildsky]

My GP/Lab mix is simply terrified of horses! Somewhere in her past she has definitely been traumatized by some evil, rabid horse...I'm just sure of it.

Great pic! She does well with the poultry then, this is always an added bonus...especially after reading all the post about this subject on the BYC. Great looking dog, BTW!

I do still have to YELL at her now and then - she's fine with the chickens until she see's one RUN - then her instinct kicks in and she wants to chase.. but she's been very good - only wants to play with the ducks - cause they're more into the water and digging in mud like she is.

Thank goodness, my horse LOVES dogs for some reason - my horse is a rescue I don't know her back-ground. She was TERRIFIED of chickens when I got her, for a year - I would try ride her past a persons coop and she would FLIP OUT - well now she has them in between her legs and all over...

My horse - Rosie, actually GOOSED a chicken the other day - I laughed so hard. Rosie was eating an apple, and the chicken was picking around after the little bits falling - rosie put her head back down to pick up her drops - and nudged the chicken out the way - it was SO funny. (chicken was NOT amused)

 

[FarmerChick]

hey wildsky---welcome
I have the exact same dog...LOL...could be from the same litter!
She nips at the heels of my horse and is a true pain actually...herding, stalking, you name it. I wish I took more time to train, but I didn't get her til she was like 9....when I married Tony. It was his dog. She is now 16 and fading...cataracts like that.

Cool she looks identical!

 

[Beekissed]

...herding, stalking, you name it...

I have a BC/lab mix that would do this, if given the chance. Fortunately I got to jump right on him when I brought the chickens home and he won't even LOOK at them now. That's one benefit of a herd dog, at least, they are extremely smart! He does get a kick out of trying to play with the neighbor's cows...through the fence! I know if he were let out into the field, we might have to train on that also!

 

[billfosburgh]

don`t have any pics, i wouldn`t know how to post them anyway but we have 3 Welsh Corgi`s & 2 Welsh Terriers. they are all duel or all purpose dogs. they catch moe mice & moles than any dog iv`e ever had. all are good watch dogs & the Corgi`s do well working our goats.

 

[keljonma]

Here is Titan, our 10 year old Great Pyr out in the farm yard this past August.

We rescued him from a no-kill shelter in Houston when he was 1 1/2 years old. We were the third family to adopt him. Needless to say, we did have some issues in the beginning.... But Titan was never trained to be a LGD, just does it naturally. He barks and chases all the hawks away. Our chickens have the run of our fenced acreage from sun up to sun down and we have never lost one to the hawks which are constantly over head.

Titan was our only animal until 2006, when we got another rescue dog (since deceased, cancer), a flock of chickens, and a cat (since rehomed to another farm).

He is the best dog we've ever had; a wonderful guardian of us, our other animals and our farm property. He is WONDERFUL with children of all ages and guards the grandkids when they visit. He has the run of the farm and the house and still thinks he is our lap puppy. All 100+ pounds of him.

With part of the flock...

Our Dominique hen picks weed seeds and bugs from his fur...

Hanging by the barn a few years back....

With the cat in the kitchen...

With the grandkids... Here he is keeping his eyes on some feral dogs in the farm fields next door.

 

[Beekissed]

Simply a beautiful animal!! Doesn't it irk you on BYC when someone posts about getting a dog to guard chickens and people start telling them that NO dog can be trusted alone with chickens, no matter what!?

We tell them countless stories of dogs who have done so for years and they still maintain that, eventually, that dog will kill chickens. Its like they are calling us a liar! I get the impression that, since they've been unable to train their dogs successfully, they just can't accept the fact that it can be done.

I didn't have to train my GP mix, but I put a full day's training into the BC mix(5 minute sessions x 3) ! Both of them are rescued dogs also...aren't they the best? An animal that needs you instead of some animal you thought would be cute to own?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I hear you on that Beekissed. I have a bonified born and bred to hunt-hunting dog, and a dog who has a dangerous breeds -reputation. Neither of my dogs could care less about our chickens --or rabbits for that matter .they come into the barn with us all the time and push the chickens out of the way so they can have the poo. A rabbit got out of its cage the othere day, and the dogs didn't even phase one bit. Chickens almost walk all over my dogs, and they could care less.

It's all on how you train them.

 

[keljonma]

Simply a beautiful animal!! Doesn't it irk you on BYC when someone posts about getting a dog to guard chickens and people start telling them that NO dog can be trusted alone with chickens, no matter what!? We tell them countless stories of dogs who have done so for years and they still maintain that, eventually, that dog will kill chickens. Its like they are calling us a liar! I get the impression that, since they've been unable to train their dogs successfully, they just can't accept the fact that it can be done.

Thanks... he is one special boy! I agree, it is very irksome! I find it terrible and I *do* think some dogs have been written off because someone did not want to spend any time training them. The whole Titan story is a good example. There is a huge sad and infuritating story there... starting with the two people who owned the parent dogs.

I didn't have to train my GP mix, but I put a full day's training into the BC mix(5 minute sessions x 3) !

We have moved 3 times since getting Titan. All we have ever done is walked him around the perimeter of his territory and talk to him about what we expect. He watches us very intently when we are talking to him about his duties. When we have to leave the farm, we say: "Okay, Titan, guard those chickens for us! We'll be right back!" And he does.

Both of them are rescued dogs also...aren't they the best? An animal that needs you instead of some animal you thought would be cute to own?

Titan was lucky to be at a no-kill shelter (run by a small & large animal vet), so the two people who adopted him before us just returned him to the shelter. We were told when we adopted him that Great Pyrs usually don't live longer than 9 to 10 years. There are days when we can still see the puppy in Titan, but at 10 years of age, he does have his moments of old age.

Our Brittany Spaniel, Maddie, was a dog our son found wondering the streets of Austin, TX after Katrina and Rita hit the gulf coast area. She was obviously part of someone's hunting kennel, she had been neutered after having puppies at one time. She had that pack mentally about food, and whenever she saw any she would gobble it up like she was afraid she wouldn't get anything to eat. We told our son to bring her up to us, since after 3 months, they could not find any clues to the owner's identity. The vet determined Maddie was about 6 years old when she came to us. It took her almost a year to realize she would always have food with us and she settled down. She would hang around the farm yard with Titan, but we never left her alone with the chickens. Maddie started having trouble with stairs about 1 1/2 years after she joined our family. The vet found cancer throughout her spine and hips. She died a few days later in her sleep. Titan was very depressed for a while.....

Probably the worst I can say about Titan is that maybe he spends too much time with the chickens. He loves to eat what they eat, including oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and yogurt! So we have to put some of those things in his bowl when the flock gets treats! And if they leave any yogurt in the bowls at night time lock down, Titan feels they are his. ...

We weren't really looking for a dog when Titan came to our attention, as we had recently lost our 15 year old English Springer Spaniel. So it was obviously meant for us to be a family. We have never regretted it.



edited for spelling....

 

[Beekissed]

I know what you mean.....the best dogs are found when you aren't really wanting or looking for a dog. That's how I got the legendary Jim Dandy and I wasn't even allowed to have dogs where I lived. Then he died of cancer after 4 years with us and I never wanted another dog at all.

Then....2 years after Jimmy, my sis calls and says someone left a great dog on a farm near them and moved away. The neighbors were coming up and feeding her. I didn't even want to go and see her because I was still mourning my great dog, but I did and the rest is history!

I like those encounters the best in life....animals and people....when you aren't really needing, or looking for, something, then its there and the need finds you!

 

[keljonma]

I like those encounters the best in life....animals and people....when you aren't really needing, or looking for, something, then its there and the need finds you!

AMEN!