What is the best farm guard dog?

Best Guard Dog Breeds

• Great Pyrenees. These noble, independent, highly intelligent dogs are perhaps the most widely used LGD in America.
• Anatolian Shepherd. This breed is muscular, imposing, and reserved in temperament.
• Akbash.
• Maremma Sheepdog.

How much space do livestock guardian dogs need?

They are bred for one purpose and one purpose only: guarding livestock. Because of this, they’re constantly on the prowl for invaders. They need room to roam, baby. I’ve read conflicting reports as to how much land is ‘enough’ land, but I would guesstimate the minimum should be around an acre.

What kind of dog will keep deer away?

Dog breeds such as Great Pyrenees, Kuvasz, Komondor, Akbash, and Anatolian have been used for .

What do livestock guardian dogs do?

A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators. Livestock guardian dogs stay with the group of animals they protect as a full-time member of the flock or herd. The dog may attack or fight with a predator if it cannot drive it away.

How do you introduce LGD to goats?

Goats familiar with guardians If you raise goats that have been around dogs before, you’ll have very little to do in the way of introducing a farm raised or already working LGD to his or her charges. Simply put the dog on a lead and take it into the area where the goats are.

How many acres does a LGD need?

The Rule of Thumb for How Many Livestock Guardian Dogs You Need. The rule of thumb is one dog for every 50-100 animals on up to 20 acres.

Does dog scent scare deer?

Having dogs around can be quite effective in keeping deer out of your yard. Not only will their presence and loud barking scare them off, the scent lingering around your property can keep them away as well.

What is the ultimate guard dog?

A Tibetan mastiff is the ultimate guard dog. No one is getting past this giant, watchful, powerful, and intimidating dog. Historically, this Tibetan guard dog protected caravans of people and herds in the Himalayas against wolves and snow leopards.

Do livestock guardian dogs sleep outside?

In fact, he refused to walk the few feet to my car. Instead, he had to be carried into the backseat. Not an easy feat when your dog weighs around 100 lbs. When we got home, I had to once again carry him out of the car and it was a long time before he would even move.

Can LGD dogs be trained to protect livestock?

LGDs respond well to both obedience training and training to livestock when positive methods are used. In this article, I cover all the basics of training livestock guardian dogs.

Are livestock guardian dogs easy to train?

It means that despite the fact that livestock guardian dog breeds are highly intelligent problem solvers that can be trusted to protect your livestock even when you’re not around (eventually), they also crave your presence, partnership, and approval. This actually makes them very susceptible to training.

How long does it take to raise a livestock guardian dog?

Raising puppies to become livestock guardian dogs is a 12 month to 18 month venture. These breeds of dogs are slow to mature and thus are often not trustworthy and reliable before this age. I want to take a brief look at three major areas of training for a livestock guardian dog.

How do you take care of a livestock guardian dog?

Livestock guardian dogs are working dogs and a balance of how much interaction to have with the dog must be found. Be wary of how much attention you foster on the pup. The idea is not to make him into a pet but to let him know your touch by petting him and handling him.