# LGD questions



## meghank (Aug 18, 2016)

Back in January I had bought a great pyrenees/anatolian shepherd mix. I expected her to be a bit aloof and not really friendly. On the drive home, she cowered in the back of my car the whole way (5 hours). The people I got her from had penned her up and when approached, she cowered and was shaking (should have been my first clue). I was not properly prepared for her (thought I was) and had her tied up on a 40 foot tie out. I mistakenly thought this would be sufficient until spring when we got our pastures set up. We had just moved to the property and had heard from neighbors that there are coyotes, bobcats, and bears around, so I was nervous and wanted to get an lgd. In the first 2 weeks, she slipped out of a collar, broke a collar, and slipped out of a harness, but had already bonded to the goats and stuck around. She was completely unapproachable and no animal control/help to tranquilize her could be found. I finally trapped her and put her in with the goats after we expanded the pen significantly. They broke open a gate and she escaped, a few days later she ran away and never came back. I'm thinking she wasn't properly socialized as a puppy, as I never managed to approach her except when she was cornered and cowering. I don't plan on getting another one for quite a while. Any thoughts?


----------



## Suzanne_Tyler (Jul 19, 2014)

Get a puppy and socialize it. I'm always wary of getting older LGDs, because they need to be trained well early on.


----------



## Deborah Haney (Jul 11, 2017)

You could try buying from working lines, either an adult working dog or a puppy with working parents.


----------



## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Cowerin and shakin to me says she had been abused by those humans.


----------



## Madgoat (Jan 8, 2017)

Sadly, I dealt with a dog like this. I “purchased” a 3 month old puppy based on the advice of someone I totally trusted. I paid a lot of money for her, she was going to be my foundation bitch for my breeding program. 
When we got to the airport to pick her up, she was very nervous and timid, at the time I assumed she was traumatized from the change of scenery, and the flight. 

Once we got her home, she went into her own pen and I handled her daily. We NEVER ever struck her or jerked on her, not just because of her temperament but because of the breed. 

She never bonded with us, she could never be turned loose, and while she had gorgeous puppies, several of them acquired her temperament. I was so discouraged, I contacted the breeder who denied breeding inferior dogs, and told her that I was returning the dog. 

This breed is cautious, standoffish, maybe even “shy” until they bond with their flock (human or animals). 

Any breed can have timid individuals, best way to avoid this is going to a reputable breeder, research their litters, talk to previous buyers, VISIT the puppies multiple times and watch your puppy, get a return guarantee for genetic issues. Wish I had done that! Mine from this bitch were normal until around 7-8 weeks old, it was like a switch went off in them.


----------



## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

All great advice.


----------

