# Training LGD



## MisFit Ranch (Apr 1, 2021)

So I want to learn all I can before I get my LGD, he is a Anatolian shepherd Great Pyrenees mix, I want to know what I need to do when I get him and what to train and what behavioral issues I should look for. I also want to know if it is possible to get adult goats that have never been with a LGD to accept him or if that’s even possible.

Here is a pic, his name is Slate Blue, aka Slate.


----------



## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Cutie!


----------



## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

He’s adorable!

How old will he be when you bring him home? And is he with working parents? Will you be keeping him in the barn with livestock when you get him? Or will he be in the house? If he’s going to be in the barn, remember he’s a baby and needs protection too (not just from predators but from the goats too). 

The first thing you’ll do is build a relationship with him and some of it will be normal puppy stuff. Work on recall from the very beginning. I’ve never had Anatolians but we raised Great Pyrenees growing up and a lot of them don’t have the best recall if not worked with consistently. It’s great for an LGD to know all the basic commands, and “leave it” is another good one to teach so when they get bigger and more playful, you can correct them easier. 

And it’s absolutely possible for adult goats to learn to accept him. That’s actually who you’ll want him with when he’s a little older because they can teach him manners that babies can’t. You’ll just have to supervise closely because you don’t want the goats scared of him or him scared of the goats. Slow introductions usually go a long way. 

He is bred to be an LGD, but being trained to be one is different and it will take a lot of leadership from you. The good thing is, if you put in the time and work now, when he’s older and you need another or one to replace him, he’ll be able to teach a new pup some of this stuff for you.


----------



## MisFit Ranch (Apr 1, 2021)

FizzyGoats said:


> He’s adorable!
> 
> How old will he be when you bring him home? And is he with working parents? Will you be keeping him in the barn with livestock when you get him? Or will he be in the house? If he’s going to be in the barn, remember he’s a baby and needs protection too (not just from predators but from the goats too).
> 
> ...


He’ll be around 10-12 weeks when we get him, he’ll probably stay in the house for one night since it will be dark when we get back from picking him up, he is from working parent also. Thank you for all the helpful info 😊


----------



## Hockeydudde (Mar 2, 2021)

Our great pyr is only 11 months old, so I'm no expert. And we have lost a few chickens, so our training has been wanting. That said my tip is NEVER let him jump on you. It's so dang cute when they are little, but you will soon regret it, especially if you have kids. Our next dog will not be allowed to jump on us even once.
Good luck! And he looks super cute!


----------



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

@Damfino may be able to offer further advice as well. Good luck..hes a handsome boy


----------



## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I don't have a ton of advice about LGD's because we've only had one from puppyhood. The first we got as an adult and she needed very little correction on anything. Our puppy took a full two years to grow up and to train. Once he got big I never trusted him fully with the goats until he was mature. He tended to play too rough with the goats and especially the babies. He also tried to "adopt" baby goats and would treat them like puppies and try to tumble with them or pick them up and carry them by the scruff of the neck. Since baby goats don't have a scruff this of course is very dangerous! Luckily he never injured anyone, but it made me very cautious about letting him stay with the kids unsupervised until I was sure I'd corrected this behavior out of him. They're very smart dogs and they don't usually repeat mistakes over and over if you manage to nip it in the bud. However, if they've gotten away with something on numerous occasions before you start correcting them, it can be very hard to retrain. 

A friend of mine got an Anatolian/Pyr puppy and no one was home to watch her even though she was with the baby goats. Their dog actually chewed up some kids by trying to carry them around. It also tended to chase them. They were lucky none were killed or permanently damaged. It took a while to train that behavior out of the dog afterwards, but eventually they managed with the help of a shock collar. I chalked that up to user error on the owner's part. They should never have left a young dog unattended with baby goats and assumed she'd be fine. 

Roaming the countryside was our dog's biggest problem and the hardest to correct, but a GPS tracking collar with shock feature eventually solved that issue. Good luck!


----------

