# Single LGD?



## Milk Machine (Jul 18, 2021)

I was wondering if anyone has had just 1 LGD and it do well. Or have you tried having 1 realized you need to have 2 (or more). I am in the process of getting a single male Colorado Mountain Dog as a guard for my mixed herd of sheep and goats. We do not have a lot of predation. I hear coyotes often and have once in the winter seen tracks in the pasture. I also once saw a fox in the pasture. But we have not had any losses. So as far as predator pressure I feel like we might not even NEED a guardian but I will feel better with one. But i wonder if the dog will be ok being the only dog with the flock. I have other dogs that he can see and interact with sometimes but no other guard dog with him & the flock. Originally the breeder I am buying from suggested 2 or as a rule of thumb always one more than you think you need. I was concerned about "litter mate syndrome" and she has known of 2 instances of a mild and more severe case of that. So she offered a single 9 month old that she thinks has the personality to do well on his own. But she also gave me the name of another breeder that has a female 6 month old in case I see issues. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks


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## KY Goat Girl (12 mo ago)

We bought a pair of sister LGDs and had them 8 years together. One was more dominant and if she didn’t like something, her sister didn’t like it either. We moved and only brought the one on the bottom of the totem pole. She also worked harder instead of laying around all day. She is now 9 years old and is doing better than I’ve EVER seen. I personally think a single works better than pair because we’ve had 4 LGDs each in pairs and once we spilt this second pair up, the results are amazing. Neither dog has cared about being separate from her sister. If coyotes are howling all Millie does is bark and it all stops. Now, we only have small varmints and coyotes but if you have bigger predators like mountain lions you would probably do better with a pair.


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

I have a single LGD. Our main predator load consists of coyotes, aerial predators, loose dogs, and possibly people. My LGD is only one year old and is locked up in the barn at night with the goats, but I think he’d be fine being out all night as far as being able to defend himself and the animals because most coyotes around here are wary of fences and dogs. I just want to give him time to rest and sleep since he works alone and would be up all night if I didn’t force him to rest. He does have the farm dog for back up and a playmate during the day, which is when we have the most loose dogs trying to come around. 

If the breeder has a dog they think will do well on its own, try it and see. You can always add another. Yours will probably work all night and sleep a lot during the day, and with your fairly light predator load, that sounds like it should be fine. If you had a heavy predator load, I’d be encouraging you to get two or three. For now, you can start with one if that works best for you. And yes, they often work best in pairs, it’s safer and better for them, but there are certain dogs and certain situations where one LGD is fine. However, if it’s not a big deal for you to have two instead of one, then go ahead and get two because it doesn’t hurt to have a little more protection than you need.


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## svgoats (Jan 18, 2019)

We ran a single female for a few years. I recently added a male puppy for her to train up and I have noticed that she spends less and less time with her goats. They both patrol and work together, but she is much less engaged with the herd then she used to be. He, on the other hand, stays with the herd the majority of the day. He usually alerts before she does too. 

When he is older, I plan on running them with separate herds. I'm interested to see if my female's interest in the herd returns, then.


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

I realize this thread is a month old, but thought I’d chime in.
I have a single GP and she is fantastic with her goats. Got her at 6 months old, trained up by her working parents on a herd of sheep, and she bonded immediately with my goats.
I was thinking at some point in the future I’d need to add another dog to get trained up before she slows down. She’s only 5 now, so I’ve got some time still.
What age would a Great Pyrenees start to slow up? She’s free to roam at all times so hopefully that helps for her not to get stiff. But I know larger breeds can have more issues along those lines.
I was also hoping she’d do the training in Showing a new dog the ropes but it seems like that didn’t work well for some of you.
I guess I’d probably get a pup who’s been with a herd of sheep and hopefully doing well with them already (we’d use the same breeder) but any suggestions on how to ensure the dogs both stay bonded to the goats and bond together enough to get along and work together but not to distract from their job? If that makes sense. Lol


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

2 is always best and I agree ☝


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I just got my first LGD.'s a sister pair. Each have their own personality and seem to compliment eachother. I was just warned how ever some siblings can develop bad habits as a team, so I will be watching that but so far..training is going well. I feel better having the two since our other dogs are old and I hate for one to be alone out there.


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

happybleats said:


> I just got my first LGD.'s a sister pair. Each have their own personality and seem to compliment eachother. I was just warned how ever some siblings can develop bad habits as a team, so I will be watching that but so far..training is going well. I feel better having the two since our other dogs are old and I hate for one to be alone out there.


I’ve loved seeing your posts about your two girls and I do think they’ll be working great together - with how their differences will compliment each other with their own strengths. ❤
I guess there’s no way of knowing how it’ll go until I do get another dog and see how they interact. Obviously they won’t be siblings and there’ll be a 5 year age difference (or more depending when we do get another 😅).


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## FizzyGoats (Apr 14, 2021)

[mention]Boer Mama [/mention] I’d be thinking about adding another one soon. Some of the larger dogs can start slowing down around 7 years old, and you’ll want the newbie to be ready to take over if that happens. Some last a lot longer. If you’re still in touch with the breeder, you might want to see what is typical with her specific lines. She’s at a great age to mentor a pup. She’ll be protective and playful enough to keep it safe and entertained but won’t be so playful that the dogs care more about each other than the goats. My plan is to add one sometime between 3-5 years apart in age and keep up with that. 

[mention]happybleats [/mention] I don’t see your duo in danger of having littermate syndrome, if that’s what you’ve heard about. They seem to be able to do things independently and together. Dogs that are most susceptible to that can’t be away from each other, they stay side by side ALL the time, and then that often turns to aggression toward each other later. It’s rare, but it happens. For the most part, littermates make a great team. I see a great team in your girls. Of course any animal can develop bad habits (even the human ones). Lol. But I’m sure you’re on top of any little adjustments that need to be made.


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## Boer Mama (10 mo ago)

Thats a good point @FizzyGoats - thank you!
I did tell my dad he should mention another pup to the breeder - he’s our neighbor up on the mnt grounds and they had to build a new fence this summer. I’m not sure if he did say anything or not but I’ll have him check when they might have another litter ready to go. 😉


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