# Anyone ever train a Golden retriever as a LGD?



## Breezy-Trail

I have looked over the LGD breeds and they all seem to be iffy.
Some harder to train and a lot are not good with family/small kids.

A while ago we raised Golden Retrievers, mostly for pet.
We bred them a few times to sell the pups and made good money.
I know the goldens are highly trainable and make good family dogs.
Can a pup be trained up to guard? 

I want a dog that can be a friend to me and my siblings as well as follow orders.

When is a good time to get a LGD? Is it related to the number of goats in the herd?
Next year I will have 8-9 in the doe fence. I will have a cattle panel main doe fence set up and past that a joining electric fence that goes out further into the field.
I fear that an animal took strike during the day (sometimes heard of) and with only a 3 wire electric or cattle panels then could get in. I shut the barn door at night...but maybe if I had a dog I could have "loose housing"?

If not a golden retriever, what breed would be best for me?
I know people with 20 goats in a fence with no dog.
I wonder if they are taking a risk or if they have better fences?
Is a dog a good investment? If I did get a dog it wouldn't really be anytime soon...just curious.


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## freedomstarfarm

Any LG wool cost money so be ready for that. 

There is no set number of goats to have a LGD. If you have any livestock and a area big enough to house a LG they can do well. 

LG's are good for protection from predators like coyotes and mountain lions. *One of the main killers of goats is domestic dogs! 

I looked into all type of LG and all the breeds of LGD. I selected Anatolian Shepherd and am very happy with my choice. I have a 2 year old caught and a 1 year old daughter and they are great with both of them. It is all in the training. 

TRAINING is very important! My dogs are still young 6months old. I keep them in pens adjacent to the goats but not in with them unless I am there. This is really important so they do not develop bad behavior. I highly recommend reading a few books on them. I don't agree with all the info in the books so reading a few will give you a good foundation to base your training on. *Don't just read one and think that it is right because there is a lot of bad info out there. 

Golden Retrievers can make wonderful pets and sometime wonderful bird hunting dogs. They are not LGD's. I know some people will say that they can be but IMO I would only use a dog from working lines who's ancestors have been bred for decades or centuries to do the work you want them to do. There are way to many variables and although a soft mouth dog they are not bred for guarding livestock.

It is great that you are planing this out in advance. You should also consider wether you want a pup which will take tons of training and a few years to develop before being left unattended with the animals or a adult. If you are thinking adult be sure that they are a working dog and have no bad habits. Lots get rehired over and over agin because they were not raised properly to be a LGD.


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## Breezy-Trail

That is good to know about the Goldens. They are my fav. breed but I can see why they wouldn't make a good LGD.

I know about the expenses of keeping a dog.We have a bent & dent near by that sell bags of dog food by the 50# bags for a good price..
The price of the pup or adult dog is what is reaaallly pricey.
I hear Anatolian shepherd is hard to train for a beginner.
If I went with that breed it would have to be an adult, considering it was raised properly. Then I wouldn't know if it would be good around kids. My youngest sister is 7 and I would be more worried about people that come with their toddlers.
We have a guy that teaches violin out of our studio and that attracts a lot of young kids.
If I could afford it I would get a trained dog next fall or the following spring/summer. We will see how things go.

I do know of a guy that was giving away maremma sheepdog pups as they started to get too old to keep.
Raises them and sells them for money and to guard his sheep and any older than 8 months (I think) he gives away to a farm in need. The training basics have been given by then. They are popular around here (meaning they are cheaper) where as the GP and other breeds are 500+. I wonder if this would be a good breed? I like the fact that they are smaller than the Anatolian shepherd. Although they say it takes longer to get them to follow orders. Also maremmas don't have any known health problems(so it says online).


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## freedomstarfarm

You could go and meat the dogs he has. Ask him about how they are with kids since he has raised them he should know. If they are already 8months old and have not been well socialized with kids I would be leery no matter what breed. 

Also although they are now with livestock and 8 months and acting good everything will change once they leave their parent. They will still need to be monitored until about 2 years old. Right now mom or dad or both are teaching them what behavior is ok and stoping any chasing or bad behavior. That gives them a grew start but if you just throw one in with your goats they may not continue to behave since they are no longer being watched. I personally would keep a dog separate until they have passed most puppy stages at around 2 years or place them on a trolly in the goat area so the goats can get away from them if needed.


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## Breezy-Trail

What I meant was that was a "free dog deal" we passed up in the summer.
He said he would have more next summer. Just saying its a possibility to get them free or cheap from this guy.
Would be a lot of training though. I am hoping by next summer he would sell a older one..that way it would be less training.


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## freedomstarfarm

Ah. Well you could take to him and see what he thinks of the breed and kids in general.


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## dobe627

I can't see a golden doing well as a lgd. They want to be with people and please people. I think you will have a very lonely sad dog if you just throw it out in a pasture. Not to say that there isn't that odd one out there but overall they have been bred to be a pet. Just my 2 cents


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## nancy d

In all due respect to Golen Retrievers they are not going to make a good livestock guardian dog. 
You see, most LGDs are bred to stay with their charges 24/7 with minimal human contact. 
My Anatolians (one is a 1/4 Pyr) kill anything that gets into the goats area. They also do plenty warning barks to coyotes & loose dogs.
They Do accept my grandson. 
We also have a few workers who come now & then. Deputy has been known to nip one of them in the butt & growl if he tries to pet one of HIS girls.
If you want protection, its gotta be an LGD or staying out yourself with the herd with a good piece.


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## toth boer goats

> I can't see a golden doing well as a lgd. They want to be with people and please people. I think you will have a very lonely sad dog if you just throw it out in a pasture. Not to say that there isn't that odd one out there but overall they have been bred to be a pet. Just my 2 cents





> In all due respect to Golen Retrievers they are not going to make a good livestock guardian dog.
> You see, most LGDs are bred to stay with their charges 24/7 with minimal human contact.
> My Anatolians (one is a 1/4 Pyr) kill anything that gets into the goats area. They also do plenty warning barks to coyotes & loose dogs.
> They Do accept my grandson.
> We also have a few workers who come now & then. Deputy has been known to nip one of them in the butt & growl if he tries to pet one of HIS girls.
> If you want protection, its gotta be an LGD or staying out yourself with the herd with a good piece.


 I agree .....I wouldn't recommend this breed to be a LGD...they are very high energetic Dogs...meant to work in other ways..... I love the Golden Retriever...but.. it isn't something ...that I'd trust with my goats......


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## KW Farms

Agreed. LGDs have a totally different mind set bred to work with the livestock. Other groups of dogs just aren't the same. I would only trust a LGD breed to be a herd guard.


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## RMADairyGoats

nancy d said:


> In all due respect to Golen Retrievers they are not going to make a good livestock guardian dog.
> You see, most LGDs are bred to stay with their charges 24/7 with minimal human contact.
> My Anatolians (one is a 1/4 Pyr) kill anything that gets into the goats area. They also do plenty warning barks to coyotes & loose dogs.
> They Do accept my grandson.
> We also have a few workers who come now & then. Deputy has been known to nip one of them in the butt & growl if he tries to pet one of HIS girls.
> If you want protection, its gotta be an LGD or staying out yourself with the herd with a good piece.


Agreed


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