# new to LGD's help



## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

OKay so yesterday my mother and i went to get an LGD on trade, we recieved the pup and she did great when we brought her home, we put her in with our bottle baby, and she licked her and cleaned her tush, and over night only barked a few times, then stopped for the rest of the night however this afternoon she began howling... i would like to discourage the howling as i think shes doing it because she feels alone since its only been 1 day since she left her litter, well not even one day lol, but still, and she whines when we leave the area as well. I took her out of the bottle babies pen because the pup was starting to play with her and bite on her and chase her and i know we shouldnt encourage chasing AT ALL, so how can i help the pup? do i ignore her when she howls? and whines? I want to start her out properly. 

also How did you guys train your pups?


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## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

:book: oh boy


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

LGD pups should not be left alone with the stock unsupervised. Especially with young kids. Pen or stall your pup where she can see and hear the goats but not touch them when you are not around. When the pup chases, bites or tries to play with stock, loudly and firmly say no. I would grab the pup by the scruff of the neck and lay them out on their backs any time my two guys tried to play with the stock as puppies. I only had to correct them 2 to 3 times each before they figured out stock was not to be played with. Obviously it's much easier to correct a 3 to 4 month old then a 6 month old and up. LGDs get big fast. Your dog needs to recognize you and all of the humans that live with you as higher in the pack then them or your going to have her challenge you when she gets older. A LGD is a huge responsibility. When they go bad, it's almost always their owners fault for not supervising and training them appropriately.

Your not going to be able to train your LGD to be quite. They are loud and will bark on and off all night and during the day when they detect any disturbance from the norm. They are letting predators and strangers know to stay away. Some breeds are less vocal than others but you already have your dog so picking out a quieter breed is moot.


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## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

LadySecret said:


> LGD pups should not be left alone with the stock unsupervised. Especially with young kids. Pen or stall your pup where she can see and hear the goats but not touch them when you are not around. When the pup chases, bites or tries to play with stock, loudly and firmly say no. I would grab the pup by the scruff of the neck and lay them out on their backs any time my two guys tried to play with the stock as puppies. I only had to correct them 2 to 3 times each before they figured out stock was not to be played with. Obviously it's much easier to correct a 3 to 4 month old then a 6 month old and up. LGDs get big fast. Your dog needs to recognize you and all of the humans that live with you as higher in the pack then them or your going to have her challenge you when she gets older. A LGD is a huge responsibility. When they go bad, it's almost always their owners fault for not supervising and training them appropriately.
> 
> Your not going to be able to train your LGD to be quite. They are loud and will bark on and off all night and during the day when they detect any disturbance from the norm. They are letting predators and strangers know to stay away. Some breeds are less vocal than others but you already have your dog so picking out a quieter breed is moot.


 awesome!  thanks for letting me know i do have the pup in a seperate pen right now the bottle baby is out in our barn hall and the pup is in the bedding area where the little bottle baby sleeps at night, its workng out well so far, the pup has not howled either just whinin a bit  but thats okay ^_^ tonight when bottle baby goes in pup will go in her crate  to make sure no harm comes to either of them


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## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

is it okay to play with the pup? shes only 8 weeks old.... we have her out in the barn. i really need some direction because i've never done this before


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## AvyNatFarm (Oct 29, 2013)

Some may say not to, but we did play with our Great Pyrenese and even took him to obedience classes. He was going to be in close quarters with our young human kids and we needed him to be friendly. He is a great dog now and is very gentle with our kids. It took him THREE YEARS to grow out of a puppy stage though. Ugh! Never ever let him play roughly with your livestock. And feed him away from the goats in his own area.


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## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

AvyNatFarm said:


> Some may say not to, but we did play with our Great Pyrenese and even took him to obedience classes. He was going to be in close quarters with our young human kids and we needed him to be friendly. He is a great dog now and is very gentle with our kids. It took him THREE YEARS to grow out of a puppy stage though. Ugh! Never ever let him play roughly with your livestock. And feed him away from the goats in his own area.


okay awesome, i think ill look into obiedience classes if i cant get through to her shes already submissive to the goats, meaning when they look at her and she is standing they will snort at her and she sits. so we take that has a good sign lol. just one tiny good sign. right now im just trying to find out where to start with her training since shes only 8 weeks old lol


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Is your puppy meant to be an actual, live with the goats 24/7, livestock guardian dog or just an around the farm dog? 

If she's meant to be an actual LGD, then no, don't play with her. Handling is okay, but don't overdue it. You want her to bond with those goats. Keep her penned separate when you're not there, but she needs to be in close contact with the goats and let out with them as much as possible, with supervision of course. Her bond with the goats is most important. The only obedience training LGDs really need is to walk on a leash, come when called, and the word, no. Some people say less than that. I think it's important though in case they need to move to a different pasture on leash or go to the vet. They also should come when called if they get loose, however, neither of mine listen very well. Knowing the word NO is most important to me.


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## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

KW Farms said:


> Is your puppy meant to be an actual, live with the goats 24/7, livestock guardian dog or just an around the farm dog?
> 
> If she's meant to be an actual LGD, then no, don't play with her. Handling is okay, but don't overdue it. You want her to bond with those goats. Keep her penned separate when you're not there, but she needs to be in close contact with the goats and let out with them as much as possible, with supervision of course. Her bond with the goats is most important. The only obedience training LGDs really need is to walk on a leash, come when called, and the word, no. Some people say less than that. I think it's important though in case they need to move to a different pasture on leash or go to the vet. They also should come when called if they get loose, however, neither of mine listen very well. Knowing the word NO is most important to me.


ah okay well we want her to bond with the goats because the goats bond with us and not only that we have had coyotes getting strong thinking they can trespass here now lol so yeah, we want her to know that we are okay and to us shes a part of our family as well as the goats family, we do want her out with the goats so she can keep them safe but we want her next to us when we do our rounds out in the pastures with the goats. so From what you said, we should let her bond with the goats and she can always bond with us later if we want her to right?


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

She will bond with you with just regular handling. Just don't do too much. You don't want her to rather be with people than with her goats. There are some good LGD articles online you can read. Here's a good one: http://lgd.org/library/Myths about using LGDs.html


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## Volbabeboergoats (Dec 12, 2014)

oh okay thanks  that helps loads  lol


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

I agree with everything KW said. LGDs bred to guard will not do well in obedience glasses especially Turkish breeds like the Anatolian. They were bred to be critical thinkers. Shepherds would leave the dogs with the herds for days, weeks or longer without checking on them. The dogs had to learn to evaluate situations and decide what to do on their own without looking to their person for a solution. As a result they don't listen to commands well. Like sit, stay, or roll over. Teaching them the word "No" and "Come" can be challenging. I've had dogs my entire life and it took my anatolians the longest just to learn their names and to come when I call to them. Way longer than normal. 

I didn't play with my dogs when I got them. I did pet them and give them affection for a couple of minutes a day. Usually when feeding. I also would pet my pups while they ate and take their food away and them give it back to them. I didn't want them to be food aggressive and I wanted them to know that if they have something and I want it, they have to give it to me. Also, don't pick her up, let her jump up on you, or set in your lap. It's cute when they are little bit not cute when they are big powerful dogs. They need to respect your space.

How much you want to socialize your puppy is up to you. My brother and dad visit my home frequently and I wanted my LGDs to accept them and not growl or bark aggressively at them. Also, my dogs are free roaming because my place is very sandy and they will dig under to get out and then the goats follow them under the fence. For that reason I socialized them very well with family and neighbors. My neighbors actually love my dogs because their coyote problem has completely gone away since I got them. In addition, LGDs will get hurt doing their job and will likely need to see a vet at some point. So leash training is wise. I would also recommend that you spay or neuter your LGD. You want your LGD to always be focused on guarding and intact animals at certain times will want to breed and thus be distracted.


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