We want to get another dog. We want to get one that will be protective of farm and family. Any suggestions?
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, dog shopper.
Monday, February 21, 2011
I Need Some Input
We want to get another dog. We want to get one that will be protective of farm and family. Any suggestions?
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, dog shopper.
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17 comments:
We dont have dogs now but when I was growing up we had dogs. The best were not full blooded. The one that lived the longest Dad brought home from the pound. She was a terrier mix. She was very protective of the whole family and her bones LOL. We didnt live on a farm though and I dont know how a terrier would be with birds. Golden retrievers are one of the breeds I love though. They are gentle with kids and that is always a consideration. My brother had a black lab that was protective yet gentle with the little ones. I loved his name, Goober. ;) He ate a whole box of chocolates one Christmas...got really bad digestive problems from that but didnt die. Yep he was a real goob alright.
I second the motion, a mix. They don't tend to have the problems of full blooded animals. If you have smaller animals, (cats, birds) I would stay away from Terriers, they can get tempermental about chasing and killing. (YMMV) But we have a G. Shepard/Lab mix, and he has the looks of a Shepard, the bouncy of a Lab, and is a wonderful farm dog, good at herding, (mostly... Sometimes he gets a tad wound up, the Lab just wants to play SOOOO bad), and he is most definitely a gaurding type dog, letting us know when there is anyone on the property (even deer... eye roll...)
Cat
we have a fantastic pseudo-German Shepard. He is very protective and great at hearding...just wish we knew what he is mixed with.
Good morning...I would go on the internet and look up working dogs.. I was speaking to a vet and explaining to him about our Golden Retriever his name is Remington or Remmy...I told the vet I am so tired of Remmt bringing the tennis ball.. The Vet told me his breed is a working dog and aims to please you..He wants to work for you and are so proud to work for you...Now the tennis ball means differet to me.. We have a germy/huskie mix..and she aims to please to.. We had Golden retriever / lab mix and he was a fantastic dog to.. Our Goldie has a lot of ear problems from his ears drooping down...alot of maintenance on the ears..I wouldn't trade them for the world... All I can say is working dogs are great protectors and great workers and lovers... Lisa
well..I can't say enough about our dog Tess. I wanted a Great Pyrenees guard dog for my goats and I found a reasonable price on a Great Pyrenees/English Collie mix. She is unbelievable. Best guard dog for my animals I could ever want. She is just 18 months old now and already she is such a smart dog with my place that I would be lost without her. While she guards the goats with her life, she also is very savvy with the cattle. Amazes me when she is actually watching out for me though and not the cattle. She gets between me and danger if she spots it but knows when to dodge the charge. She is a big pet though, so not sure about stranger danger...unless they acted out...but haven't had that test yet!!
If Luke is getting older I definitely recommend getting a new dog before he is gone (sad :-( ). We got our pup Waylon (4 now), when our two older dogs were 10 and 11. This made it easier when we lost Sampson last year and now that Kyra is 13, we know she will be gone soon too. But the key was, that we never had to train Waylon, he learned his good manners and guard dog abilities from the older pups. Made it so much easier than starting over. That said, Kyra (german shepard) does a wonderful job protecting the chickens without running off songbirds, & keeps deer out. She is a little crazy and kinda anxious all the time, typical Shepard. Waylon is a good mix of Shepard and Rottie and the previous dog Sampson was a Rottie/Bernese Mtn dog mix, both amazing dogs (scary looking but sweet as a button unless you are a stranger)
You can't beat a german shepherd for loyalty, smarts and protection, They do however love to be part of the family, so not a breed I would recommend to be an "outside" dog.
I have a two year old Rottweiler who chases anything that moves, and is a good companion too.
You do not need a dog. Geese is where it's at. Them thangs are the loudest I have ever heard when someone walks on the place and if they don't know you then they come a running with their hissing and honking and the best part is that people a scared of them and usually run away.
Aw, I'm sorry about Luke. If you're looking at a new dog I would suggest a labrador/retreiver mix. That's what I have now and he's wonderful. Mix-breeds don't have the health problems purebreds often do. Lab/retreivers do tend to be very energetic but you seem like you could handle that.
We have found most of our dogs at the animal shelter. They have come to us as puppies but you can get them at any age, or breed. The ones that end up coming home with me are the ones that just seem to be "the one"
I have had both pure breed, right now I have a border collie, and mix breed. Both have been loyal and great with the kids when they were small.
Great Pyrenees for guarding flocks. Boxer is loyal, brave and protective and a forever clown with owners. I'm sorry about your pup getting older. it's hard to see but it's great he's so loved! spoiled, i'm sure.
We have a rescue Pyrenees and a rescue St. Bernard Golden Retriever. They are the best! I think you would be fine with either of these breeds!
I used to have a sheltie/australian shepherd mix. She was absolutely the sweetest, smartest dog I've ever seen. She never attacked the chickens and instead would herd them back in the chicken coop for me. I think any kind of collie cross would be a great option. Good Luck :)
I have a Australian Shepherd/ Lab mix who is VERY protective of our family and house. It's just an instinctive thing with her. We are her people and she takes her job very seriously. Also, she has the advantage of only being about 60lbs so she is not too expensive to feed. Seriously, she is a wonderful dog and extremely smart. Suggest you look for some sort of Ausssie mix
We just had to put our 15 1/2 year old mixed breed (Spaniel) down. it was a Saturday and believe it or not, two techs came from the vets to ease her out of this world. Personally, for a good all around dog--I go with the lab/retriever mix. They are so loyal and good guard dogs.
There are tons of rescue Pyrs out there, including puppies. They need some direction while they are young, but I would not be without a Hank ever again. He watches his sheep primarily - born and raised with livestock - but also watches the entire farm. He's a good dog.
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