What dog breeds are good for guarding livestock?
I’m looking for breeds that are capable of guarding and protecting chickens, sheep and horses if raised with them from puppyhood. I’d raise the pup as I would raise any other livestock guardian dog – with their herd/flock from day 1. I’m looking for breeds suited toward this lifestyle and breeds that are capable of handling this lifestyle as well as the work required of them. Any suggestions?
If you have a breed in mind, the breeder must be in Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland/Labrador, Quebec or Ontario, Canada. The closer to Nova Scotia, the better.
Border Collies are herders not protectors. Pyrenees hasn’t been ruined yet by bad breeding and the instincts bred into them by years and years of livestock guardians is still deeply set in most lines. The Pyr breeders as well as the rescue groups working with this breed are trying very hard to keep the lines pure for instinct so if you want a really good guardian that wants to stay with his charges and not live in the house, this would be the breed of choice.
Border colley its a great dog loyal really smart and is comenly know by the name sheep dog but it guards other livestock asswell
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doberman ,,,,, i promise ,,, they are good ,,, i have a DOBERMAN and she is the one guarding my little sister as well as the kittens ,,, hehehe try a dobby
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Depends on the region. Since I don’t know what breed is available where, here’s the full list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock_guardian_dog#List_of_breeds
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Wikipedia
you can choose one from these depending on your budget and the dogs looks and other stuff
http://www.akbashdogsinternational.com/
http://www.anatoliandog.org/
http://www.maskc.org/
http://hbalaw.com/KFA/index.htm
http://www.maremmano.com/
http://www.tibetanmastiff.org/HTMLfiles/Home.htm
my personal choice would be Tibetan Mastiff or The Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog
http://www.great-pyrenees-club-of-southern-ontario.com/livestock-guardian-dogs.html
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google
Border collie. (sheep dog).
This is what they are meant to do as a breed.
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Border Collies are herders not protectors. Pyrenees hasn’t been ruined yet by bad breeding and the instincts bred into them by years and years of livestock guardians is still deeply set in most lines. The Pyr breeders as well as the rescue groups working with this breed are trying very hard to keep the lines pure for instinct so if you want a really good guardian that wants to stay with his charges and not live in the house, this would be the breed of choice.
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Great Pyrenees, a working line GSD. Anatolian shepherd dog
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Border collies are not good guard animals for livestock. They are herding dogs. Due to their intelligence and hyperactivity, they will get extremely bored and anti-social if you try to get them to just guard animals all day.
I am assuming that you want to protect your animals from wolves, coyotes, raccoons, etc.?
IMO, your best bet for your area would be a Newfoundland or a Labrador or Golden Retriever. The breeds are common in your area, have excellent senses, are mellow enough for guard duties, and can be easily trained defend livestock. You need to get them young and introduce them to animals at an early age.
You next alternative would likely be non-herding sheep dogs, lesser active collies, a Maremma, etc. Many breeds are specifically designed to guard livestock, but may be harder to find and expensive.
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Border collie
Australian shepherd
australian cattle dog
sheltie
old english sheep dog
German Shepherd
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vet tech… own an australian cattle dog and sheltie
Try a Border Collie for herding, German Shepherd dog for herding and guarding, Find a Great Pyreneese for guarding and huge size.
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my brain