Topics covered on this page:

General Things To Know

When Can The Dog Be Depended On To Guard The Flock?

Correcting Your Dog

Teaching The Dog "NO!"

Running More Than One Dog For Predator Control

Helping Your Dog For The Best Control

Summary

General Things to Know

Teaching the dog what "NO" means, is very important and it's nice to have a dog that comes when called. But you must remember; independence is one of the breed characteristics that makes the Great Pyrenees among some of the best livestock guardians. These dogs will generally ignore your commands and come only when he is ready. Consider your sending this dog out to defend the livestock against all predators in all weather. He must be able to think for himself to be effective. As a loving owner you must learn to allow the dog this freedom. There are no bad dogs, only inexperienced owners.

Petting your dog is important, otherwise you will have a dog you cannot get close to for any reason. But, we usually pet pups minimally until 8 months, and then even if we have to 'catch ' them to pet them, they tame down quickly, and they are firmly bonded to the stock. It is very hard with a cute pup, to not handle them too much, but I want the stock to be their family, I am their partner in caring for their family.

It is critical the first weeks and months of a puppy's life, he be with the livestock. This bonding time is very important, but cannot be in isolation. Occasionally it may work on very small farms, but to expect them to stay constantly with the livestock on a larger acreage for days on end without seeing people, after bonding with humans at birth and in those first critical weeks instead of being raised with the animals, I would expect are just stories from wishful thinkers or overactive imaginations.

On a small farm where the dog will guard you and any livestock that may reside there, there is the possibility of a dog from non-guardian lines guarding, but it is remote. My first Pyrenees was a ‘pet’ and remained that way for life, he was excellent for my children, but indifferent to the animals. Though it has been done, these dogs are the exception, not the rule.

If he acts as if he is bonding to you or the kids, back away and limit the petting to only once or twice a week for a while. If the pup starts showing signs of being bashful and standoffish, you can increase the petting times but not the location. Find a treat he really likes and take some to the pasture where he is staying with the flock and offer it to him. It will be better if you can get him to take it from your hand, so you can pet and talk to him. This may take a few weeks. My adult livestock guardians are all very friendly to people and love to be petted and hugged, but until they were 8 months they were shy, then we started handling them more, so the livestock is their first priority.

My dogs favorite treats are raw chicken, chicken liver, eggs or fresh goat's milk. These seem to be real favorites with my Pyrs and the pup can associate these with friendly hands and soft voices. This usually won't take more than a couple of weeks. When given in the area of the livestock she/he won't associate the treats with your front yard or the back porch.

It is important for these steps to be taken so you will have a dog that works with you as well as for you. The bashful/overly friendly behavior patterns may fluctuate during this bonding period. Even at 8 months he/she is a puppy so let them learn from their mistakes before you expect great things from them. You don't expect adult responses from children so don't expect them of young dogs.

When Can The Dog Be Depended On To Guard The Flock?

You may begin to see signs of guarding as early as 3 months or maybe not until they are close to a year old. The average is around 8 to 11 months. My puppies are going out with the goats as young as 3 weeks. I have also heard of dogs as old as 16 months not be really dependable, but make excellent guards as they get older. When they get this old it, usually happens all at once. I expect that something or someone triggers the guarding instinct when they get this old. All dogs at some stage of their growth go through a teenage period where it seems like they leave their brains in the barn. This is usually when the pup is between six months and a year. It can start a little younger and stay until they are a little older but again these are exceptions not the average. Just give them some time, some corrections when they get really stupid and they will out grow this stage too.

A Great Pyrenees, as well as most large breeds, is not considered a mature dog until he reaches three years of age. By the time a dog is eight or nine months old, if he is staying well with the stock, how much you pet him will not change his attitude. Feel free to partake of this pleasure, just make sure it is in the place with the livestock he is guarding. This reinforces the dogs trust in you and you will need a trusting relationship with your guard dogs. A dog that doesn't trust you does not look to you for back up support when he needs help. This is not good for the livestock or for your dependency on him to take care of them. Earn his trust and respect, and you will be the pack leader to him. In the end this will allow you more freedom.

The exception to the above rule are puppies that are purchased for the purpose of guarding your children. If this is the case, you need to take steps to bond the puppy to the child or children you want him to baby-sit. This is a relatively simple to accomplish. Teach your children to groom him with a brush. This should be done several times a day. The pup loves the attention and learns about a loving touch this way.

The one very important thing you must remember, if this dog is to guard your children. Don't spank the children within his seeing or hearing, ever. You will find out just how well guarded your kids are. I don't mean the dog will attack, that is not an acceptable behavior, but it will tell you in no uncertain terms your not going to treat "his" baby that way.

Correcting Your Dog

Never hit a Great Pyrenees. A sharp voice and shaking the dog is much more effective. The alpha roll should be introduced early, when he makes a mistake rolls him quickly into his back grab his fur at his neck (do not choke) and shake him while correcting (NO, Stop, ect ) in a firm loud tone, you can even growl, this is how mamma dog does her correction.

The Great Pyrenees is very sensitive to the voice command. I had a female with pups I was trying to start on food. She kept eating it and I couldn't get any to her pups. Without thinking, I swatted her with my hand and told her to get out of the barn and go away. I finished feeding the puppies. I noticed she had not gone back in with her pups. I had to go tell her I was sorry and that it was okay for her to go back in the pen with the puppies. She happily trotted in to the barn. If I had really hit her the results would have been devastating. Trying to beat a dog into submission is not an answer.

What you will get is a dog that is either afraid of you and will spend his time avoiding you, or a dog that could conceivable turn on you at a time when you are most vulnerable. This would ultimately lead to the death of the dog and you still wouldn't have a guardian for your livestock. If a dog is raised right you will never have to resort to physical violence to control him.
If the dog is fed and cared for when it is with the livestock that is where it will want to stay. If it is not with the livestock and is not where it belongs, completely ignore it. If you get no attention there is no point in being in a certain place. Do the same with a puppy. It may take a few days for it to get the message but it will. Its the same concept as raising children. Where they are the happiest is where they want to stay.
These dogs guard with gentleness and intelligence, mostly out-smarting the predators. Use the same

concept in controlling him. Use your head not your muscle. Of course there is a prerequisite to this, you must first be smarter than the dog. I have seen several times that this was questionable.

Teaching The Dog "NO!!!"

Teaching the dog "No!!" is more an exercise in your own control. The most important consideration here is to not lose your cool, but you must use a forceful tone in your voice that is unmistakable. This a tone that will not take the "No, I don't want to" for an answer.

The key to this is when you demand the pup stop whatever behavior he is doing you must have his undivided attention. There are many ways to accomplish this even if he is not within your reach.

One of the most effective for me has been the use of an aluminum pop can with a few rocks in it ( we also use this technique with cats, only we use 10 pennies in it). Makes a very loud, obnoxious noise when thrown. You don't necessarily want to hit the pup, but it won't hurt him if you do. At the very instant he looks up at you to see where this awful noise came from, with the force in the voice say "DOG'S NAME!!! NO!!!" or "Dog's Name, Leave it!!!" may be used but I personally like the shorter word. The Alpha roll and shake with the NO! growled will also be effective, especially in 2 to 6 month old pups. It can be used on older pups but they are getting some size and weight on them by the time they are 7 or 8 months old.

Most of the LGD's I have used this on will take me at my word in only one or two sessions. The repetition is very effective especially with pups, like kids they forget. We start this lesson to the pup starting when he is 3 to 6 weeks old. The younger and smaller, the less aggression it will take on your part. The better the pup learns this the easier it will be when he is a teenager. Much easier to teach this to a 20 lb. pup than to a 120 lb. dog. The older dogs can still be taught this but, it is much harder to accomplish and sometimes requires more force.

Running More Than One Dog For Predator Control

You can run two or more dogs together I strongly recommend it for two dogs will work together. On a family farm or small operation, a good working pair can completely eliminate predator losses. I do recommend to livestock producers that have never had a dog to start with one at least 4 months old that has been with his parents in a livestock guarding environment. If you start with a younger puppy pen him with the animals he is to be guarding to make sure a good bond is established. Always purchase a puppy out of guardian parents. When your first puppy gets up about 10 months or older you can give it a puppy to teach to work with him. This leads to less frustration on the part of the livestock producer that trying to start two young puppies together and no one really knowing what is expected. Please get your pup from a breeder that will give you all the information and backup help you may need while this dog is growing up.

Helping Your Dog For The Best Control

The Great Pyrenees has been guarding livestock for over thousands of years. This means they are doing things right. In my opinion this is the only truly effective protection we have at our disposal at a cost we can afford.
There are things we can do to help make their work easier:

Taking steps to make their work as easy as possible will eventually mean money in your pocket from reducing predators. Nothing will replace the peace of mind like having a pair of Great Pyrenees in charge.
God gave us these fine dogs to guard our livestock and homes against predators be they two legged or 4 legged let's use them as He intended.

SUMMARY

Here is what I consider the most necessary support we need to be give our 4-legged partners to fill their needs and create a happy, effective working livestock guardian.

My dogs tell us when a doe needs assistance at kidding. When they need food or the water trough is low. Sometimes they will even tell us if a pup is where it isn’t suppose to be and is getting into trouble.

Last but not least do not gamble on the health of your livestock on a crossbred pup. Get your dog from a trustworthy breeder that specializes in purebred working livestock guardian dogs.