Randysflock119
Chirping
- Apr 24, 2024
- 30
- 33
- 54
Hey all!
I adopted a Great Pyrenees about 5 weeks ago - 10 month old male. He'll be 1 on 9/11/24. I got him from a farm a few hours away where he trained for the first 9 months of his life around chickens, sheep, cats, and with his mom on the same farm. Both his parents were/are LGDs. He's an extremely good-natured dog and has only made a few attempts to playfully chase the chickens/cats - immediately stops chasing and relaxes for the rest of the day as soon as he hears me clap and give a sharp "no!" No resource guarding and doesn't mind when the chickens drink out of his water bowl. He is very confident, even a little submissive, - not reactive and does not bark back when other dogs are barking in the neighborhood or in his obedience class.
He's mostly on the property - I was originally walking him around the neighborhood every morning because he had so much energy. Maybe that was a mistake? I've stopped that in the last week or so, because I want him to become more territorial over our property. The only other times we've left the property is the vet, the groomer, and every week we go once to basic obedience training class. Before training class, I take him to the fenced in dog park and let him run around and get energy out (should I stop doing this?)
As of now, I have him outside from sunrise 'til dark, then when the sun goes down I lock up the chickens (our new coop is very secure) and I bring him into the laundry room where he stays overnight. My main reason for bringing him in at night was because I figure, I'm confident in the security of our coop right now - I mostly need him to guard them when they are out during the day - whether they are free-ranging or spending the day in their covered run, I have a lot of pressure from foxes, hawks, coyotes, and raccoons who hunt all day in my area. I don't really want or need him barking outside my window all night if my coop is secure.
All that said, he seems to care way more about me than he goes about the chickens or the cats! He sits on the porch, sleeps in the garden, and sometimes cries outside the door for me (I don't). This afternoon I was on the back patio with my laptop doing some work and he slept at the base of my chair, which was cute, but we were out of sight of the chicken run which worries me that he'd rather be with me than close to them. He does have a chain-link dog run right next to the chicken run where his food and water are kept. I am working on converting a shed that's right there into a doghouse for him before winter.
I know that LGDs are more likely to bond with other mammals such as sheep and goats, but it's not feasible for me to get any additional animals right now. I mostly got him to protect the chickens and cats, as well as me and the property in general (which he doesn't, he rolls over on his back and begs for belly rubs every time a stranger comes to the house!)
What can I do to get him to be more interested in the chickens and less interested in me? Should I create a new fence within the property (like a pen or pasture I guess) so that he cannot access the porch and garden? Should I stop bringing him inside the house at night? Thank you for any thoughts!
I adopted a Great Pyrenees about 5 weeks ago - 10 month old male. He'll be 1 on 9/11/24. I got him from a farm a few hours away where he trained for the first 9 months of his life around chickens, sheep, cats, and with his mom on the same farm. Both his parents were/are LGDs. He's an extremely good-natured dog and has only made a few attempts to playfully chase the chickens/cats - immediately stops chasing and relaxes for the rest of the day as soon as he hears me clap and give a sharp "no!" No resource guarding and doesn't mind when the chickens drink out of his water bowl. He is very confident, even a little submissive, - not reactive and does not bark back when other dogs are barking in the neighborhood or in his obedience class.
He's mostly on the property - I was originally walking him around the neighborhood every morning because he had so much energy. Maybe that was a mistake? I've stopped that in the last week or so, because I want him to become more territorial over our property. The only other times we've left the property is the vet, the groomer, and every week we go once to basic obedience training class. Before training class, I take him to the fenced in dog park and let him run around and get energy out (should I stop doing this?)
As of now, I have him outside from sunrise 'til dark, then when the sun goes down I lock up the chickens (our new coop is very secure) and I bring him into the laundry room where he stays overnight. My main reason for bringing him in at night was because I figure, I'm confident in the security of our coop right now - I mostly need him to guard them when they are out during the day - whether they are free-ranging or spending the day in their covered run, I have a lot of pressure from foxes, hawks, coyotes, and raccoons who hunt all day in my area. I don't really want or need him barking outside my window all night if my coop is secure.
All that said, he seems to care way more about me than he goes about the chickens or the cats! He sits on the porch, sleeps in the garden, and sometimes cries outside the door for me (I don't). This afternoon I was on the back patio with my laptop doing some work and he slept at the base of my chair, which was cute, but we were out of sight of the chicken run which worries me that he'd rather be with me than close to them. He does have a chain-link dog run right next to the chicken run where his food and water are kept. I am working on converting a shed that's right there into a doghouse for him before winter.
I know that LGDs are more likely to bond with other mammals such as sheep and goats, but it's not feasible for me to get any additional animals right now. I mostly got him to protect the chickens and cats, as well as me and the property in general (which he doesn't, he rolls over on his back and begs for belly rubs every time a stranger comes to the house!)
What can I do to get him to be more interested in the chickens and less interested in me? Should I create a new fence within the property (like a pen or pasture I guess) so that he cannot access the porch and garden? Should I stop bringing him inside the house at night? Thank you for any thoughts!
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