Need help picking an LGD for our needs

[Bubblingbrooks]

Taste of the Wild for a large dog would bankrupt us

No kidding! It's bad enough feeding that and wet grain-free food to three cats. I can't imagine feeding a pony-sized dog! LOL

So what you really need is a smaller dog with a big dog attitude.

Welsh Corgi???

How are they with babies? and chickens?
I want that awful sounding deep bark to with it as well. Would make me feel safer.

 

[MsPony]

Yeah, lol I'd never respect a corgi if I was an intruder.

If you do want help, my friend is a horse & dog trainer, grew up sled dog racing so she really knows dogs. You two would get along Her mom also lives in your town, she was the first woman to complete iditarod or something of that sort. Fantastic dog people.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

ACKKK! Someone has Welsh Corgi pups for sale here, but they are $850 each! 'Scuse me while I

 

[MsPony]

Have you every thought of Akbash?? I loved ours, the old one still treed cougars no problem. They were cute and friendly with us, but they would kill the chihuahuas.

 

[navajo001]

Have you every thought of Akbash?? I loved ours, the old one still treed cougars no problem. They were cute and friendly with us, but they would kill the chihuahuas.

Just a quick side note. St Bernards don't eat much at all. WAY less than say a Lab or Shepherd. Mine eats MAYBE 3 - 4 Cups of food a day. GREAT dog!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

You can always go with a Bullmastiff mix. We have one and he's SUPER. He's VERY calm, has a loud bark, looks scary but is sweet as pie, and only eats 3 cups of food a day. He is big enough to make people think twice about knocking on our door, but he's gentle enough to snuggle with my 5 yo DSD and tolerate her practically laying all over him 24/7.

I'd say go to the animal shelter and look for any pup that is friendly, outgoing but not crazy hyper, and looks like it'll grow up to be big. Stay away from shy pups or really crazy hyper ones.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

We started with a Great Pyrenese puppy. I wouldn't even start with a year old puppy, myself, as I am very particular about how I want my dog to behave . . . otherwise I do not like dogs. I am a cat person, by nature.

Our puppy is learning our rules . . . which I've stated are very particular . . . and she is doing well, but it has been a constant job.

You can start training for basic things as soon as you bring the puppy home (should be about 8 weeks old). Check out the Monks of New Skete's book The Art of Raising a Puppy. Or get their book How to be Your Dog's Best Friend.

Our puppy is pure bred, but she was bred by someone who was not a professional. We spent $500 outright, but the vet bills and feed costs are definitely something to consider too.

Our puppy is already barking at anything she sees walking down the road. However, she knows the people we are friends with and doesn't bark when they drive up. She is mostly good at the "Stay" command (situation dependent . . . getting better at being less situation dependent) and has mastered "Sit." She is not quite 4 months old. I think she would be better trained already if we had more time to spend with her.

She is interested in our ducks, and will chase them for fun (we are working on correcting this behavior) but she does not attack them.

I vote Great Pyrenese. They are smart and good natured. Good with children and animals of all sizes.

 

[pinkfox]

i did want to add sorry youve obviosuly had bad experiences with rotties...

but they are, if well bred and properly raised AMAZING family dogs, i know a great breeder whos rotties are therapy dogs, do carting, raised with kids, reading programs with kids ect...

ive never met a properly bred and properly raised rotty that was even semi dangerous to kids...
http://www.redyre.com/penny/

so just be sure your not painting the entire breed with too wide a brush because they can be absolutly amazing...
and were origionally bred as a livestock/farm dog.

ive seen pyrs for realy cheap though, not nessicarily form great breeders...so be very carefull, hips and elbows tend to be big problems in the larger breeds and working dogs...

sorry i just have a big issue with idiot owners irresponsibel actions painting horrible pictures of some breeds, and i hope everyone whos had a bad eperience with any breed can find it in theimselves to meet GOOD representations of that breed...

i live with 3 breeds who all have horrible reputations...
all chihuahuas are yappy and bite and are mean and cant be trained...
yet i have 3 with the cgc, they know the "quiet" command, know obedience and are incredibly sweet and frinedly... had to quit showing my female because all she wanted to do was roll over for belly rubs on the table...

or all cocker spaniesl are snappy and short tempered and dumb as rocks...
yet ours is incredibly sweet wouldnt harm a fly, loves other animals loves EVERYONE, and is smart as a whip, he was housebroken within 3 hours, took him 5 minutes to master sit ect...
our cocker before him was amazing, she was my sisters climbing frame and helped her learn to walk as a toddler ect...

and the cresties are all "those ugly things" well i dont know if youve seen pics of my babies...but everyone says they "cant be those hairless ugly dogs..there too pretty"

its hard when youve had bad experiences...but theres no such thing as a bad dog...just bad breeders and bad owners...

this goes for ANY breed no matter how big or how small...
ive known more than alot of people bitten by labs and goldens and beagles (all of which are supposedly amazing family dogs) its all about how they are raised and where they come from.


on the other side of things i 100% suggest raw feeding...if you can raise/hunt your own raw it will be even cheaper in the long run. (studies are also showing raw fed dogs are less likely to bloat)
its expensive to buy raw from the store, but when you can raise your own...it definatly works out cheaper...

 

[lwheelr]

We ended up getting an Old Time Farm Shepherd - also called Old Fashioned Scotch Collie (not the modern show breed). This is not a huge dog - about the size of a Border Collie, similar appearance. It IS a $500 dog - we were able to get a good deal on ours because she was born with a broken tail, and had it bobbed. They are, unfortunately, rare enough they can be hard to find, but that is one reason we chose them. We were able to see the value of them, and wanted to help preserve the breed.

They are all around farm dogs - they train for guarding, herding, hunting, protecting children, etc. They can easily be taught to not chase chickens, which was a big deal for us. Ours has been great with the family - she does not like strangers though, and is fairly protective - not mean about it, but stands her ground. She has accustomed herself to a routine fairly well, even if it is a routine she does not like well, she is still obedient about it. She's been easier to train than any other dog we've ever had - she seems to absorb signals from around her.

Today we had a thunderstorm. She'd start barking every time there was loud thunder, until she saw one of us. Finally dawned on us, she was not waiting to be calmed down, SHE was checking up on US, to make sure we were ok!

She's a natural herder, she rounds up any animals that get out. She has a sense of humor and is very good natured. At six months of age, she is still very much a puppy, but we can see her maturing and learning continuously.

Some friends of ours have Great Pyrs, and the biggest problem they have is that the male will go through ANYTHING, to get at a female in heat. He will dig, jump, or climb whatever is in the way to get out. A 6 ft fence is not even close to tall enough to keep him in.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

i did want to add sorry youve obviosuly had bad experiences with rotties...

but they are, if well bred and properly raised AMAZING family dogs, i know a great breeder whos rotties are therapy dogs, do carting, raised with kids, reading programs with kids ect...

ive never met a properly bred and properly raised rotty that was even semi dangerous to kids...
http://www.redyre.com/penny/

so just be sure your not painting the entire breed with too wide a brush because they can be absolutly amazing...
and were origionally bred as a livestock/farm dog.

ive seen pyrs for realy cheap though, not nessicarily form great breeders...so be very carefull, hips and elbows tend to be big problems in the larger breeds and working dogs...

sorry i just have a big issue with idiot owners irresponsibel actions painting horrible pictures of some breeds, and i hope everyone whos had a bad eperience with any breed can find it in theimselves to meet GOOD representations of that breed...

i live with 3 breeds who all have horrible reputations...
all chihuahuas are yappy and bite and are mean and cant be trained...
yet i have 3 with the cgc, they know the "quiet" command, know obedience and are incredibly sweet and frinedly... had to quit showing my female because all she wanted to do was roll over for belly rubs on the table...

or all cocker spaniesl are snappy and short tempered and dumb as rocks...
yet ours is incredibly sweet wouldnt harm a fly, loves other animals loves EVERYONE, and is smart as a whip, he was housebroken within 3 hours, took him 5 minutes to master sit ect...
our cocker before him was amazing, she was my sisters climbing frame and helped her learn to walk as a toddler ect...

and the cresties are all "those ugly things" well i dont know if youve seen pics of my babies...but everyone says they "cant be those hairless ugly dogs..there too pretty"

its hard when youve had bad experiences...but theres no such thing as a bad dog...just bad breeders and bad owners...

this goes for ANY breed no matter how big or how small...
ive known more than alot of people bitten by labs and goldens and beagles (all of which are supposedly amazing family dogs) its all about how they are raised and where they come from.


on the other side of things i 100% suggest raw feeding...if you can raise/hunt your own raw it will be even cheaper in the long run. (studies are also showing raw fed dogs are less likely to bloat)
its expensive to buy raw from the store, but when you can raise your own...it definatly works out cheaper...

I know that there are good rotties, but they are more of a menace in Alaska then anything. Far too many are almost level fives.
And they are the usual dog, along with pits, to have on your property if you are doing illegal things.