I know this has been brought up many times...

[Miniequine]

Coyotes are everywhere here where I live in Northern Virginia.

Having babies this year,, I was nervous all the time when the babies were out.

I am wondering about a guard dog that can live in my barn and if

it would really work? I realize that all dogs are different,, but in general,,,

would a large guard dog be a deterrent to Coyotes??

Any experience out there with Coyotes and Guard Dogs??

Thanks

~Sandy

 

[spindleberry]

I owned two great pyreneess (SP?) that ran with my herd of show goats. They did their job.

They make great LGD's if born from working parents and trained correctly.

 

[Tiny Hooves]

I also agree with the Great Pyreneess. I have heard that they are great guard dogs. There is also the Anatolian Shepard. I have never owned one but some friends of ours raise sheep and have two that stay with the herd 24/7 and they havent' had any problems with any animals bothering their sheep. We have coyotes here also but they seem to stay away from the horse's.

We lost our Old English Mastiff back in Sept and I have thought of getting an Anatolian Shepard. They look like they are a combination between a Mastiff and a Shepard.

Hope you can find one that works for you.

 

[barbiedoll68346]

My Aussie/Border cross is a coyote chasing machine. She really freaks on them. Works for me. We are surrounded on all side by hundreds of acres of CRP grass for as far as you can see. It is a coyote/deer haven. The deer take out any electric fence I have ever tried so I fenced with field fencing. It helps and my dog is big and has a mean bark.

Barbie

 

[Carriage]

I too would strongly recommend that you stick with a well trained flock guard breed as previously suggested. You want a breed that will stay with your herd vs. chasing the interloper.

If your guard has been lured away from the herd, your herd is left unprotected. It only takes a coordinated minute to wreck havoc.

Coyote's are somewhat famous for luring dogs away only to turn in pack and attack the chasing dog. A meal is a meal, whether its a dog or a horse. Another coyote tactic, is that they will use a coyote in heat to lure your dog away as well, if it is a male. Good fencing to keep your dog "in" does much to eliminate this potential.

If you are set on using a breed other than a flock guard I would recommend having a spayed bitch for the task.

In the end a trained flock guard breed is best.

Bb

Graham Carriage Works

 

[MountainMeadows]

Sandy

I wouldn't ever have horses without a Great Pyr ever again. I am on my 2nd one and we have had absolutlely no issues - all the surrounding neighbors have had issues with cougars & coyotes, but we have been totally left alone. Pyr's need a TOTALLLY fenced enclosure or else they will wander, but they are hands down the best breed - my Pyr's are family friendly and love to get their pats - they pretty much patrol several times during the day and night, but stay close to either the house or barn. I did raise my Pyr a bit differnt than a lot of "flock" people do because I still wanted a dog that I could trust with the people that I give access to my place (barn guy, vet, hay delivery) to be able to come and go without any problems - that said, the UPS guy is terrified of my Pyr and won't step foot in the yard even if I beg him to! I found that in this area there was more support from the Pyr groups than some of the other livestock guardian breeds so that is why I chose the breed I did - haven't regretted it for a moment -- the only issue with them is all the hair - lots of it - and when they blow coat it can be really matted - my dogs get a hair cut in the summer to help with this issue.

Good luck ! !

Stac

 

[lilmiraclesfarm]

I'm going to give you some other advice besides guard dogs. If you can shoot the coyote, do so. If your not comfortable doing this then see if you can get a hunter out there to do it. Once you shoot it, your going to want to cut it into pieces and then hang the pieces around your property line. The coyotes will smell it and for some reason they won't go near it. They sense the danger and stay away. I have a hard time putting other animals out there to defend. Especially a dog. A pack could easily take down a single dog. They do it all the time here.

 

[Lisa Strass]

We have two Anatolian Shepherds and LOVE them.

We looked at both Great Pyr and the Anatolians; really just luck that we ended up with the Anatolians. We have been super happy with them. They do a GREAT job with coyotes and this morning even had a ~40-50 lb animal trapped on top of a round bale. It was dark, so not entirely sure what the animal was, but it looked cat-like.

Based on the success with our Anatolians and their shorter hair, I think we will continue to have them as long as we have horses. They do roam a lot while doing their patroling, so you either need a very large property or a completely fenced in one.

 

[Magic]

On the Livestock Guardian Dog list I'm on, there are people who say that their LGD's routinely kill coyotes.

We don't have coyotes here, maybe because we have so many cougars.

We have an Anatolian Shepherd and a Great Pyr/Anatolian cross (one male, one female, both neutered) and they do an awesome job warning away any and all predators. Having a team like this works best, because as others have said, packs of coyotes may gang up on a single dog, but against a team of dogs their odds go down drastically, and they know it.

A single dog wouldn't have much of a chance against a cougar either, but with two dogs, the cougar just isn't going to take the chace, and will go find an easier meal. We LOVE our dogs, they are worth their weight in gold to us.

If you do get Livestock Guardian Dogs, do your research-- they must have training even though they have been bred for centuries to do the guarding jobs that they do, they aren't born knowing just what to do (and not to do). And check out rescues, you may just be able to get an adult with guarding experience. Good luck!

 

[susanminiponygirl]

We have a Pyr mix and he is the best. A couch potato during the day, but at night anything that comes on our 10 acres is fair game. We have heard and seen coyotes but I feel even my foals are safe with the Pyr out at night. He is huge and any coyote would have to be really dumb to try him. Kody is as gentle as a lamb with the babies.

Maremmas are a good guardian too, more likely to stay with the herd than to roam or chase.

 

[krissy3]

Serious farmers here all have Great Pyraneese, I had one as a child , and I loved her. This dog will keep the foxes and cyotes away... But if you want a turbo cyote killer , get a Donkey.

 

[JWC sr.]

Currently we have an anatolian ( we recently lost the male to old age) and 6 jennies on the place and they do well for us. People all around us routinely are losing stock to the coyote/red wolf crosses we have in the area. But knock on wood it has been 4 years since we lost anything and that was some poultry.

Prior to this anatolian we had pyranees and they worked hard killing over 25 coyotes that we positively know of. Not to count all the small vermin they got.

The Jennies are awesome also, in that nothing we have in the area is too large for them to tackle. We had a friend in Utah that had one kill a mountain lion that was attacking the herd of sheep it guarded.

So the best advice I can give you is to employ one if not two of the options, they all really do work.

One other note though, a pet is not what you need but rather a dog or jenny that stays with the herd 24/7. Eats there, sleeps there and in general takes care of his flock.

Good Luck

 

[Bonny]

My German Shep/ rottie mix keeps the coyotes away from the outside of the pasture. My Mule is the reinforcement inside the pasture. Molly(mule) guards the goats and the other horses. Last summer she hunted down and stomped at a deer.

I agree a dog and a gun is best.

 

[HGFarm]

I currently have a Border Collie and a BC mix. and have had mixes in the past (BC/Aussie and a BC/Queensland) that have all been EXCELLENT guard dogs and companions as well.

I know some folks who have a couple of Anatolians and you could not pay me to take one. Their acreage is all fenced and those dogs LIVE for a way to get out a leave the property and will be gone for hours. They will dig out, jump out, find a hole, make a hole- anything they can do to leave. They now have to be kenneled, and they bark all the time for stupid reasons or no reason at all.

Have not had exp. or much knowledge of the GP's.

I agree that no matter WHAT kind of dog you have, your property needs a good dog fence to keep them in to start with- and it does help to deter the coyotes to stay out. The dog also learns that this is THEIR territory and others should not be allowed in.

And yes, coyotes are full of tricks.... they will sit out a ways a whine to lure a puppy or another dog out and then it's lunch. There was a pack in the area that I am in now that took out two, not one but TWO, full grown Rotties. I am sure that was not an easy task!

 

[Magic]

I know some folks who have a couple of Anatolians and you could not pay me to take one. Their acreage is all fenced and those dogs LIVE for a way to get out a leave the property and will be gone for hours. They will dig out, jump out, find a hole, make a hole- anything they can do to leave. They now have to be kenneled, and they bark all the time for stupid reasons or no reason at all.

That's very sad.

My Anatolian won't walk out of an open gate--it's open a lot when we are bringing bags of feed or bales of hay, etc-- she loves "her" horses, is strongly bonded to them and has apparently no reason to try to go wandering. Same with my Anatolian/Pyr cross. They are usually to be found contentedly right in the midst of the herd.

This is one reason why I stress correct training for LGDs. Make sure that they bond to their charges. And-- not every born and bred LGD is going to be suited for LGD work. Not every horse is a jumper or a racer or a reiner that is bred to be, same with dogs. Those that aren't suited to the work, or that were trained incorrectly, need a different career.

 

[susanne]

While other breeds may work, it's much more of a crap shoot. It's true that even some dogs bred and raised as flock guardians may be ill-suited for the work, but your odds are much, much better.

I personally would never choose a herding breed as a livestock guardian. Once again, it might work, and obviously it does for some, but their instincts are to chase and the odds are too great that that is what they would do. Why fight their breeding and instincts?

Our Pyrenees/retriever cross was a wonderful guardian, but her duties were exceedingly light...she was more of a general farm dog and pet than a dedicated herd guardian. She did a great job of keeping coyotes away, however, loved the horses and our dogs and cats, and didn't wander. We really miss Ella!

 

[kimie28]

We have Coyotes all around us too and I am a nervous wreck when I have babies. I am still trying to convince my husband into letting me get a donkey or two as I hear they are great protectors too! Might just have one "wonder onto property" one day.

 

[Dontworrybeappy]

Our first Anatolian lived to be nearly 16 and a half years old, and nothing was lost to predators on the properties when Akin was in charge! (including owls, who'd been taking some of our ducks and chickens!) He respected fences, but if there was a way through - he'd guard that area TOO. King of all he surveyed, more or less!

When he got old, we adopted a "rescue" Anatolian. Stewart respected fences, but hated confinement (like a stall or corral) - he'd also been abused by a shock collar and had issues with anyone reaching for his collar. We worked hard on rehabilitating him, but after a year and a half, he bit me, nearly severing my index finger and doing a lot of damage to my hand. And I had NOT reached for him - but he knew I was planning to put him away (we had guys cutting trees on the place). I gave him another chance, but a couple months later he came up out of a sit and bit my other hand! That was the end of Stewart. On the Anatolian list someone said that "Stewart had a lot of screws loose and Karen was able to tighten most of them." - in the end he was too dangerous and we had to put him down. (He was a good animal guardian, though.)

2 weeks after Stewart was euthanized, I watched two adult coyotes come out of my barn aisle! I freaked! We had put a down payment on an Anatolian puppy, but knew it would be a year or more before she could take over guarding duties... that's when Rachel (of Saber-the-wonder-mini fame) saved me and we took over as Dyami's home. Dyami is a harlequin Great Dane. I thought that just the BIGGNESS of him as well as his bark would be enough to keep the coyotes away - but he really exceeded my hopes and became an active guard dog (and he thinks he's a herding dog too - tries to "help" us in that way!) He helped to raise our Anatolian puppy and the two of them are a force to be reckoned with should anything unwanted come on the property.

The mere size of such dogs is a visual deterrent for people coming onto the property, but all of our Anatolians (and Dyami) are good about allowing human visitors. (But you have to watch out for Dyami's tail!)

I love the Anatolian breed - our current girl (Midilli) is pretty nearly as great a dog as Akin was... and that's saying a lot. She has had several "episodes" of learning to respect the fencing, but we knew that would be a part of her training. A livestock guardian dog has a mind of it's own, which is what makes them good at their jobs. But they also figure that if they can see more property, they should guard that TOO. All the LGDs I think are very different to work with than other breeds of dogs.

 

[vickie gee]

We have two Anatolian Shepherds and LOVE them.

We looked at both Great Pyr and the Anatolians; really just luck that we ended up with the Anatolians. We have been super happy with them. They do a GREAT job with coyotes and this morning even had a ~40-50 lb animal trapped on top of a round bale. It was dark, so not entirely sure what the animal was, but it looked cat-like.

Based on the success with our Anatolians and their shorter hair, I think we will continue to have them as long as we have horses. They do roam a lot while doing their patroling, so you either need a very large property or a completely fenced in one.

I agree with Lisa. We are owners of Anatolian Shepherds. Not only is their hair shorter than the Great Pyranese but unlike the Great Pyranese the Anatolian Shepherd will not get friendly with people they don't know...thieves, rustlers, trespassers, etc. We have warning signs about them all along our fence. Coyotes howl in the pasture but don't come near. Possums, raccoons, and the like are dead on arrival. Also other breeds such as Akbash, Caucasian Ovcharka, Kuvasz, Maremma, and Tibetan Mastiff as well as some mixed breeds might also be considered, depending on your needs. I highly recommend the book Livestock Protection Dogs by Orysia Dawydiak and David Sims for anyone considering getting a LGD.

 

[vickie gee]

I know some folks who have a couple of Anatolians and you could not pay me to take one. Their acreage is all fenced and those dogs LIVE for a way to get out a leave the property and will be gone for hours. They will dig out, jump out, find a hole, make a hole- anything they can do to leave. They now have to be kenneled, and they bark all the time for stupid reasons or no reason at all.

That's very sad.

My Anatolian won't walk out of an open gate--it's open a lot when we are bringing bags of feed or bales of hay, etc-- she loves "her" horses, is strongly bonded to them and has apparently no reason to try to go wandering. Same with my Anatolian/Pyr cross. They are usually to be found contentedly right in the midst of the herd.

This is one reason why I stress correct training for LGDs. Make sure that they bond to their charges. And-- not every born and bred LGD is going to be suited for LGD work. Not every horse is a jumper or a racer or a reiner that is bred to be, same with dogs. Those that aren't suited to the work, or that were trained incorrectly, need a different career.

As an owner of Anatolian Shepherds I can say that a responsible owner of one will prepare for ownership by building a fence that they cannot go over (5' to 6') or under. Responsible breeders will not sell to someone that is not suited for them or owns property not suited for them. The problem of said neighbors' dogs is that owner's fault. Not the dogs. They are barking because they are alerting and protecting. Kenneling them is like throwing gasoline on fire. For this sad reason sometimes this dog will end up at a rescue if fortunate enough to get away from irresponsible owners. Every region of the country has an anatolian rescue. Great idea to get one there if not too much damage has been done to the animal. They instinctively guard. Teaching rules and discipline (such as not being too affectionate with newborn animals or chasing livestock while they are pups) is the responsibility of the owner. Our neighbors love hearing our dogs and tell us it makes them feel safe. They also like to watch them "work."