Guardian for goats

[PANDI-GIRL]

Hi all , I don't have much experience with dogs , i have been busy with my own children , & foster children for many years ,now every one is grown up & away , only hubby & me left,

Hubby was wanting a small herd of goats , I thought they might need a guard dog for protection , but need some advice.

Hubby has working cattle dogs on the farm for the beef cows, these 2 dogs stay in the big shed when not working.

We have wild dingo , foxes & feral dogs  here, so I think we would need a dog for goat protection .

Thanks for your advice

[Mjosa]

Alpacas' are good at guarding stock, I have a friend with sheep and she has them and says that they do an amazing job and of course they mingle with the sheep, has not lost a lamb since having them. Would get two of them.

Other than that Maremmas have been bred to guard stock.

[t a i l s.]

I second Maremma, there is also Anatolian Shepherd Dog. 

 

Both bred to guard livestock and will do a good job guarding against fox, dingo and feral dogs. 

You do want to find a good breeder of either, some Maremma can have a slightly "watered down" temperament when it comes to managing actual predators, they certainly make good guards but I am not sure if they would actively engage with a predator of similar size.

Only a personal observation

If I were in your situation, I would get the goats, allow them to settle and then introduce and already started working dog. Not a puppy puppy.
They are a slow maturing kind of dog, and it does often take some years for the dogs to be completely trustworthy with the stock, puppies are still puppies and if left to their own devices can engage in play with stock - which may not be reciprocated and then you will end up with injuries. 

There are people who will know more than I though - but as an owner of an 8 month old Anatolian, trying to train to poultry, get a started dog haha
 

[tdierikx]

I second the alpacas... best fox deterrent around.

 

T.

[Two Best Dogs!]

I third the idea of a couple of alpacas. They can bond pretty well with the goats. We use them to keep stray dogs away from our Anglo Nubians 

[Rozzie]

Another vote for alpacas. We had 2 who were magic with the sheep and goats. The donkey was the third member of the gang. 

[PossumCorner]

On ‎31‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 3:05 PM, PANDI-GIRL said:

 .... We have wild dingo , foxes & feral dogs  here, so I think we would need a dog for goat protection.  .... 

Alpacas will be useful against foxes, but would be at least at the same risk as the goats with dingo and feral dogs.  One of my oldest alpacas died very recently, she had survived an incredibly bad mauling from dogs a couple of years before I took her on.  You could actually see daylight under her backbone, she made an extraordinary recovery with extreme care.  However her paddock mates were less lucky and torn apart by the dogs.

 

My alpacas are wonderful at keeping foxes away from the poultry and pet sheep/lambs - neither alpacas nor Maremmas are guaranteed 24/7, I mean everybody needs to sleep sometimes whether day or night.  Today I looked at two Maremma pups around 12 weeks that have been raised with poultry and already guarding and trustworthy, also housetrained and very social for Maremmas, used to warning of visitors but also happily greeting without aggression once they know it's okay.  Stunning pups for the purpose, but in Central Vic, bit far from you Pandi-Girl. 

 

Neighbouring farmer has lost some sheep to dogs this year, three occasions, and I wouldn't mind a livestock guardian dog as a support for the alpacas.  But decided against again, as Rheneas is an old doggie and he would not cope well with a new dog, let alone an exuberant pup.