“If you’re cold, they are cold,” and other working dog myths

This is the time of year we start getting questioned about when we will bring our big white dogs inside, and why our dogs are laying out in the middle of a snow pile and not in the barn.  And it’s not just from non-farm folks either.  In fact, I find myself displacing some of the below myths on Great Pyrenees (and other working dogs) all the time to all sorts of people!

So, what are the biggest Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) myths out there?

1.        LGD’s are pets!  

So this is only a half myth because about 30% of our pups are actually sold very successfully as companion only dogs and their families LOVE them!  But, our main purpose in having and raising dogs is raising LGD's and these dogs are NOT pets!  They have a very serious job to do and they know it.  They are no interested in spending much time with you or I, they are not interested in sitting or rolling over and they certainly are not interested in leaving their stock at night to come into the house.

2.        They are cold!

They are not cold!  Our dogs, Great Pyrenees, actually have been bred  to live outside because generally speaking that is where their stock live (although nothing surprises me anymore).

They are equipped with a double coat that insulates them in sub-freezing temperatures, blocks wind, and catches rain and ice on the outside of their coat (away from the skin).  Although all of our dogs have access to barns, it’s rare for them to spend much time inside at all.  They cannot hear, see and sense their surroundings as well inside and whenever they lose that control, their anxiety kicks in.  So that is why you see them lying outside.

3.       Neutering a dog will ruin his ability to work! 

Wrong!  Neutering (spaying) a dog will only ruin his ability to do one thing—reproduce.  Actually, dogs that are fixed as close to 6 months as possible are the most effective working dogs out there.  Their mind is always 100% in the game, instead of the female in heat who has stronger urges for 3 weeks out of the year than guarding her stock. 

And believe me, you don’t want a female in heat at the peak of lambing, in the dead of winter when your neighborhood coyotes are hungry.  A male Pyrenees will take off to find females to breed and can sense them from miles away.  And guess what else is in the dog family?  Coyotes and wolves.  It’ll be best for all involved if your LGD doesn’t bed down with the enemy so GET YOUR DOGS FIXED!

4.        An older LGD is already “trained”!

Be cautious of moving older dogs and certainly do not pay more money for one because she has “learned from Mom and Dad”.    What she has done is bonded with the farm and stock where she was born, making it harder to move her and harder to create a bond with your stock.  Pups are best placed between 8 – 16 weeks (for Great Pyrenees, as this actually does vary greatly from breed to breed.  Many breeds of LGD require more supervision and guidance to develop into ideal guards so speak to your breeder).  Older dogs can, and do work.  But just be aware that you are not buying a fool proof system.

5.        He came from “working lines”.

My least favorite, most hated line regarding livestock guardian dogs is “working lines” when someone is a attempting to explain why they are selling working dogs who have never so much as smelled a sheep.   WORKING DOGS COME FROM WORKING PARENTS.   Not working grandparents.  Or working uncles.  Or working cousins. 

WORKING PARENTS. 

Everyone knows someone who found this great dog at a shelter, or a litter in downtown LA and came home to be the best LGD ever.  This is the exception, not the rule.  If you need a real working dog to protect the equity in your stock, please buy a dog from a farm, who is outside with the stock and has always been outside with the stock. 

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