Watch this BEFORE Getting a Karakachan Livestock Guardian Dog

[@amccourry1]

For being a first time lgd owner I’m impressed with how well you’re doing. Your giving her freedom to fail is incredibly important! And props to you for being brave enough to utilize an ecollar-a completely misunderstood but priceless tool. And I’m sure excited to have found this video. I have lgd experience and “strong, independent “ dog experience but Karakachans are a new experience. I have 2 juveniles coming to my farm soon and just wanted to see if my gut instincts are correct while putting together an acclimation/training program for them. Thankfully the ones coming were born/raised on farms with a head start. I’m excited to follow your journey.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

Thank you so much! Our Karakachan will be turning two in March so I’ll be doing a full update on how her training is going. Spoiler: she’s doing really well!

[@mnj5089]

Good job and thank you for saying this. I see too many people who expect that their chickens are part of the instincts. They are not. Flappy things to LGD are aerial predators and its hard without guidance to expect a dog to have the chase drive to do their job and the protective drive to do their job. Just as someone with 15 years of dog sports watching her in the pen, I would have corrected the minute her eyes locked on and not let her move forward towards them but you were still effective so kudos!!

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

Thank you! It’s been a big learning curve, but we are learning together. Thanks for the encouragement!

[@mnj5089]

@@EweGoatToBeKidding LGD are a lot harder than Poodles! I just came across this breed and seriously considering adding one. We have an Akbash now and an aging Anatolian mix. Love the old guy but never again with his fence jumping. The Akbash and this breed seem fairly similar. I am betting she's gotten a lot better by now and you are finally cresting puppyhood and starting to get an adult brain! They take a while to mature but are worth every bit of time and effort once they reach about the age of 2. We could never free range our chickens without them.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

Yes, she’s 20 months old now and she’s doing so well! Still some teenager puppy for sure, but glimmers of being settled. I’m excited for her future, she’s been a great dog.

[@zeus3926]

The shock collar made all the difference with my Mareema cross. She was raised near sheep but never had seen hens before first day here. One pop and she hasn’t even looked at a hen since.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

That’s great to hear! It’s awesome for her and your chickens!

[@Faithisfuture]

It helps to have an older experienced dog to help with training doesn’t have to be a guardian dog I have g shepherds they watch what you do and they act accordingly without me doing anything So walking your property every day and letting the dog know what is expected makes a difference as well But in the end it depends on the dog

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

That makes sense! We just don’t have any other dogs. I am hopeful that if we ever add another, it would all be much easier.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

@rsg7221 How old is yours? River is 18 months and overall I would call her a pretty calm dog especially for how young she is. We intentionally picked a med/low energy pup because we know that we aren’t high energy people.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

Oh wow! River gets excited when people come over but if we’re outside with her she has never shown any aggression at all. I’ve been super intimidated by friends’ GP more than River.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

@rsg7221 I think it just goes to show that breeding counts for some, but individual temperament and training can often outweigh breed generalizations!

[@pm5516-o9y]

We have a Karakachan/Great Pyrenes mix we adopted at 2 to guard sheep that has been great with the chickens but we just obtained a 100% Karachan 5-month-old female that hasn't killed a chicken yet but just loves chasing them.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

I’m glad the older one has done so well for you! Puppies are so much work. That’s great that she hasn’t killed one, but keep working on her not to chase. Playing with the stock definitely leads to accidents.

[@Joannsaudia]

We have a pure bred as well and she is 11 months and also lives to chase the chickens. We are still working with her.

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

Keep at it!! River continues to get better.

[@victorianacreshomestead8291]

Was she born with livestock? I love this breed of dog and have had amazing luck with them 😊 in fact, we have available puppies right now!

[@EweGoatToBeKidding]

She was! She was born in the field and had chickens, turkeys, and sheep introduced to her before we brought her home. She has been such a good girl really and it’s amazing to watch her learn.