Back, sort of...LOTS to share!

That's great that you like your new house and I think it's a great idea to have a Great Pyrenees to guard your livestock animals from predators... except for guarding them from Ogre. I would be worried that since Ogre has some dog aggression (if I remember right) that he may not back down from the Pyr. That could end really badly for one or both of them.

 
Yeah, the Pyr won't be allowed around Ogre at all. Ogre is contained by an electric fence to our yard- he has escaped once, but hasn't since. The Pyr will be a couple of acres away in a pasture with the chickens, goats, and whatever other livestock we have. He'll be sleeping in the barn at night- he can't come inside at night, since that is specifically the time when I'll need him to be on guard...coyotes pretty much only come after our animals at night. He may come inside on occasion during the day, but in that case Ogre will be kept away from him.
 
The only time that Ogre may come into contact with the Pyr is in the event that Ogre decides to jump the fence and go after some kind of livestock. In that case, it may come down to a fight between them- but I'm hoping to have Ogre retrained long before the Pyr is of working age. If he doesn't straighten up shortly, I'll be hiring a behaviorist to help. If nothing can be done, and it gets to the point where a fight between Ogre and the Pyr is probably coming up...I'll probably buy a covered outdoor kennel for Ogre to stay in when he needs to go outside. I wanted to give him the freedom of a big yard to run around in, so that's my last resort, but I'll do it if it becomes necessary.  

That sounds like a good plan for keeping them separate. From what I've heard, LGDs become fully bonded to their flock and probably wouldn't even want to come inside. Btw, I hope Ogre shapes up soon!

I was just thinking about you yesterday!  I'm glad you updated us!! =-)

Ratsicles

He's got a checkup scheduled for Tuesday, and he'll be wormed while he's there.

I normally would encourage people not to start vaccines until 8-9 weeks, but since the pup is necessarily going to be in areas that are frequented by coyotes, you might want to talk to your vet about getting just the NeoPar Parvo vaccine.  Distemper can wait. 
 
www.revivalanimal.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_41%2D076_A_name_E_Neopar

NeoPar is for the vaccination of healthy dogs against disease due to canine parvovirus. It is designed to be used primarily where the severe threat of canine parvovirus infections exist in the resident dog population.  NeoPar is a modified live virus vaccine containing a high antigenic mass per dose of a highly immunogenic strain of canine parvovirus. This vaccine gives reliable protection against infectious by other known strains of canine parvovirus. NeoPar overrides moderate to high antibody levels such as those found in puppies having maternal antibodies or in dogs from pre-existing vaccinations. It can be used successfully as a booster for a pre-existing vaccination. 

Oh he's absolutley prescious!  What about Guard? 

Funny, last night I watched an "At The End Of My Leash" episode in which the overweight, obnoxious dog was actually named Beaureguard.  They called him Beau.  Maybe you can help me get over the connotation.  hehe

ORIGINAL: Ratsicles

He does not associate the chickens I hand him for dinner with the live chickens running around outside.
 

 
And can he be around live chickens right now? like right next to them?

Wow! What a busy life you've been leading. Thanks for the update and for sharing pictures of Chief Beauregard (CB).

While it sounds like you have a LOT of work - I'm sure the excitement and joy of having your own place is making up for any trouble your going through. I'd LOVE to have a little farm like that. I grew up on my grandparent's farm and miss it terribly.

Ogre may never come around - but I agree 100% that feeding dogs chickens has nothing to do with dogs killing chickens. My grandparent's dogs never bothered their chickens, and we always fed them the scraps when we butchered. The dogs would literally watch us catch and kill the chickens then eat the heads/feet/guts we gave them but never once killed a chicken themselves. It's about prey drive, not hunger.

Ratsicles, let me see if I have this right.  You have a dog you can't manage, so you got yet another dog who, YOU HOPE, can?  Am I missing something?  I must be because everyone else seems to think this is a GREAT idea.  [8|]

ORIGINAL: probe1957

Ratsicles, let me see if I have this right.  You have a dog you can't manage, so you got yet another dog who, YOU HOPE, can?  Am I missing something?  I must be because everyone else seems to think this is a GREAT idea.  [8|]

 
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with you 200%, not to be rude but Rasticles already put a dog to sleep for acting aggressive towards them and i'm sure she and us dont want Ogre to be next in line
 
Rasticles, why dont you put 100% of your effort first on Ogre before getting another dog? [] No body is attacking you, but maybe would be better to wait a little bit because one of your dogs is already in heaven and another is not looking good, lets save Ogre first and then once you have all your dogs balance you will have the time and energy of a new dog []

Rasticles, why dont you put 100% of your effort first on Ogre before getting another dog? No body is attacking you, but maybe would be better to wait a little bit because one of your dogs is already in heaven and another is not looking good, lets save Ogre first and then once you have all your dogs balance you will have the time and energy of a new dog

Normally I'd agree, but since the Pyr pup is a LGD bought for a very specific purpose, I don't see a huge problem.  If a farmer has a tractor for one purpose and it's broken and already needed a tractor for another purpose, does he not get the new tractor until the old one for an unrelated purpose is fixed?  Nah.  She's already said she'll hire a behaviorist and build an entirely new run for Ogre, regardless of the Pyr pup, so he's not being pushed aside.

ORIGINAL: Liesje


Normally I'd agree, but since the Pyr pup is a LGD bought for a very specific purpose, I don't see a huge problem.  If a farmer has a tractor for one purpose and it's broken and already needed a tractor for another purpose, does he not get the new tractor until the old one for an unrelated purpose is fixed?  Nah.  She's already said she'll hire a behaviorist and build an entirely new run for Ogre, regardless of the Pyr pup, so he's not being pushed aside.

 
Well it does not matter if she has the puppy on a house 30 miles away, right now she has her hands full with Ogre (besides many more animals too), to give the proper care to that puppy or help Ogre properly i think it would be better to wait a little bit

ORIGINAL: espencer

ORIGINAL: probe1957

Ratsicles, let me see if I have this right.  You have a dog you can't manage, so you got yet another dog who, YOU HOPE, can?  Am I missing something?  I must be because everyone else seems to think this is a GREAT idea.  [8|]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree with you 200%, not to be rude but Rasticles already put a dog to sleep for acting aggressive towards them and i'm sure she and us dont want Ogre to be next in line

Rasticles, why dont you put 100% of your effort first on Ogre before getting another dog? [] No body is attacking you, but maybe would be better to wait a little bit because one of your dogs is already in heaven and another is not looking good, lets save Ogre first and then once you have all your dogs balance you will have the time and energy of a new dog []

 
I don't want to be rude and I also don't intend to sound like I am attacking or dogpiling...but I am actually appalled [:-][:-][:-]  at all that Ratsicles has been dealing with AND has decided to add another dog to the mix.  I also can't believe how no one else thinks this is a big deal besides Billy and ESpencer. 
 
I have to say I am also shocked at how much damage Ogre was allowed to do...I have a really hard time believing that this was just bad luck or unfortunate timing...and I feel terrible for the animals that had to die so horribly...couldn't he have been crated or kenneled after the first incident or something when you realized he had a problem?  I don't mean to play monday-morning quarterback...hindsight is 20/20...but I am really shaking my head here! 
 
Granted, I have no experience with "farm livin'" but it sounds as though you are overwhelmed with animals, not to mention having a prey-driven dog aggressive Akita to contend with, a situation in the home where two dogs have to constantly be separated, AND then add a new pup to the household.  I can't imagine that there isn't some other solution to dealing with the coyotes...and besides, the pup clearly won't be ready to guard the flock until he is grown up...so some other provisions will have to be undertaken! 
 
I have tremendous compassion for how overwhelming this must be...I am just astonished that another animal would be purchased to fix a problem with an existing animal...that has problems with pretty much every other animal...it really sounds like Ogre needs some big time intervention.  At this point I feel terrible for the new puppy and what may lie ahead for him.  []
 
That said, I bought a house from a couple that owned an Akita and that dog had terrible, terrible problems adjusting after they moved.  She wound up attacking a friend's 5 year old daughter giving her a face wound that required stitches and plastic surgery and cost her Dad permanent visitation rights revocation.  The dog had been exhibiting severe agitation in the weeks prior to that attack.  Their feeling was that my house was the only home she'd known and was having major difficulty with the adjustment.  The only reason I know about this is that they called me asking if I would adopt her so that she could still live in that house!  [:-]  So I am not sure if this is a breed trait with Akitas, my feeling is they must not generalize well compared to other breeds and that their surroundings have a definite impact and influencing factor on the consistency of their learned behaviors. 
 
I really hope that this situation is resolved for all parties - human, dog, chicken, bunny, guinea pig, cat...the list goes on!

ORIGINAL: probe1957

Ratsicles, let me see if I have this right.  You have a dog you can't manage, so you got yet another dog who, YOU HOPE, can? 

From what I read, the Pyr is more the dissuade the coyotes from attacking her livestock, not to keep Ogre away. She said she doesn't want Ogre and the Pyr near each other, *and* that she is hiring a behaviorist. It sounds to me like each is a separate issue. The behaviorist is for Ogre, and the Pyr is for the coyotes.

Rats I offered you this prior...but I will offer again. You need help with Ogre...this will not get better without some pretty serious help. There are good Akita savvy people in your state. If you want their information please let me know. I have no doubt that if your Akita boy were to get ahold of your Pyr even as an adult your Pyr would suffer a lot. Akita's do not forget and they absolutely are capable of immense damage to livestock. If he were to leave your property totally and bother someone else's stock I really do think he might be shot.
 
Please PM me if you want the info/directing to a trainer in your state.