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Let's Get an LGD Dwarf Goats Of Pups & Kids

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Let's Get a Livestock Guardian Dog!!!

Introducing "Guardian"  & "Angel"

Quite honestly, at the time, we didn't even know what a Great Pyrenees looked like.  Thankfully, our knowledgeable neighbor who has lived here forever & has all the connections, found us 2 prospects in no time.   Guardian & Angel had just lost their goat herd (they had been sold ~~ the dogs hadn't actually "lost" them ), were currently unemployed & looking for work.

I had to question our sanity when I saw the size of these animals & I even balked a bit at the purchase. Could something this big really make our goats safer??? Could we trust them??? Could we handle them???  Would they be okay with our children???  I hesitated ... I transferred my weight from left foot to right foot & back again.  I looked at my husband & said "What do you think?" hoping he would make the decision & I wouldn't be held responsible for the possible colossal mistake we were about to make.  He said "Put 'em in the truck" & that was that.

Now, I must tell you that putting dogs this size "in the truck" is easier said than done. We had no way of hauling them in the bed of the truck (somehow I had pictured dogs the size of my goats rather than my horses) & they weren't terribly anxious to be put in a strange vehicle & taken to points unknown. Just to make things interesting, we had just had a soaking rain & the dogs were wet & muddy. BUT, we succeeded & headed home with 2 wet, maybe 100 lb. dogs, our neighbor AND us in our Chevy Silverado.

Upon arriving at our ranch, the previously hesitant dogs heard a "Baaaaaaa" & couldn't wait to get out of the truck.  I had to wonder if their desire to leave the truck NOW was because they saw dinner in our little goats or if, indeed, these BIG dogs wanted to do a "job".  My husband & I decided that we had best stay on the scene in order to protect the goats (HA!) if need be.

The next hour, as night fell, was nothing short of amazing!  The dogs sniffed each goat (remarkably, the goats weren't afraid) and Angel pawed at each gate (never trying to escape) as if checking them for security. She then ran along the entire fence line as Guardian busied himself marking everything he could lift his leg on.  After completion of this drill, Angel positioned herself at the highest point in the barnyard & Guardian took his station at the fence facing the neighbor's property & the "dog of concern" that had gotten us into this in the first place.  How he knew to look that way I'll never know for sure ... perhaps scent??

There they sat totally alert & on guard until the neighbor dog showed himself.  Angel & Guardian jumped up like a canine S.W.A.T team, ran in the direction of the Joe, took an authoritative stance & gave two booming barks.  Joe stopped dead in his tracks, gave a moment's thought to what he had just heard, turned himself around & headed AWAY from our property. This scenario repeated each time Joe gave any indication of heading our way.  Okay, Guardian & Angel did respond the same way to our big Spotted Saddle Horse mare as she approached from the other side but they lost interest when we said "NO", petted Rosie & let them know she was a friend.

Needless to say, we were impressed ... so much so that this happened...

AND over the next few months this happened...  We now have the best protected goat herd in Lincoln County, TN... better than one dog per goat... I think we need more goats!!!

AND we learned alot!!!  These dogs are not to be feared... the goats love them... they protect our children just as they do the goats... they are devoted, loving & kind... they are a pleasure to have on our ranch and we will NEVER, EVER be without a Pyr again!