Like Us
Follow @dogster
Google +1 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Contact Us
Forums Home » Choosing the Right Dog
GO!

Best dog breed for a hobby farm?

If you are wondering what is the right dog for you, this is the place to be. In this introductory forum we talk about topics such as breed vs. mix, size, age, grooming, breeders, shelters, rescues as well as requirements for exercise, space and care. No question is too silly here. This particular forum is for getting and giving helpful, nice advice. It is definitely not a forum for criticizing someone else's opinion, knowledge or advice. This forum is all about tail wagging and learning.

  
(Page 2 of 4: Viewing entries 11 to 20)  
1  2  3  4  
Chandler

Code name:- Farmcollie		 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 6:25pm PST 
I think you need to define the type of jobs you need the dog to do on the farm before you choose a breed. Different breeds are better suited for different circumstances.
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Bunny

Black dogs rock!		 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 6:31pm PST 
Zephyr; "In NB you have to ship in hay." Really? I work out in the country and there are bales of hay everywhere lol. The lady I am getting the rabbits from got her hay for the winter not too far from where I work. Do you think Rottis are a good choice for a farm, too? smile I have read donkeys don't like dogs, which is not good for a dog lover.

Jasper, I wonder if Poodles would get along with Rottisthinking

Chandler, I think Mulder nailed it. I wouldn't need a herder, more of a dog who would protect the livestock and us from predators and make people think twice about targeting us or our farm.

Edited by author Mon Apr 23, '12 6:37pm PST

my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Zephyr

1213425		 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 6:45pm PST 
Since having 100 acres to dedicate strictly to hay is pretty uncommon in the area unless your last name is Irving, I'd say yeah, you have to ship it in. If you think you can grow enough hay on 5 acres that's already subdivided for livestock... good luck with that one.
[notify]

Bunny

Black dogs rock!		 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 7:06pm PST 
Zephyr laugh out loud I am getting the impression you may be from around herewink I did read somewhere that we import about 50 percent of feed so you may not be so far off. smile
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Zephyr

1213425		 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 7:50pm PST 
Same region, different province for several years. I hung with the ag kids. I know my silage. wink
[notify]
Sonja

It's all about- me.
 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 9:06pm PST 
My Rottie Pepper) finished raising Sonja from age 8 1/2 weeks old... Sonja has many of her positive qualities...and Sonja LOVED her Pepper Pooh.
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Happy

The Boy Wonder		 
 
Barked: Mon Apr 23, '12 9:36pm PST 
Around here the requirement is 2 acres per single horse, but take that as you will. We didn't used to have to bring in a lot of feed but since we are just now starting to get over the drought (still considered moderate drought condition) that made a mess of my area the past ten years we've had to buy a lot of hay from out of state.

It makes a wreck on a financial scale and honestly it's not cost effective in many cases to run livestock here.

That said to address your original question.. It depends on what you want a dog For. if you want a livestock guardian go with a guardian breed... don't try for a multi purpose dog, they aren't any good unless they live with the stock.

Two main issues... Do you have a large number of predators... and what Kind of predators. I run livestock dogs in conjunction With jacks with each of my herds. It's the safest most cost effective method.

Not all livestock guardians are created equal either. In order to have a good dog you really need a pup that has been imprinted on the kind of stock that you wish to run them with. There are a lot of people trying to 'rehome' mix breeds for this purpose in my area and it's not even slightly useful.

My opinion is that if you feel you need a guardian go with either a jack, a llama, or a guardian dog.. if you want a dog to be a pet/do other things with, get a separate dog.

I have some friends who run packs of dogs for cougars, Coyotes or occasionally for hogs, but these aren't Guardians... they're hunters and without proper training and management they can just as easy turn on your livestock.

Even the guarding herders are not meant to be left with the stock, they are meant to protect stock during the day with the shepherd either their or nearby and with stock that goes into pens/barns at night. These are not really LSG's it's a different thing.
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Trigger

*Blackdog*		 
 
Barked: Tue Apr 24, '12 6:36am PST 
See now this conversation is just so foreign to me lol

Even talking 5 acres, with a house on it and at the very least a lean to and outbuilding for feed storage I cannot imagine a predator willing to get close enough to warrant getting any sort of guardian anything (smaller animals being the exception such as fox if you end up with something like chickens).

I don't know, do llamas guard chickens? I know plenty of donkeys that are AWESOME with their sheep herds, our vet (who is also our neighbor) has one. Last fall I heard her braying at coyotes almost nightly. The sheep wouldn't have made it without her no doubt, but I don't think she'd give two hoots about chickens or rabbits...but maybe?

No cougar, coyote or what have you in their right mind would enter a property within 5 acres of a house though.


(Happy - I think the federal minimum is 1 acre per horse with local ordinances mandating more than that typically depending on zoning. And thank goodness, I see it no differently than the laws that apply to keeping a dog. It might be lawful to keep a dog in a cage it's entire life but that doesn't mean it's ethical. I cannot imagine keeping a horse on a single acre for the duration of it's life unless it was trail ridden off the property several times a week. Unless it's old or has some sort of physical limitations they need room to really run to be kept happy and sane).
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Violet

hey good looking- ....what ya got- cookin		 
 
Barked: Tue Apr 24, '12 7:21am PST 
geese make great gaurdians well ganders do anyways

as far as great hobby farm dog a rott is great they live to be farm dogs and they love their people so you will have buddy too....based on what i know about you bunny it seems to me like you want a dog that will be your pet first and a working bud second...is that right...a gsd would be great too....good luck living the dream thats my plan too when the kids grow up and leave the house but i want mini farm animals and giant breed dogs hahahah
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Lucille

I am the Sock- Bandit!!!		 
 
Barked: Tue Apr 24, '12 7:45am PST 
"Even talking 5 acres, with a house on it and at the very least a lean to and outbuilding for feed storage I cannot imagine a predator willing to get close enough to warrant getting any sort of guardian anything (smaller animals being the exception such as fox if you end up with something like chickens)."

I live in Southern NE, the ratio is typically 2 acres per horse with purchased sileage ofcourse. I have about three acres and I'm zoned for livestock. It surprises most folks from other parts of the US that we actually have a very dense horse population here... and some sheep, dairy farms, poultry and game farms (mostly supplying birds). Coyotes here hunt deer and are a threat to sheep (during lambing season typically) and poultry. Ofcourse this depends on how scarce their wild food sources are, if it's a lean winter they certainly do come in close to stock. So most farms have at least one all purpose farm dog. They don't tend to be one of the LGB's, most are mutts and various mixes of shepherds. They have no problem warning off coyotes and trespassers.

One game farm lost a lot of stock recently when a coyote pulled whatever it could through the enclosures after getting through the electric fence. They didn't have a dog at the time, and you betcha they do now.

Pretty much any dog breed or mix that can be boundary trained and is at least a bit territorial will work for a small farm. Especially if you just need them to warn off and alert, nothing fancy.
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
  (Page 2 of 4: Viewing entries 11 to 20)  
1  2  3  4