What breed of dog do we need for our situation?

chernoff

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#1
Hello Everyone,

My wife and I just moved into a large house on 8 acres of land. We are looking for a couple of dogs that fit the following criteria:

- outdoor dogs (they will live in a nice heated dog house)
- will bark when strangers come onto the property
- are safe with children and people that haven't met before
- will mercilessly chase away the geese and deer that cause problems on the property. If they can get rid of moles, that would be an added benefit.
- will patrol the property at night as well as the day
- will stay on our property

We are new to owning dogs, but are willing to put in the time and effort to train the right dogs for us.

We look forward to your responses.
 

Cassiepeia

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#2
How much exercise will the dog get?
How much grooming are you willing to do?
Will the dog ever be allowed indoors to be with the family?
When you say you're willing to train....how much experience do you have?
If you have no experience, how dedicated to taking the dog to obedience classes are you?
How dedicated to socialisation are you?
When you say 'safe' with strangers do you mean that the dog should want to be friends with the strangers or just that they won't be hostile towards them?
How clingy (affectionate) do you want the dog to be?
Do you have a fenced yard?

I'm concerned that this dog will not only sleep outdoors but is going to be asked to "patrol the property at night as well as the day". Is this a pet you're after or just a guard dog?

Not leaving the property is a bit of a problem if the dog is left to it's own devices. Dogs left on their own will find things to do and that may include wandering off to find adventure. You'd really need a secure dog run or fenced yard if the dog is to be left outside on its own.

Cass.
 

oriondw

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#3
- outdoor dogs (they will live in a nice heated dog house)
- will bark when strangers come onto the property
- are safe with children and people that haven't met before
- will mercilessly chase away the geese and deer that cause problems on the property. If they can get rid of moles, that would be an added benefit.
- will patrol the property at night as well as the day
- will stay on our property

-----------

The part I put in bold REALLY interferes with everything else. Basically you want a guard dog which likes people he/she doesn't know :)

That doesn't compute :D
 

oriondw

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#4
Not leaving the property is a bit of a problem if the dog is left to it's own devices. Dogs left on their own will find things to do and that may include wandering off to find adventure. You'd really need a secure dog run or fenced yard if the dog is to be left outside on its own.

Cass.
Depends entirely on the dog and in what environment it is raised.

Also, if you are getting a puppy don't expect it to do any of the tasks you listed until about 1.5-2.5 years of age ( depending on breed).

It might be a good idea to look into an adult dog from a farm with experience :)
 

Julie

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#5
Hello Everyone,

My wife and I just moved into a large house on 8 acres of land. We are looking for a couple of dogs that fit the following criteria:

- outdoor dogs (they will live in a nice heated dog house)
- will bark when strangers come onto the property
- are safe with children and people that haven't met before
- will mercilessly chase away the geese and deer that cause problems on the property. If they can get rid of moles, that would be an added benefit.
- will patrol the property at night as well as the day
- will stay on our property

We are new to owning dogs, but are willing to put in the time and effort to train the right dogs for us.

We look forward to your responses.
Welcome to Chaz! It seems as though your expectations of a dog are a little off. Let me explain what I mean.....

A dog doesn't know or care about property lines.

Alot of dogs will chase a deer away, But some dogs will chase until they catch the deer, or someone else sees your dog chasing deer and the dog gets shot. I would never allow my dogs to chase deer.

Most dogs would send a warning bark if something/someone strange was around, So when looking for a breed which would be most important to you? A watch dog, or a family dog that is good around children. Alot of this depends on you too, socialization, and picking a great breeder or shelter.

The majority of breeds would be happier living with their families. And can be easier to train, because they get more time with their families and learn more about your body language..etc. I can't reccommend an outside dog, because I allow all my dogs in my house, and I couldn't imagine any of them living outside in a dog house.

Since you are new to dogs, I would never start out with more than one. You are asking for problems.

In my opinion you are wanting a couple dogs, for the wrong reasons. But there are many dog savy people on here that can help you.

Also letting dogs run loose is not only a possible large liability to you, but also not very safe for them. Eight acres is nothing to a dog. I have 36 and they can get from one end to the other in a couple minutes. :)

Best Wishes and Good Luck.
 
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#6
Three thoughts:

Some dogs are very aware of their property - ie, they won't wander away. But 1) that takes time and maturity, as even very boundary-oriented dogs, will, as young dogs will tend to have the energy and curiosity to run and run and run; 2) a dog that has that sort of territorial awareness is very likely to NOT be very friendly to strangers. They may not bite them or attack, but they probably won't be friendly, 'child-safe' dogs either. At best, they'll be indifferent to people outside their family.

You might want to start out with a single dog. Two dogs constitutes a small pack, and it's packs of dogs that really get into trouble, especially when they're running loose and haven't got too much interaction with people.

I understand that you may not want the dogs inside and I don't think it's automatically a bad idea to have them live outside, but I do think you need to realize that an outdoor dog doesn't get the constant reinforcement of human rules that an indoor dog gets. In other words, if your dog lives outside, you need to remember to work with him/her on manners and behavior.
 

Red_ACD_for_me

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#7
Hello Everyone,

My wife and I just moved into a large house on 8 acres of land. We are looking for a couple of dogs that fit the following criteria:

- outdoor dogs (they will live in a nice heated dog house)
- will bark when strangers come onto the property
- are safe with children and people that haven't met before
- will mercilessly chase away the geese and deer that cause problems on the property. If they can get rid of moles, that would be an added benefit.
- will patrol the property at night as well as the day
- will stay on our property

We are new to owning dogs, but are willing to put in the time and effort to train the right dogs for us.

We look forward to your responses.
How about a German Shepard? They are great with kids and naturally protect there property. However, I do agree with everything Cass said. A dog needs to be part of his family and enjoy time inside the home as well as out. And Socialization is key to owning any dog. You could get a GSD that is a few years old already socialized, house broken, and protection trained from the right breeder but you have to do your research. Good luck!
 

chernoff

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#8
Thank you for the responses.

Our property is fenced. We both are fortunate enough to be at home all day so we have lots of time to spend with the dogs. The reason I was thinking of two dogs is so they could keep each other company at night especially.

I don't want a "guard dog". I just want a dog that barks at strangers if they come onto our property, which has happened in the past because our property borders a popular walking path.

I do want the dogs to chase away the deer though, because they are destroying all our sapling trees and eating all the fruit off our fruit trees.

I personally would love to have an indoor dog but unfortuantely we just installed $60,000. worth of hardwood floors that I suspect would not last very long with a dog or two in the house.
 

chernoff

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#9
We also don't want a dog that "likes" intruders. We want a dog that is suspicious and vocal of intruders but won't harm them.
 

PAWZ

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#10
you are wrong about wood floors, you did however put the cart before the horse with installing wood floors before asking how they handle traffic. Many types of real wood floors can handle canine and feline feet, keep their claws trimmed and put down a few throw rugs for traction. We have wood floors in our home with 5 cats and 3 dogs they have been down for a year with no problem.
 

Red_ACD_for_me

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#11
I second the hardwood and no problems. My dogs and cats don't scratch up my floors but my daughter has with some of her toys! Doesn't matter what you do to prevent scratching of your floors they will still find a way to get them LOL!
 

MafiaPrincess

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#12
We have 'real' 40 year old hardwood floors. Any damage has been my carelessness moving things, not dog claws.
 

Brattina88

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#13
I also have old hardwood floors, and the dogs haven't scratched them. Just chairs and furniture and stuff ;)
My unlce got a lab puppy (who is monsterously huge now) and he has brand spanking new wood floors. No scratches from the puppy... but the coffee table on the other hand... :eek:
Besides, if the dogs nails are kept at a correct length they don't touch the floor when a dog is walking normally. :)
 

Julie

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#14
HMmmmmmmmm.... Dogs Or Hardwood Floors?

I choose dogs! and years down the road dogs can provide great memories....and my guess, a scratch or two will not be remembered. :)
 

RD

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#15
Just about any dog will bark at strangers on their property.

The first thing that came to mind for chasing off geese and deer was a herding breed. A good Border Collie or Aussie would probably keep everything away. The stare that herding breeds give their "stock" really terrifies wild animals; their eye-stalk is similar to that of a wolf or coyote.

Borders and Aussies are both protective, but not extremely so. My Border Collie does a lot of barking and snarling when someone comes to the door but as soon as they walk away, he stops and goes back to what he was doing. If I let them in, he accepts them graciously.

I would put up some cheap fencing around your 8 acres. You don't need a 6ft brick wall, just something to designate YOUR property - not only for the dogs to see, but for people walking by to see as well. If someone sees a couple of loose dogs, they get worried and could very easily do something to hurt the dogs. If someone sees a couple of dogs behind a fence, they're okay.

While I personally prefer to see dogs live indoors, working dogs are an exception. Deer only wandered onto our property at night, and that's when we needed the dogs to be outside.
 

JFrick

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#16
I agree about the Aussie's or Border Collies. They have the tendancy to dig though, so the fence alone may not keep them in.
 

Laurelin

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#19
Just about any dog will bark at strangers on their property.

The first thing that came to mind for chasing off geese and deer was a herding breed. A good Border Collie or Aussie would probably keep everything away. The stare that herding breeds give their "stock" really terrifies wild animals; their eye-stalk is similar to that of a wolf or coyote.

Borders and Aussies are both protective, but not extremely so. My Border Collie does a lot of barking and snarling when someone comes to the door but as soon as they walk away, he stops and goes back to what he was doing. If I let them in, he accepts them graciously.

I would put up some cheap fencing around your 8 acres. You don't need a 6ft brick wall, just something to designate YOUR property - not only for the dogs to see, but for people walking by to see as well. If someone sees a couple of loose dogs, they get worried and could very easily do something to hurt the dogs. If someone sees a couple of dogs behind a fence, they're okay.

While I personally prefer to see dogs live indoors, working dogs are an exception. Deer only wandered onto our property at night, and that's when we needed the dogs to be outside.
Those are all great points. I like seeing dogs inside more too.

We have deer that come in our yard, and honestly, any dog could scare them away. They run from the papillons!

Think about the other wildlife that you have in your yard too. We have coyotes outside and no dog is really safe with them around. They attack dogs in their own fence, which is part of the reason I don't like dogs left outside.

To me, it sounds like you want a herder. Our shelties are amazing at scaring things away. (Albeit we never let them out when we have the coyotes or bobcats in our yard) The deer are terrified of Trey as he barks so loudly (and a lot) and he looks bulkier than he really is. Collies and Aussies and such are generally warier of strangers, yet they are not usually 'attack' dogs. Herders are very intelligent, though, and have to have a 'job' or something to do. Shelties are very vocal, but they are so small, I'd worry about them being left outside all the time...

We have wood floors with minimal scratching. Just cut the dogs' nails often.
 
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#20
I have 7 dogs living in runs, with exercise pen and additional 5 acres of farm to roam. Of the 7, only one fits your needs. It is a female golden retriever, very gentle, easy to train, lives in hay stuffed house (prefers living room couch, where she likes to be stroked for hours). We have, poodle-age 14,rat terrier-age 15,blue heeler age 10, Aussie-heeler cross age 7,Golden age 1, Yellow lab age 1. All my dogs adore me and are well trained, but still I could only recommend the Golden for your criteria. I once had a yellow lab as gentle as this Golden is, but these were the only 2 dogs perfect enough for you in my last 40yrs experience. Good luck.
Wild coyotes, deer, hogs,coons, and abandoned dog packs run through our place every night, so we are awakened often to a chourus of parking, but we get used to it. WE have never had reason to need a guard dog out here, while surrounded by 5 acres tracts, and all different kinds of people.
You may find you will not need a guard dog, but rather a quite one!
 

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