We’ve been trying our best to intentionally spend more time with Akuna in the goat pen, training her to protect them and not play with them.
The goal is for her to imprint on them, care about them and guard them, but not want to engage/play with them.
Her job is to chase off anything that comes near them, but not to chase them, which is easier said than done because:
- She’s a puppy and wants to play
- Lucy and Ethel are kids and want to play (well, mostly Lucy wants to play, Ethel is pretty chill)
And so we’re using words like “mine” and “no” when she goes after anything she’s not supposed to and we shower her with attention and praise when she listens to our commands and basically ignores the goats while still being aware of anything else that may be happening around them.
It’s a process…
A process that will honestly take a couple of years of intentional work…
A process that I often wonder if I have the patience for…
A process that is absolutely necessary and will be so worth the effort in the end.
Chewing sticks is a good step in the process.
Taking Ethel’s stick from her is not a good step in the process.
We ebb and flow through each ~15 minute training period.
:::
There’s nothing like being called outside late at night by barking dogs to find that there are about a hundred coyotes down the field (yes, by the goats!) singing their horribly creepy chorus!
It’s disorienting to me in those first moments of hearing them…
There are simply so many of them all calling out at once, it always takes me a second or two to decipher what it is I am hearing exactly.
Ugh…I really hate coyotes.
They creep me out and piss me off and scare the hell out of me all at once.
And so, while Akuna is our big ol’ LGD, she is still just a baby and is still learning what to do to keep the animals and our property safe and how to do it all to chase off predators quickly.
Her instincts are strong.
Her bark is big and loud.
Her size is intimidating.
And she’s still just a puppy, so she’s still learning.
So, last night, when I heard her tear off after the chorus of coyotes down by the goats and then heard them move from our property to an adjacent property, disperse, and quiet down, I was so very grateful.
Then, when I heard Akuna pop back over our fence and onto our property (because yes, she just pops back and forth now…it’s a thing), I was relieved that she was OK and coming home quickly.
But after her run around the property, she was agitated (and so was I), so I put on a bunch of layers, grabbed the headlamp, and walked the perimeter with her to calm both of our nerves.
She’s a really good dog doing a fantastically good job despite her age and her owners who are fumbling learning alongside her.
xoxo,
M
Our experience was that the Great Pyr wins by intimidation. Our Joey had that the big loud bark too, and no matter how many coyotes there seemed to be, they moved on rather than tangle with him. I hope that turns out to be your experience too.
I surely hope so, too, Bill!