How to Buy an LGD Puppy
Have you ever thought about how to buy an LGD Puppy? But fear of not being able to find a breed that’s right for you or not being able to train a puppy keeps you stuck? I’ll show you how to determine which breed is right for you, find an ethical breeder, and find the perfect LGD puppy for you. Let’s dive in.
Why You Should Buy An LGD Puppy
The reason for buying an LGD puppy is different for everyone, from having chickens that need protection, seeking out a family dog that’s gentle with kids, or the serious threat of predators to current livestock that you need a solution for asap. LGD puppies come with a lot of benefits and equal responsibilities. For me, one of the biggest reasons to choose an LGD puppy is the concept of leveraged future protection and companionship. That you and your livestock can hopefully love and benefit from for approximately a decade.
I believe livestock guardian dogs’ greatest gift is leveraged protection and companionship.
Damari
You put in this investment and work, this hard work, but then this work will lead to a trained and instinctive LGD dog that will be able to impact your peace of mind, livestock health, property security, and your own mental health. Because life is better with a great dog….especially in agricultural lifestyles. If you wanna put in the work and management an LGD puppy requires, you will truly impact the future of your lifestyle in many positive ways for years to come.
I truly believe that LGD puppies can be one of the most beneficial things that you can do to impact your lifestyle and your livestock. But I also recognize that they are not ideal for every situation. Nor should they be adopted by humans not ready for the responsibility and management they require, especially in the first 2 years. If you think that an LGD puppy is the right choice for you, spend time researching LGD breeds and livestock guardian breeders. As a result, you’ll be able to find the right match for yourself.
Not Sure Which LGD Breed to Choose?
Whether you’re not exactly sure which breed of Livestock Guardian dog is best for you, but you know the role you want them to fill, or you have so many ideas and you’ve just started researching, here is my advice for getting clear on the breed and breeder that will match you best.
My advice for picking the perfect breed and breeder for you is with a simple checklist- we can call it the Ideal Breed Finder. It’s really just a few questions to ask yourself so that you can get very clear on your goals for your LGD. How to buy an LGD puppy gets much easier, when we know which breed we are interested in.
LGD Breed Finder Questions
- What do you want your dog to do?
- Will it stay primarily with livestock?
- Will it be a property guardian?
- Will it interact with only a few people or occasional strangers?
- Should it be stray dog and/or human stranger aggressive?
- Do you prefer a more human-soft breed? That tolerates strangers with owner oversight?
- What is your predator load like?
- Will the dog guard livestock and/or poultry?
- Would you prefer a long or short-haired dog?
- What color do you prefer?
- What is your ideal LGD puppy personality?
After you have penciled out the answers to these enlightening questions you will have a much clearer idea of what you are looking for in a dog and what you are not. This knowledge will help you navigate the different LGD breeds. You can narrow it down to one or a few breeds that you feel would be the most suitable match. Temperaments do vary between LGD breeds and choosing the right one can save you a lot of management and stress in the future.
After we have a list of what we are looking for, we can begin looking for an LGD breeder with an environment similar to yours. This breeder can help mentor you for the success of your new puppy.
Finding an ethical LGD Breeder
This subject is a topic all on its own so I will just summarize the basics in this section. An ethical LGD breeder will lay the foundation for your puppy’s success, both through genetic selection and early environmental shaping. Their pups might be harder to find, and they might cost much more than the litter of pups in the county paper. However, they are worth waiting for and investing in.
Ethical Livestock guardian dog breeders want the best for their puppies and will help match their pups to your lifestyle and environment. I have a whole list of questions that you can download to ask potential breeders- the questions cover everything from the parent stock, health testing, environments, etc. Always ask the breeder to match one of their puppies to your goals. Don’t just visit the litter and select one based on color or if it licks your hand etc. A breeder will know their puppies best and can select one for you based on their observations better than you can.
Your puppy’s future potential success is heavily influenced by its parents’ genetic health and the environment in which it grows. Always look for a breeder that works their dogs in a similar manner to how you envision your future puppy working. For example: Do you want a poultry guardian? Look for a breeder that has parents that are currently guarding poultry. There is a better chance that the pups will be more poultry friendly if their parents are around poultry as well.
Committing to your LGD Puppy’s Success
The excitement of bringing your new puppy home is only the beginning. The work, fun and management begins next. Start with bonding with your new puppy. The owner/dog bond is the foundation for your working relationship for years to come. This is just as critical as exposing the puppy to stock and teaching basic obedience, and leash manners. In addition, exposing the puppy to various environments and setting the puppy up with best practices for success.
The journey might seem daunting, but really, it’s small teaching moments compounded that produce the most effective working dogs. Always praise the behavior you like and discourage the behavior you don’t like. It’s always easier to prevent behaviors than unteach them. Following best practices for LGDs will set both you and your puppy up for the relationship you both deserve. Feel free to contact me for additional LGD resources if you need them.
Don’t forget – your puppy is a tiny baby but it will be a big dog in approximately 8 months. The LGD puppy will only mature around 2 years of age. Training and mentoring your puppy’s behavior from day 1 will get you both off to the right start.
Final Thoughts on how to buy an LGD puppy
This is just scratching the surface of making the decision to buy a Livestock guardian dog puppy, finding an LGD puppy for sale, and committing to your new puppy’s success. Livestock Guardian dogs are not the right fit for every environment and family. But if you are willing to put the work in, they are one of the most priceless and rewarding companions with leveraged instinctive livestock and property guardian benefits that exist.
Related Posts You May Like:
Comments +