The past month or two, we've been learning one of the hard lessons of farm life. Namely, that just because you love an animal, doesn't mean you should keep them on your farm. Sometimes it's not in your best interest, or the animal's.
Last winter as we were acquiring chickens and goats, we also purchased an adorable livestock guardian dog pup. It was love at first sight for the whole family, and Daisy quickly became an important part of our farm. The first several months we had her, she was just what we were looking for - she followed us around the farm without being on a lead, she left the chickens alone, and she looked after the goats at a surprisingly young age, keeping the coyotes and other predators at bay. From the day we got her, the only time we had issues with coyotes was the night she spent at the veterinarian's after she was spayed. The coyotes cleared the back fence, and my husband and brother-in-law had to go out (gun in hand) and and chase them away. With Daisy there, we never even saw them come into the back pasture.
Unfortunately, as Daisy became a 'teenage' puppy, she wasn't so good about staying on the farm, and she would go under the fence sometimes to play with, and other times fight, our neighbor's dogs. She showed far too much interest in another neighbor's geese, and then she started chasing our chickens and guinea fowl, almost killing guineas on several occasions. She loves people, would jump up to greet them - regardless of the old 'knee to the chest' trick and would rarely respond to the firm "Down!" or "Sit!" that we would give. We had to keep her in a dog run next to the goats, and on a leash whenever she wasn't in the run, just so she wouldn't kill any birds or harass the neighbors' animals. We tried several different training techniques - none of which seemed to work (treats occasionally would motivate her). It seemed that not being able to run free the way she had before made her bad behavior worse, which made it difficult to handle her. Because of this, walking her became an overwhelming job, so much so, we worried about the kids handling it.
I'm on blood thinners and bruise easily, so when walking Daisy, what was pull, tug, jump, and run soon became lots of bruising for me, to the point I actually got an infection in my leg from all the bruises. That was the proverbial straw, and we went from doing a traditional re-homing search (Craig's List, newspaper ads, talking to friends) to looking at all possible avenues. We got a few calls on the ads, but I think I might have scared the people who responded away by being candid about Daisy's behavior when they asked me questions. I just didn't want someone to think they were getting a perfectly behaved dog, and then have them either give her up to a shelter or possibly abuse her when she misbehaved. I know she has the potential to be an amazing guardian dog - she just needs someone who has the time and experience to train her properly, and who's a little more tough physically than yours truly.
We finally reached out to the Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue (http://www.txpyrs.org/TGPRescue/index.jsp), and were approved to surrender her to them as of tomorrow. Obviously, we have mixed emotions about this, but when I talked with the Rescue representative on the phone, my fears were put to rest. Daisy will be in a safe environment, doing what she loves best, with other dogs that can help her to become an even better guardian dog. I know it's the right decision for her and for us.
The movie below is dedicated to Daisy - our big, rambunctious, beautiful girl! I hope with all my heart she's placed in the right home and can be a happy, carefree dog again.
Greenhorn tip: Leash train a puppy very early on - no matter how good she is at following you. Obedient pups can grow into, curious, independent and even defiant dogs. Without a doubt, there will be a time in the future, even if it's just a routine trip to the vet, where having your dog leash-trained is imperative. For the dog's safety and yours, make sure she's at least somewhat comfortable being on a lead.
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