We are two weeks from moving to our new homestead. I've been advocating that we get a Great Pyr when we get there. My son (9) is advocating getting an Irish Wolfhound. I think he just thinks they are cool.

We're going to have cows, chickens, pigs and cats. No goats or sheep are planned at this time. We are building a strong perimeter fence. We are hoping for protection from coyotes, neighbor dogs, racoons, etc. Mostly to protect chickens. I know that a Great Pyr is perfect for this job.

Does anybody have any experience with Irish wolfhounds on the farm? I'm a little worried that they will be more interested in eating chickens than protecting them.

My wife seems to be siding with my son because she thinks that a Great Pyr will require thorough brushing once a week. Those of you that currently have Great Pyr's, how often do you brush?

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), May 15, 2001

Answers

Paul, GP's have many years of thorough breeding for protection and imprinting with the herd. All the sighthounds (IWH is one) have many generations of thorough breeding for running down it's prey. Simple logic says that a sight hound is the LAST thing you want guarding your (rapidly disappearing) herd. Sometimes what we want and what is logical have to be two different things.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), May 15, 2001.

Hi Paul, Our neighbor had an Irish Wolfhound. He was friendly to us and use to "say hi" when we were horseback riding. Very intimidating in that he was bigger than my daughter's pony! Our neighbors had only large draft horses for livestock (they liked things big)so they had no problems with the dog. They did mention that after the dog passed away they were planning on getting poultry. (They didn't want to chance any chicken killing.) By the way,they told us the Irish wolfhound doesn't have a long life span so they felt they wouldn't have to wait too long before they could get a variety of livestock. They moved before the dog died, so I don't know the outcome.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle Mn. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), May 15, 2001.

We have 2 Pyrs but no experience with Irish Wolfhounds at all. I would do some careful research on the Wolfhound breed simply because of the "hound". NOT that I feel hounds are bad dogs at all but that they have been breed for hunting or tracking animals and you will have an awful lot of "prey animals."

As for brushing our Prys. Our two dogs are both outside only dogs. They get brushed about 2x per year, each spring & fall when their coats are changing over. They do well with all of our animals, poultry, cats and cattle but our younger female is still in her learning stage and wants to chase the cows out of the fence as well as help keep them in the fence.

-- Trisha-MN (tank@linkup.net), May 15, 2001.

Wolf hounds are known for medical problems .They also have a short life spand .Also they are not popular so the price will be high .I would think it would be easier and cheaper to go with a gp. Good luck and keep us posted .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), May 15, 2001.

I've had two Pyr's and neither one of em would have done well with two times a year brushing! Their coats are thick and fine and will matt considerably if left unbrushed, especially if you have any burr problems on your land. If you live in a hot climate, they may be suseptible to hot spots and other skin problems if excess hair is not removed, not to mention their discomfort. Some people routinely shave theirs, even if just partially, for the hot summer months.

I love Pyr's ; they're everything they're meant to be, but that heavy coat that is so wonderful at keeping them warm in the winter does have a maintenence factor.

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), May 15, 2001.

Anatolian's may be another answer for you, with their size, yet sleaker hair. We also would have a time with the Pyr's undercoat here in the woods. Course the shortest haired guardian breed is the Rhodesian Ridgeback, they are hairless compared to the Pyr's! Our youngest ridge is actually part redbone, how embarassing when she treed her first racoon :) The goats and I thought she had lost her mind! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 15, 2001.

Paul, here's a list of Livestock Guardian Dogs:

http://www.lgd.org/breedgal.html

Do some research. Folks on another thread here are going nuts with all the barking their Great Pyr does. That's what the dogs do to detour predators.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), May 16, 2001.

The trouble with the list of the guard dogs is that it leaves out several important details. It has taken a lot of research for me to find out about Pyr's barking and the brushing needs. And while the IWH's are described as "good guard dogs" this turns out to be probably not so for farm animals.

Now I'm wondering about one other detail I have not been able to find on the web or in my books: It seems that some people have a Great Pyr that barks all night long at nothing. And others have a Great Pyr that barks once, maybe twice, a night at something. If I would like one of the latter Great Pyr's, I wonder if this is something where if the parents fall into the latter category, maybe the pups will too.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), May 16, 2001.

I had a GP on a 9 acre farm in the middle of hundreds of acres, and we never lost an animal to marauding raccoons, skunks, possums, coyotes, foxes, etc. Our Standard Poodles, bred to hunt, did quite a lot of livestock reduction, however.

I live in North Alabama, where it's hot, and I had to shave Snowflake in the summer so she wouldn't get hot spots right where her tail rested on her back. She was very sociable, which the breeder said she wouldn't be, and spent as much time inside as she possibly could. She also totally ignored me in puppy class and just tolerated it to get the treats. Contrary to the breeder's information, she wasn't more interested in protecting farm animals than being a lap dog. And on the nights that she was outside she ran the fenceline and barked at nothing, all night long. And when she was 2 years old we discovered that she had displaysia, which made her pretty gimpy as she got older.

However, I have to say that Snowflake was a beautiful and wonderful dog. I gave birth to 3 children while she was in residence and I was never insecure about leaving them alone near her, although she was the size of a small pony. She never once even growled when they pulled her ears, climbed on her, etc.

If I were in a situation again where I needed one I would absolutely get another, I would just check out the breeder more carefuly. And their dewclaws are really cool!

-- Suzi Noble (Suzinoble2000@cs.com), May 19, 2001.

The best, all-around, all purpose homestead dog has got to be the old German bloodline bred German Shepards, in my humble opinion. The are the smartest of all the "guard" bred dogs, and can be taught to do ANYTHING, especially when got as a pup and trained from there. They have short enough hair that no routine grooming is necessary, and fleas and ticks are easy to spot and take care of. Get the largest size you can, there is no better deterent to uninvited "guests" of any type than a 100 pound Shepard coming at them growling and showing his teeth!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), May 19, 2001.

Paul,

Nix the IWH!! A barn manager brought hers around causing nothing but trouble. They're hunting hounds and had NO trouble running the Thoroughbred mares and foals. The lady involved was VERY concientious about her dogs, but couldn't change thier nature.

Hope that helps!

Randle

-- Randle Gay (rangay@hotmail.com), May 25, 2001.

Pyrenees all the way!!! I have both breeds at home & they are wonderful in their own ways...BUT A Pyr is bred for the kind of work you are talking about. A Wolfhound is not. Simple as that. (And yes, Wolfhounds are "neat"!) I don't know how much of an issue it is to you, but cost may be a considerable factor as well. Great Pyrenees are much easier to find and cost $200- $300. Irish Wolfhounds are much more difficult to locate, have more health & growth-related problems, and cost over $1000 (actually, more like $1300). Hope this helps!

-- Christine D (cdwwich@wf.net), November 15, 2001.

FORGET ALL OF THE DOGS....GET A LLAMA OR ALPACA TO GUARD YOUR GOODIES! HAVING DOGS MY ENTIRE LIFE, INCLUDING SHOW BREEDS AND SEEING AND FEELING WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SIGHT HOUND PREYS ON A FAMILY PET, ETC....IS NOT A MEMORY ANY ONE NEEDS TO LOOK BACK ON. GREAT PYR. ARE DEF. A BREED WHICH WOULD REQUIRE CONSTANT GROOMING IF TAKEN CARE OF PROPERLY. WOLFHOUNDS, LIKE GREYHOUNDS, WHIPPETS, AFGAN HOUNDS ETC....CHASE PREY, CATCH RUNNING PREY AND OFTEN KILL THINGS SMALLER THAN THEMSELVES. HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL!

-- MARY KAY CARNEY (PRIVATEZOO@AOL.COM), January 29, 2002.