We are considering the utility of a couple of herd type dogs for our small farm. We live in a very rural area on 100-200 acres with coastal meadowland along live water and some hills interspersed with oaks. The horse barn they would protect is 1/4 mile from a somewhat busy FM road and 1/8 a mile from our house. There are also three, two-acre turnout pastures with horses they would protect. We only have horses on the place...about 10-15 at any given time. The place is perimeter fenced with barbed wire We have a small horse breeding operation and produce a couple hundred of round coastal bales per year. At any given time, there are a number of mare/foal pairs.

Mrs. Harley is understandably asking the following questions and suggested I reach out to this board:

A. Do we need to get puppies? (So they learn to not kill our cherished barn cats...lol, over 20M views on tic tok "the ranch kitty")

B. Do we need to get two of them from the get go?

C. Will only having horses drive them nuts because they want to protect a ;arger herd of some type of animal?

D. Are they likely to hang out with the horses in the pasture and protect the mares and foals? We also need them to spend time around the barn....which is where they will be housed and fed.

E. Thoughts on whether Anatolian or Pyrenees would be better for this application? Any other breeds that might work better?

F. We definitely want the dogs to hang out at the barn and pastures and not around our house. With that being said, we spend about six hours a day at the barn or in the pastures and they will get lots of human affection when around us.

Okay, those were the questions the Mrs. had....any thoughts/experience would be much appreciated.

They will bond and protect to whatever you turn them out with. I wouldn't get a finished adult dog that has been with sheep its whole life to protect your horses. I'd get pups and bond them to the horses. Just make sure your horses aren't the type that like to stomp out dogs and you should be fine.

Some people I know have them with chickens and ducks, some with goats, some with sheep. They are amazing animals.

Anatolians or Pyrs or a cross of the two should work fine I would think. Pups would be best to pattern to the stock they would live with. They will roam a bit but not too far.

In case you need:

https://texags.com/forums/50/topics/3468651

Grew up with 2 Pyrenees (both females) and we put them with the goats and chickens as pups and they will stay with them and they were great dogs. They would run the fence line sometimes to check things out, but majority of the time they were with the animals. Very nice dogs to their people, but would definitely bark and be stand off-ish if someone pulled up to the property they didn't know until we told them it was all good, but they never bit anyone. I was a kid when we had them and they would follow me anywhere I went on the property and my family new I was safe if they were around. One time a a group of cur dogs probably 5 or 6 tried to come onto the property and I saw why they're livestock guardian dogs they beat the **** out of the first one and the rest took off.

Sorry long post, but I was a small kid when we had them and they were great so I try to give my experience to anyone looking into having them. They brought a leg bone of a coyote/dog up to the back porch one morning not sure if they killed it or just found the bone that night..

get 2-3 pups. they are more effective in pairs/packs. also having more than one will make them easier to acclimate, as they will turn on each other when young & frisky instead of giving chase to a foal or excited mare.

I've always heard have them in at least pairs. If puppies get them from separate litters whether you plan to "fix" them or not.

One of ours protected cattle before he moved to the horse farm. He adapted fine. He regularly is chasing off coyotes & neighbor's dogs.

I would think if you'll have them with poultry or cats you would want to get the youngest puppies possible.

Thanks everyone……very helpful.

Pray they don't herd your cats!