Understanding farm dogs.

Farm dogs are a little bit different from your city dwelling pet pup, and there's a reason for that.

In our family we have a Great Pyrenees, he is wonderful, but we often have trouble with people misunderstanding how to greet him.

 You see he is not your average Labrador.
The fact that he is 130lbs should give people a hint.

Dogs have been bred for certain attributes throughout history and farm dogs were bred with specific behaviors and talents that an average pet was not bred to have.

Great Pyrenees along with several other dog breeds (that I will list below) were bred to be fiercely independent, to think on their own and deal with situations without being told what to do by their human.

If you can understand this concept, you can understand the Pyrenees.

 If you are looking for a dog to go to obedience class and learn to do exactly what you ask them, every time you ask them, and to be happy about it, a Pyrenees is not for you!

They originated in the Great Pyrenees Mountains of France where their breed was specifically designed to care for and live with sheep.
(although, they will guard all types livestock.)

Although a lot of people describe them as looking like a polar bear, if you see them in a flock of sheep you might not even realize there is a dog among them, this is to give a surprise attack to any predators that may be wanting to prey on the Sheep.

Have you ever heard the saying, "A wolf in sheep's clothing"? Well, a Pyrenees is a bodyguard in sheep's clothing, because throughout the centuries they were left alone with large flocks of sheep. They learned to bond with the Sheep as though it was their pack.
They are fiercely protective of any animals, or people that they feel are in their Posse.

 Now this does not make them overly aggressive dogs, in fact, Pyrenees are known for not being aggressive, they are more likely to be extremely intimidating.
It is more normal for a Great Pyrenees that lives in a home to corner an intruder and hold them there without laying a tooth on them until their owner returns, meanwhile a German Shepherd, don't misunderstand me German shepherds are a wonderful breed that I love and they have lots of wonderful qualities. That being said, a German Shepherd trained to be a guard dog is more apt to bite than the Great Pyrenees.
This is the difference between a "Guardian dog", (farming related)
And a "Guard dog", (protection related)

A lot of the problems we have are that people do not understand that Great Pyrenees and other breeds similarly inclined (Guardian dogs) have a fierce sense of personal space.
 They do not like a stranger coming up to them and touching them, very often they will growl and this is purely a warning because they do not know the person.

(I should add that our Pyr loves people, especially kids, but they need to let becoming friends be his idea.)

 I've had several circumstances like this happen when we've had our Pyr out in public.

One time a lady screamed the name of his breed rushed up to him, grabbed his face in her hands and attempted to kiss him on the head!
 Well, he let out a low deep growl at her, she leaped backed very alarmed and demanded to know where our dog lived, this is completely insane!

The reason is that you do not do that to a strange dog, or person for that matter. If she had screamed " Human!" , rushed up to me grabbed my face to kiss me I would have yelled at her too!

This woman had no concept of a safe way to approach a strange dog, she never even asked me if she could pet him.
As far as the dog knew, the strange person was yelling something very loudly and rushing towards him and the people he loved. What was he to do?
It's dog logic: someone that I've never met before is rushing towards me as if they're going to grab me. What am I going to do? I'm going to speak up!

"Hey pal, back off I don't know you!"
That's what his growl said.

This woman demonstrated the exact wrong thing to do when meeting a strange dog regardless of the breed.

I once met a retired army dog trainer, this man had been training war dogs for 25 years, he said our dog didn't have an aggressive bone in his body.
It was purely a fight or flight reaction, FYI most dogs pick the fight, it's just that way.
Would you run up to a wolf and try to kiss it?

The best way to meet a strange dog, if you really are a dog lover and want to pet somebody's pooch or even if you're on a walk and come across a loose strange dog, here is what I was taught you should do.

First off, especially if it's a large dog, don't make prolonged eye contact.

Turn your body to the side so that you're not facing the dog.

Put your hand down, see if he's willing to sniff you, but don't touch him!

That sniff is the best way for the dog to learn who you are and what your intentions are.

Try not to be overly scared because they will know that and it will heighten their alarm. 

Don't lean over them, this is threatening to dogs. Remain upright and calm.

If a dog seems very friendly and puts his body up against you or is wagging his tail to the point where it wiggles all the way back up to his nose, and he has his mouth open and a smile, chances are pretty good that you can probably give him a pat.

Do not repeatedly tap him on the head they do not like that, but petting of the shoulder blades is perfectly acceptable.

If the dog keeps his head low and is looking at you with whites of his eyes showing, with a tight mouth and a stiff tail (even if it is wagging) chances are that you should probably back away, do not run! 

Just turn away and walk slowly, keep aware of where the dog is behind you.

If they do run towards you, you might have a problem.

Dogs, in general, are awesome, but as with people, every dog has their own personality, regardless of the breed.
You and your children should know this. 

Dogs are extremely sensitive to the attitudes of people around them. A dog may seem wary of someone who seems totally calm to you, however, they might be carrying anger from a totally different situation. 

Our old Pyr,  Snowy, would pinch my aunt when she came home, annoyed about something at work. It was a warning. The " pinch" involved 2 teeth and NEVER broke the skin. Snowy knew she was angry, she didn't understand it had nothing to do with her or her family.
She saw an angry person, that could be a threat.
That was all the dog understood.

Dogs are amazing and wonderful! I can't tell you how much they have enriched my life! I can't think of a single farm I know that doesn't have at least two pups keeping watch over everything.
We are grateful for them and the work they do, but we must give them the courtesy of respecting them and not making them feel uncomfortable.
After all, they are human's best friend. Let's make their life a little easier and be dog respectful.

You don't have to take my word for it, I'm not an expert, but hey,  here's someone who is!

http://www.cthumane.org/site/c.8qLKK1MELjI2F/b.8777371/k.2478/How_To_Safely_Greet_A_New_Dog.htm

Ten farm guardian dogs.
The Great Pyrenees

Anatolian Shepherd

Spanish Mastiff

Maremma Sheepdog

Kangal dog

Karakachan dog

Komondor

Akbash dog

Sarplaninac

Aidi

See more here,

https://www.google.com/search?q=guardian+dog+breeds&oq=uardian+dog&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.7360j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

When the weather outside is frightful.

As all of my local readers will know, New England is having a very cold winter thus far. 

We are taking 10 inches plus of snow and mornings anywhere from 7 below to 25 below. 

This causes problems on so many fronts I don't have time to list them all. 

I am only going to discuss farming in this weather, more specifically, how the animals handle it.

First off I have 3 points I would like to make.

1, animals have survived without our help for 100s of years. Depending on there natural habitat a lot of them are extremely capable of handling the cold weather, this, of course, excludes animals that live in tropical zones. 

They have generation after generation of knowledge about how to survive, where to make their homes, how to make their homes and when to make their homes.
As well as food storage, or what to eat before the cold comes.

By the time cold weather comes they are well prepared, well fed and can handle it. Also as the weather continues to chill off little by little their coat for winter builds thicker and thicker, by the time it is this cold they have a very warm coat.

A wolf, for instance, will have had its den fully made and very comfortable by the time snow flies and they can survive extremely well when curled up in their den on very cold snowy nights.

2, the second point I would like to make, is that your dog is not a wolf! 

We have bread them down to rely on us and they have lost a lot of the natural instinct they need to survive. 

A wild wolf will have lots of time to prepare before the cold weather flies if your dog Fido gets out of your house and gets lost in this type of whether he has no preparation, nor the proper coat for it and does not necessarily know how to care for himself properly to survive for prolonged exposure. 

I'm not saying this to scare you in case your dog has gotten away, Chances are in this day and age they would be found in time. 

We have made our pets dependent on us. To their detriment or not.

Cows are very well built to handle the cold. 

Scotch Highland cattle, for instance, have an extremely thick coat, they are able to eat brush, something more domestic cows would not do well on. 

S.H cattle are so equipped to handled cold, that they do not do well in the heat!

An un-pend cow, the equivalent of a wild cow, would find a pine grove to use as shelter. The trees give off some heat, the snow would be less deep in there and it would shield them from the driving snow and wind. 

A cow if, they were not limited to a fenced area would have the ability to move around at will and find enough food to sustain herself. 

A cow fenced in does not have the ability to find proper shelter or food, thus we must provide it. 

A cow when not given the opportunity to get out of the wind and snow can become very chilled. 

A snow-covered cow is probably fine unless the snow melts, the cow would become wet, making it harder for their body to maintain proper body temperature. 

At this point, they need the chance to dry off and warm up.

A lot of good high-calorie food is also very necessary, if they can build a nice layer of fat it shields them a lot.

A cold cow will stand very still, usually, their back is arched when it should be flat, They tended to go off their food and are not very willing to move, they're trying to reserve any energy they have.

Pigs are not equipped well to handle this cold. There are low to the ground making it difficult to keep above the snow. 

They have very little coat to speak of.  

Although they possess a thick layer of fat, they must have shelter with very fluffy bedding. They burrow under it to keep their heat in. 

3. Veterinarian's  common sense says all animals must be given shelter when the temp drops below 20° 

The bottom line is cows, horse, and another farm animals can stay healthy and warm in this weather if we give the opportunity to have shelter when they need it. 

I personally believe all animals should be given some shelter regardless of the season.

 Before we had our barn finished all my critters had free choice shelter.

We have taken once wild animals and domesticated them, slowly stripped away their natural sense of survival, or pend them so that they are limited and don't have the ability to seek proper shelter or food. 

That is what it is, whether you think this is okay or sad, our pets need us. 

Still, wild animals, unless ill or injured are better off left alone.

This does not mean giving them a helping had on occasion is a bad thing. 

Feeding birds, for instance, we enjoy watching them very much and I am sure they appreciate the meal.

    

All living breathing things can get frostbite and hypothermia, all living things can die in the extreme cold. 

Please give your critters proper care, not only in the cold but all the time. They need us, almost as much as we need them.

Disclaimer, I am not an expert, I am only a farmer, I have lived with animals all my life and I am going by what I have seen and learned before.
If you are unsure of how to care for your animals, please seek expert help.