dog

f140

want to get a dog for security for the farm. all i want him to do is bark when there are cars or strangers around our property if you know what i mean but anytime we have had a dog we ended up making a fool out of him. another problem is how do you train him to stay on teh farm and not cross over the roads to neighbours etc?

InchicoreDude

f140 wrote: »

but anytime we have had a dog we ended up making a fool out of him.

In what way?

Dont be daft

f140 wrote: »

want to get a dog for security for the farm. all i want him to do is bark when there are cars or strangers around our property if you know what i mean but anytime we have had a dog we ended up making a fool out of him. another problem is how do you train him to stay on teh farm and not cross over the roads to neighbours etc?

If your raising one from a pup it can be hit or miss. Lads will tell you its all down to the owner but its just not true.
We've alsatians and dobermanns and they range from a lad that would take a lump out of your arm and lie down in the yard and chew it to a lad thats afraid of cars and people.

If you want to guarantee yourself a guard dog there's always plenty being given away on donedeal. But these are usually being given away because the owners have kids.

Have you got kids? If so I'd go for a dobermann or alsatian puppy and raise the dog with the kids.
Your not guaranteed a guard dog but you've a good chance of getting one with those breeds, even if you've a tendency to spoil the dog.
If you do get a fool at least the dog will look the business.

As for staying around the yard I'm afraid the only real answer is to have fences and walls that keep the dog around the place. They dont have to be high. We've dogs that can jump 6ft walls but the boundary walls are only about 4ft high. Dogs get used to their own boundaries and wont jump them unless pushed.
At least then you can leave the dog out at night which is when you really want him out.

pakalasa

A neighbour of mine got one of those electronic fences and it work's a treat. Dog wears a collar and you bury a cable around the perimeter. He's not a farmer. Lovely dog but stone mad. You'd think he was on cocaine or something. Well this fence keeps him in.

Dont be daft

pakalasa wrote: »

A neighbour of mine got one of those electronic fences and it work's a treat. Dog wears a collar and you bury a cable around the perimeter. He's not a farmer. Lovely dog but stone mad. You'd think he was on cocaine or something. Well this fence keeps him in.

Shock collars are a bit hit and miss aswell.
We've a lad that just looked around him when it shocked him. Some dogs will leg it through the area and gladly take a quick shock to get out past the net. They get damaged, malfunction and batteries die.
They're great for training a dog at first to establish the boundaries but you cant beat something physical after that.

Bebo stunnah

f140 wrote: »

all i want him to do is bark when there are cars or strangers around our property

The parents have a Jack Russell. More or less all the JR's I've ever encountered have been loud and boistrous when a stranger comes by. I myself have a year old Irish terrier (I think) who didn't as much look up when there was a noise at the door, but I had to leave him in the parents house for about a month or so and he picked up on her barking at absolutely anything!

But like everyone will tell you, it's all about the upbringing. If you have the time, make a big deal about anybody coming near the property.

Condatis

What you need is a yorkie. Extremely territorial and loyal, they will create a racket if anybody goes near the place and do not have a tendency to wander.

But get two – they will amuse each other and will need less attention from you.

zetecescort

Another vote for a Jack Russell if all you need is a dog to raise a bit of noise and less of a risk to kids imo. Obviously a bigger dog is better if your looking to scare off intruders

farawaygrass

our sheepdog is as good as any guard dog, barks likes mad at strangers, even went for one of our "travelling salesmen", much to my delight!

jack77

Get 2 a jack russell and a bigger dog, the terriers usually have the attidue of a lion, bigger dog will make strangers nervous, have 2 sheepdogs myself and they do the trick, if you spend time training them as pups you should be grand, it's as pups they can get the habit of wandering and looking for company, bonus of a jackr is they'll be mad for rats too