We had a small incident happen here at the farm this weekend, and I am concerned that it may turn into a major nuisance. I would like to state...neither my husband or I were home when this happened. One of my children needed to bring the goats to the vets for health certificates for an upcoming show. He brought ALL the goats in the pasture, and decided to put our LGD, a great Pyrenees, in with the bucks for company. Well, that was not the dog's normal place, and he was not bonded to the bucks...and immediately got out of the pen. My other son went out and stayed in the pasture with him for over an hour, and the dog was happy. However, my son needed to go in the house, which left the Pyrenees, Augustus, by himself. He promptly did something he hadn't done since he was a little puppy...he dug out of the pasture. He was looking for either his goats or his people. The pack instinct is strong, and he was miserable by himself. My son who was home found the dog on an adjacent lot, and locked him in the milk room, which he promptly trashed. When he got home, my son who took all the goats to the vet was informed that the dog will NEVER be left with less than two of 'his' goats for company.
Unfortunately, even with the goats back in the pasture, the dog started digging out again yesterday. Hopefully he will just try that one area to dig out of, and we can prevent him from escaping there...but not if he realizes he can dig out anywhere. Then, we have to run an electric wire along the bottom of the fence.
We ask the dog to watch the goats...and its not fair to take them all away and not expect him to react in a big way. His bonding to them is what makes him protect them.
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