Any closer yet to finding a puppy? 
No. So many male puppies that I would go see if they were females⊠I could kick myself as there was an ad on CL ( a legit one) close to me that I passed on as I hadnât heard of the breed . I researched it and then they were gone 
I take that to mean that in Godâs timing I will find the pup best for our family. I am leaning towards a German Shepherd ( or Kangal Shepherd - or mix , or anatolian mix) now after doing some research / searching. I am finding mixes on pet finder but the " mix" is not something I am wanting.
I am still looking.
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Good luck! I love those breeds myself. Beautiful animals!
I was just looking and saw a breeder of beautiful German Shepherds in the next town over!! I sent an email inquiring about when they might have pups coming, so I will see if they respond.
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Nice! Good luck!
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you said earlier âWe also have a 2 year old Mini Aussie who is a very strong personality, so I need a breed that is more easy going. In addition we have a ? breed who is about 30 pounds but very sweet.â
If youâre considering a German Shepherd, Kangal Shepherd or Anatolian mix, I wouldnât classify any of those 3 as being âeasy goingâ.
The Anatolians and mixes in my area in rescues state âonly dogâ.
The Kangal and German Shepherds have a mixed bag of temperaments so youâd need to do your homework on those.
Also a consideration is what sex is your mini Aussie? Some experienced GSD people donât recommend female and female in same household due to aggression problems.
You might want to join the GermanShepherd.com forum as thereâs lots of breeders and show people
there that may help guide you if GSD is a breed youâre considering.
Also thereâs a wide variation in quality of back yard bred German Shepherds- many have temperament problems and health problems. You really need to do your homework.
The pandemic has created a huge market for âhome protection dogsâ.
You may want to join the GermanShepherds.com forum as lots of show and breed people participate there.
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Our big dog wasnât a pushover by any means. I would never add an adult into the mix but adding a puppy gives you a better chance at success of them getting along as everyone ages.
We have always had at least 2 dogs and all but 1 have been females and even with 2 strong personalities we have never had a problem. Donât be too concerned @Marla_100 I wonât do anything without looking into it further.
I found 2 good choices and lost out on both of them due to not getting moving immediately. So my search continues and the next time I find one I am going asap.
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Than those were not your puppies!
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If you havenât lived with a Livestock Guard Dog (LGD) breed or mix, I would think on it pretty hard first if youâre looking for something easy going or without a strong personality. While they arenât bouncy like some breeds, strong personality is definitely a feature. They are smart and they are fully prepared to make their own decisions about what they think is best, and these may not line up with what YOU think is best. A 100lb+ dog with a mind of her own can be interesting to live with. Also, I donât know offhand your living situation, but if the dog would be outside at night, be prepared for them to bark every night - most do this to alert any threats that they are there and watching. LGD breeds also tend to be a flight risk, they will usually roam if you let them. They tend to come up with their own idea of what their home range is, and itâs often in the area of miles, not feet.
I have a 5 month old Pyrenees/Anatolian/German Shepherd mix that I am raising to be my farm dog, and heâs been a challenge already. If you really want a LGD mix, I can endorse one with German Shepherd provided you donât actually want the dog to guard livestock, especially poultry. The GS adds some of that âI LOVE YOU SO MUCH, MY PERSON!â and a bit more willingness to please. Most folks that want a LGD to actually guard stock do NOT want any non-LGD blood in them because they donât want them having any herding or prey drive, so the mixes tend to be geared toward the pet market anyway.
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Just stepping in to say, anecdotally, that while Iâve never owned an Anatolian, Iâve known several. Though this is not an empirically rich survey, each has been a serious dog. Good dogs, all. Steady within their families, especially with the one person in the family that they especially bond with. But super serious with any interloper, human or animal. The ones Iâve known are aloof, intense, not playful, always at work, and 80-100 pounds. Not âeasy.â
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@Mosey_2003 I have found in my search that I do not want any Pyrenees or cross of one. If a dog has a small % of Anatolian that is ok but I am leaning towards A German Shepherd or cross.
Our dog would be expected to be good around all our livestock/ poultry ( and yes- I socialize all of my dogs immediately with all of them) but I do not allow my dogs to roam freely among them at will.
We have fenced to keep our livestock in and other animals out. Our beef cows are the exception as their pastures are barb wire with electric. They can take care of themselves but we have had no issues with any of our dogs and we have had a large variety of breeds.
Our dogs are inside with us at night and with us much of the time but do go out at will during the day. I donât want a wanderer so that has influenced my change of direction.
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I was walking my dog and this guy down the street was walking his Anatolian Shepherd. His dog lunged, leash snapped, she ran straight to us and after a 5 second sniff that felt like an eternity, attacked my dog like nobodyâs business, that dog was not screwing around. Jaws right around my dogâs neck and sort of a wrestling move to try to twist and slam her to the ground. Luckily my dog fought back to the degree she could (I would not mess with her, a herding/guard mix herself, but she was at least half the size and hampered by me, her leash, and prong collar, though I tried not to interfere with her protecting herself), And the owner sprinted over and dragged her away with superhuman strength, thank goodness. He had to lay on her in the middle of the street until we got a good bit of distance between us. My dog didnât have any puncture wounds but we were both shook up a bit. I appreciated the guyâs reactionâmost people just stand there and Iâm like, dude, get yer dog, but that could have been really ugly.
I canât fathom what you must have gone through and your poor dog. One of the reasons it is important to have a dog that fits your living situation!
Sorry for the threadjackâŠbut I posted this photo a couple of weeks ago about a litter in St. LouisâŠwell, I think Iâm taking the green puppy (male). Sigh. I believe there are still females available. 
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Some poor person had a litter of Belgian Malinois x Anatolian Shepherd. Pretty sure thatâs the worst cross Iâve ever heard of 
My mom has Anatolians, with her sheep, they definitely test fences.
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Congratulations ! Would love to hear some details ⊠when he is ready ? possible names ?
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Many large under used working bred dogs test fences. My last rescue German Shepherd climbed
out twice from my 6 ft. privacy fence.
Large working breeds need considerable training for any job. It goes way further than simple âsocializingâ.
Even German Shepherds were bred as hard, intense working dogs. We have a saying, If you donât give them a job, they will find one themselves. Too many people go into these breeds blindly without doing considerable research. They see celebrity dogs, like Rin Tin Tin and think theyâre all like this- Theyâre nOT. Those dogs have been through 1,000s of hours of training.
Now throw in all the back yard, poorly bred dogs w/ aggressive, nervous temperaments, not to mention health problems, and itâs easy to see why so many end up in rescues and shelters.
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They are 3.5 weeks now so it will be a few more weeks; plus there is a ride for him but not sure when that will happen. So, somewhere around the New Year, probably. Nothing like house training a puppy in the dead of winter! LOL. My last puppy was a July baby, that was easier.
I donât have any names yet; his mother is named after an Outlander character, and his father comes from a long line of car-themed names. So, not sure if there is a way to mesh those two ideas. It will be tricky, thatâs for sure!
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Dear God 
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