Time to start researching dogs.

Well, Adam and I are officially looking at a piece of property in Texas now, and it's looking promising. It's 38.6 acres, so you know what that means...I get to have another dog!(Adam made the rule that we were not allowed any more dogs until we owned our own property so we wouldn't have to worry about finding housing with massive dogs(pit bulls and other large breeds seem to pose a problem with rentals for some reason :roll: )
So, since I picked Annie, it's his turn to pick a dog, but we mutually agree that we are interested in Cane Corsos, Boerboels and Rotts. If we do purchase this property, we hope to have the house up around June when we get married, so, I have plenty of time to research. I know we have resident Boerboel owners here(Sams, I'd love to hear how it's still going with the girls...especially with the horses.) Anyone have any experience with the other 2 breeds?

 

I have quite a bit of experience with Rotts, theyre on my top 5 list of favourite breeds. Ive only had one myself but have quite a few friends that have them and Ive trained....Im not sure, a few dozen probably.

What Ive found generally with them are the females can be a little stubborn...hard headed.

I think the most important thing is picking the right puppy (whatever breed you choose), obviously make sure all the right tests have been done on both parents, make sure its a reputable breeder you buy from, the usual 'puppy tests'....dont go for the first pup that charges at you from the litter and dont go for the one that is reluctant to approach you. Watch the puppies inter-acting with each other, that will tell you a lot about the personality/temperament of each pup.

My Rott, Babe, was a 'middle' pup, she went through a very light brief training course for 2 weeks at 10-12 weeks, she was socialized well with other dogs and people, then she went through a 4 week full obedience training at 18 months old and was fully off leash trained at the end of it.
Her general personality was very solid/stable....friendly to everyone, never a probelm with dogs, there were problems with cats but only because she was trained to chase them off the 2nd owners property (he was badly allergic to cats).

A good friend in UK years ago had a male and female in the agility team I was part of, their personalitys were very similar to Babes, very solid (and it was awesome watching her 130# male scale a 13 foot wall and flying around the course like he had wings. )
I dont know what they are like around horses, the first time Babe saw one she was about 5 years old and she looked like she was going to feint, she didnt panic or anything, she approached it cautiously....a little concerned I think and then she just sat there, a few feet away from it and stared....until it moved, she stayed sitting but the expression on her face /the look in her eyes...I honestly thought she was going to keel over right on the spot....after that first meeting though she was fine.

Health wise, as I said all the appropriate testing had been done on her parents, she was from a German import, top blood line, stocky head and body (she looked good at 105#, not over weight or anything and pretty big for a female) however she still ended up being diagnosed with diabetes and had to be put to sleep just before her 7th birthday due to bone cancer. I dont know what the blood line was but I do know that the 2nd owner had done all the research on her for the first owner (and he is an expert), so all Im saying is even with all the testing there is still a chance that something could happen later on.

Have you thought about English Mastiffs? A friend used to breed them a few years back, the temperement in her line was excellent except for one loose canon, Dutch, a 200# male.
Theyre not my favourite breed but the ones Ive had experience with (apart from Dutch) have been good, solid dogs, protecting the house one minute and rolling on the floor with the kids and the cats the next.

 

I know nothing of the breeds you are looking at except what I have read here, the things I would think about though are:

is this dog going to be a house pet like Annie? or more of a working dog? I may be got the wrong impression about the boerbols ane corsos is that they arent house pet type dogs then would they get along with Annie?

and how well a breed you are looking at get along with others dogs and female vs male. Since you already have a female, Annie may take the dominant role and not like another female so that is something to reseach. I have read bully breeds (you shouldnt have 2 females) but have already read here that others have 2 females and they get along great

oh and as delauk pointed out a good thought do want it to be a pet/house dog and working dog, also they have the traits to get along with kids and cats

 

Hope your land deal works out and, if so, then welcome to Texas. Where is the land located, near what town?
As for the new dog, are you looking for a working dog for your new property? Herding, varmit control, or maybe a Texas Home Security System like this:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

LOL, dukesdad, that pic is priceless

 

Awesome photo, Dukesdad! And Someday - I am jealous!! Are you going to have any horses? I wish I could live on enough land that I wouldn't have to worry about my dogs making too much noise for the neighbors. :|

 

I will definetely be getting a male, I would prefer that Annie gets along with the new dog, but we will have enough room to do the crate and rotate, etc. if it becomes a problem. The property is in Bivins, TX...near Atlanta...i'm originally from Texarkana, so it's pretty much like returning home. This dog will be an indoor dog, but will be outside with me most of the day working in the barn. I would like a guardian type because this is a very rural area and I will be alone on the farm quite a bit and wouldn't have any visable neighbors. I don't need a herding dog, these horses are just too high strung and might be injured being herded. A dog that could run off a coyote or two would be nice though.
Dukes dad...that picture is great...unfortunately...I think that picture may come to pass...being such a rural area..I have a feeling that we'll get our share of dumpees...and how can I say no??
One a side note, early this morning I heard Annie barking and barking upstairs...so I got out of bed went upstairs and looked out the window she was barking at into our dark front yard and saw a guy exiting our front lawn...Annie got a big pat...she's proving to be a pretty good home security system in herself...because she was sleeping on the bed downstairs...talk about good hearing. Strangers don't know that she would happily let them open the door, she's just a good barker until they do...which works out fine here.

 

Jamiya...yes...I'll have horses...this will be my training barn as well as my home...so, I'll never leave..hehe. Good thing I enjoy the quiet country life!

 

And when will you be inviting us over??

 

dukesdad that picture is soo cute!

 

Cool! I'm pretty sure I know where your at and its not too terribly far from me!!

The girls are doing AWSOME with the horses and cattle. Kabuki finds it necessary to kiss them every oppertunity she gets. Only they don't like it as much as she does and will pin their ears at her and she'l leave then.

Precious is VERY protective of them. Shes still finding it odd that I ride them and is like:

"Uh, Mom..... whatcha doin' up there?"

they will follow me when I ride and stay a good distance away.

When i groom they always lay next to me. Sometimes its a pain in the neck, but I tell them to go lay down some where else, and they will.
Kabuki is really good at running off with the brushes though... she's still in that stupid puppy stage.

You throw a stick, she'll bring you back a rock. You throw a toy, she'll drag back a bush.... LOL....

But they are really awsome with them. their mellow around them, and thats what I like most. They don't spook the girls or other horses, and usualy keep a good distance.

With the ACD's I was constantly shouting commands to keep the dogs from trying a running orherding the horses, and apparently I didn't do enough, and it was Smokey's fate that suffered, but these guys are just carefree and stick to their own thing.

I was working with a new Mule that was brought in. Very badly abused, was used in the mexican rodeo of tripping, he's got scars all over his legs from it, and he's just fear ful.
we had the ferrier out to trim and he went nuts. Onlythen did the girls react, instead of them doing their normal scarry guarding, both dogs got on top of me and kept the EVIL mule away. Which wasn't all that helpful with about 180lbs of dogs on you, but they kept me from being trampled and Eddie (the trimmer) was astonished at how they instinctively knew to protect me yet not scare the mule further.


The only thing with my experiance of Rotts, and I've grown up with them my whole life, is that they do have a prey drive and its pretty strong. they can be a bit aloof. After seeing the damage the rott can inflict on livestock, personally I won't own one myself.
NOT saying that the BB can't do the same amount or worse damage, just that its alot less likely since they don't have as strong of a prey drive.

The Cane Corso, IMO, has serious temperment issues. I have yet to meet one that was stable enough to feel comfortable around, and have NEVER in my life seen one in a herding or "farm work" situation. So can't really give you advice there.

kabuki is doing good on her herding though. She is just still very young and silly. She needs to grow up a bit more.

 

Just don't forget to enjoy the silliness while it lasts. It will be gone all too soon!

 

Just keep in mind that ANY dog of ANY breed can start chasing horses, its just that some breeds are more likely to do it than others. Our Great Dane chases our horses if they are loose in the arena. We have to watch him very closely, and really get on him when he does it, or it could quickly become a habit. This is something that cannot be taken lightly. You don't want your horses chewed up, or going through fences, or your dog being kicked in the head and killed. So this should be a top priority for you. If the parents of a pup don't have a strong predatory instinct, your chances are better that the pup won't either, than if you chose a pup from parents who have a strong prey drive. But still, any dog might have to have some intense training on LEAVING THE HORSES ALONE. Horses and dogs are a recipe for disaster unless they have no desire to chase them, or they are not allowed to even THINK about the possibility of pursuit. If you have your horses enclosed in horse fence that dogs can't enter, this is much safer for the horses. You'll have a hard time watching your dog 24/7. Its almost impossible. If you have pipe corral, this is an open invitation to a dog to take chase. Good luck, and I have no extensive experience with the breeds you listed, but just wanted to comment on dogs and livestock in general.