Sulcata Guardian

[KatApril]

I have taught my american molossus to guard my tortoise. If Binkey ever wanders off without my dogs watch(Brutus) you best believe Brutus will find him. My dog can search for him on 3 acres and find him relatively easy. Yesterday was one of those days that took an hour to find the tortoise but my dog found him without fail. My dog loves this and thinks its a fun game we play, the highlight of his day is waking up to go greet his brother Binkey.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Natures GPS tracker!

 

[dmilam]

Very nice. You need to hide the tortoise and see if he can find it.

 

[vladimir]

What does he do when he finds him?

 

[Tom]

You are making two grave mistakes that are likely to result in the death of your tortoise.

1. Loose in three acres is eventually going to be lost forever. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually... Make a secure enclosure and keep the tortoise safely contained in its own area.
2. Your dog is eventually going to chew up your tortoise. You may go years without incident and think to yourself, "That Tom doesn't know what he's talking about and he doesn't know MY dog...", and then one day, after its too late, you'll learn the hard way. Dogs and tortoise simply don't mix. They should never be allowed in each other's space, and its a huge mistake to "introduce" them or teach a dog to have any interest in tortoises in any way. Keep them separate and teach your dog to "leave it".

When you get over being mad that I'm telling you this and thinking your situation is somehow different than all the other dog and tortoise cases seen here and everywhere, click on this link: https://tortoiseforum.org/search/45009502/?q=dog+attack&t=post&o=relevance
I did a simple forum search for "dog attack" and look at how many examples pop up...

My goal is not to argue or make you mad, but that is almost always what happens. My goal is to save your tortoise from a horrible fate that I KNOW is coming. Just look at some of those pictures and imagine the adrenaline dump and nausea you'll feel when its your tortoise that looks like those pics. Its so easy to prevent...

P.S. I LOVE your dog! And your tortoise looks great!

 

[KatApril]

HAHHAHA. Well atleast it made me laugh imagining Brutus in that light. My 3 arces are secured and tortoise proofed. My dog will not 'chew' on my tortoise. Ever own a mastiff? Crash course since you say, you KNOW. Hes watched over my 20 yO cat, all of my rats (rescued 100s) some of which used to be potty trained and were freeroaming meaning lived alongside him in the house, a squirrel, other dogs, and some rehabbed birds since the day I got him, hes going on 5 years old now so becoming an old man in mastiff years.Hes totally sound they were used as guardians of livestock since antiquity because they are good at it and bred for it, and dont mouth anything like other breeds (pit bulls, retrievers, terriers), they have such soft mouths he refuses to chew on a bone lol. The most wonderful thing about the mastiff breed is that you can TRUST THEM if taught to do a job they will do it well without fail. You only need to teach a mastiff once. Once family, always family, that means any living thing that llives in your home. Also, ive been working with this specific line for several generations and am very familiar with the passed down temperament.I love my tortoise too much to put him into any danger. The only ones Im worried for is whoever decides its a good idea to trespass the property with him around lol. Tom it would be awesome if you got one for your tortoise herd.

Yes, he knows how to find him. I say 'find Binkey' and he goes to work makes it much easier [emoji8]

 

[KatApril]

What does he do when he finds him?

He stands next to him and keeps barking till i come.

 

[KatApril]

Very nice. You need to hide the tortoise and see if he can find it.

Yes. Sometimes we play find Binkey where we hide him in new places, he loves it.

 

[Sulcatafriend]

Typical answer..
If ur dog decides to change his mind u won't talk like that any longer
It doesn't matter how much experience u got it doesn't matter what breed u cant take the wolf out of a dog completely
Some people need to learn the hard way I guess
I'm sorry for ur tortoise

HAHHAHA. Well atleast it made me laugh imagining Brutus in that light. My 3 arces are secured and tortoise proofed. My dog will not 'chew' on my tortoise. Ever own a mastiff? Crash course since you say, you KNOW. Hes watched over my 20 yO cat, all of my rats (rescued 100s) some of which used to be potty trained and were freeroaming meaning lived alongside him in the house, a squirrel, other dogs, and some rehabbed birds since the day I got him, hes going on 5 years old now so becoming an old man in mastiff years.Hes totally sound they were used as guardians of livestock since antiquity because they are good at it and bred for it, and dont mouth anything like other breeds (pit bulls, retrievers, terriers), they have such soft mouths he refuses to chew on a bone lol. The most wonderful thing about the mastiff breed is that you can TRUST THEM if taught to do a job they will do it well without fail. You only need to teach a mastiff once. Once family, always family, that means any living thing that llives in your home. Also, ive been working with this specific line for several generations and am very familiar with the passed down temperament.I love my tortoise too much to put him into any danger. The only ones Im worried for is whoever decides its a good idea to trespass the property with him around lol. Tom it would be awesome if you got one for your tortoise herd.

Yes, he knows how to find him. I say 'find Binkey' and he goes to work makes it much easier [emoji8]

 

[KatApril]

Typical answer..
If ur dog decides to change his mind u won't talk like that any longer
It doesn't matter how much experience u got it doesn't matter what breed u cant take the wolf out of a dog completely
Some people need to learn the hard way I guess
I'm sorry for ur tortoise

Thats like saying you cant take the ape out of a human. Total nonsense. Altho, now that youve pointed it out ive seen way more tortoises killed in the hands of negligent/accidental humans then heard of any 'dog attack.' And this forum is the very proof of that. im way more trusting of having my tortoise with my dog then any human i must admit....Toms cool he actually cares about tortoises more then anyone ive seen, but you Sulcatafriend seem to just be inappropriately aggressive with something you have no experience with.....you fall under the catagory of people that i mentioned earlier feeding your sulcata tortoise 'strawberries and tomatoes' because your adamant that they 'get bored' when asking for people's advice( I wasnt asking for yours btw) so stop trolling my thread.

Ppl complaining plz educate yourself on Livestock Guardian Dogs LGD before making such dramatic accusations.

 

[Yvonne G]

I knew this was going to happen. I'm asking all of you who want to jump on the dog vs. tortoise bandwagon to please stop! Tom has already made your point for you. We've done our part, so let it go.