Hi!

I am not really active on this forum, although I have read many topics and have browsed through the many breeds listed on this site....I used to own a karst shepherd dog and she was very intense at protecting our family and property. However, our property used to be a fenced in yard and a house so it wasn't that big. What I have noticed is that she was great at protecting BUT only if she saw the threat - meaning that she was not really patrolling around. This was OK in a small yard, but in a bigger property we have now (3 hectares - fenced) she sometimes missed is someone was to approach -  this is not desired of course...Tho, in her defence I have to say that she was pretty old already when we moved, so maybe her not patrolling has to do with her age also, I don't know....

Anyways, I have a pet dog now who is not a good protection dog and I am looking to add two dogs evantually. 

We keep goats, sheep and chicken. I am looking for a dog that will guard them AND our family (and property). My curcumstances however, are perhaps not so typical. We do not have very large predators in our area - only foxes, occasional jackal and smaller predators that would only pose a danger to chickens. We do get occasional stray dogs but since the property is fenced they do not come in. However - we live in a remote area and would like a dog to defend us (and livestock) from HUMANs as well. And because of this last reason I am not too sure which breed to choose. Cause I want not just protection from predators but from humans too...

Climate: we have hot summers and cold winters. I kinda have my heart set on a sarplaninac for multiple reasons - they are similar to karst shepherd which I had, only a bit more intense, which is what I want. They are also from a place with a similar climate to our own so this is OK to. What I am not so sure is wether sarplaninac would protect from humans. Are they "patrol" guard dogs or not? (This is what bothered me with our previous LGD). 

Apart from šarplaninac I was considering CO - tho I am not sure wether they would be an overkill. I want a very protective dog yet I want to be able to control it...Opinions?

I thinks the anatolians and kangals would not fare well in our winters with a lot of snow...so they are out...

Does anyone have any other suggestion re breed?

Just to recap:

1. the livestock is sheep, goats and chicken;
2. we have no very large predators,
3. I want a dog that will protect from human stranges
4. I want a dog that protects a large fenced property (3ha) - patroll
5. it needs to accept our existing dog (not a threat to livestock)
6. cold winters with lots of snow (down to - 20C) , hot summers (up to 30 C)

Do you think one dog would sufficiently protect the property? I would ideally like to have a pair...I was thinking of first getting a female and than keep a pup from her litter so that they would get along well....What do you think about this? Or would two males be better?

I want a dog with good protective instincts so I will be looking at working lines. Anyone know of good working dogs (of appropriate breeds) from Europe? (I live in Slovenia)

Thanks!