What would be the best breed of dog to protect livestock from a mountain lion?

What would be the best breed of dog to protect livestock from a mountain lion?

Rhodesian ridgeback

a couple of komondorok? they're bred to be sheep guards and not sheep herders.. I guess that might say something.

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A Chihuahua. No, seriously. It would bark and bark and bark until the mountain lion was so annoyed that it just leaves.

wolf/german sheppard hybrid.

Anatolian sheepdog. They protect goats in Namibia from cheetahs. Cheetahs, being cats, are afraid of big, barky dogs. However mountain lions are larger and less easily intimidated, so your mileage may vary.

Any of the livestock guardian breeds-Great PyreneesMaremmaKomondorAnatolian ShepherdTibetan MastiffKuvaszThe Rhodesian Ridgeback would be great for lion hunting, but I don't know how well it would be for dealing with livestock.

There are not many breeds that will be able to fight off a mountain lion...and those that can will probably have a very strong prey drive and might attack the livestock as well. Your best bet is to use a breed that would serve as a warning signal and bark a lot to scare away the mountain lion. Research working breeds (great pyrenees is one that is used for livestock protection, but they do require grooming) and talk to reputable breeders to find which one is best for your particular kind of livestock and for your climate (since the dog will be outside all of the time). Also, I have heard that donkeys do a good job of protecting herds from predators? Try looking into that.

Bernese mountain dog or great pyrenese.

go to www.dogbreedinfo.com and click "find the perfect dog" it should help! I like the Maremma Sheepdog and the Kuvasz. Both are great for that purpose!

Rhodesian Ridgeback. it's what they were originally bred to do in Africa. mine stalks like a cat. you may need more than one though. i would imagine they're trained to hunt in a pack. it would take more than one dog to bring down a big cat. where are you? make sure it's legal. in NH it's illegal to use dogs to hunt bears.

How about a pit bull. They are big and aggressive

I'd go with a Walker... Treeing Walker

The poor dog is in for a suprise what ever you get...keep in mind the mountain lion is going to eat him so dont spend to much on the dog you get. Go get the biggest meanest dog from the pound and hope for the best or buy a gun and guard them yourself.

Rhodisian Ridgeback, Border Collie, German Shephard, Anotlolian Shephard.

Rottweiller . A pack of them can take a lion down . So one should be able to keep a beast at bay ..

FIRST - you're going to need more than one dog. To run off a mountain lion, you need at least 2-3 dogs. My first choice is Great Pyrenees. They use them in Europe to run off bears.The other breeds I know that are good possibilities (since I don't know what breeds are available in your area) include:Anatolian ShepherdKomondor (I almost got)Kuvasz (more aggressive, more likely to attack the lion)MaremmaYou can go to the AKC website and look at all the working breed dogs and read up on what their breed traits are and what they do. For example, I didn't recommend the Newfoundland which is a water dog... bred to protect you on the water. The breeds I listed I am sure are used for livestock guarding. Also, if you search Yahoo Groups, I believe there's at least one group specifically for Livestock Guardians and you can find out more there as there are several breeds that are used regularly as LGD's and I'm not sure if I've left any out.You didn't say what kind of livestock you need to guard.Some of the dogs recommended above are herding dogs. I recommend ONLY getting a guardian from the working breed list. Working dogs were bred to work independently and do their job guarding livestock withOUT human direction or intervention. While the Border Collie is a MARVELOUS herding dog, it's bred to work under direction of it's handler and less likely to function as well as a guardian against a mountain lion. -!-psst! Lily, LGD's in a group CAN run off large predators, including a mountain lion. One distracts while the others attack from the rear. They playfight to learn their job.Brie! LGD's know their job. They have a strong prey drive and an even stronger drive to guard their livestock. You don't know enough about LGD's to have made your comments. You ARE right about donkeys, however. And a mix of dogs and donkeys wouldn't hurt.

I am confused. Could dogs fight against a lion? Or the chances would be dogs are eatten by the lion?