great dog breeds for protecting chickens, and cats (indoor out door)

[hennyandpenny]

okay so i was teasing my dad about getting a dog and he goofed up and said that we can only get a shorthaired dog.

any way we went to look at the greyhounds at our local pets mart and they aparentky had a huge prey drive. i need to know what dog works with what animal. a friend of mine lets her roam with her chickens and they dont kill them but protect them. what do you guys recromend?
elizabeth

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I can trust my Australian cattle dog 100 percent to be left unsupervised with any of my animals, and I can't say that about any other dog I've owned by a long shot. I don't know that she would protect them, but she knows and stays on our property (even when a fence blew down in the wind that we didn't know about til later), and will protect that property. The breed has a short, easy to maintain coat, though they blow their coats one to two times a year. She was adopted as an adult, and one of the first things we taught her was to respect our other pets, from pigeon to rabbit to cat.

That said, some will have a prey drive so high that all other pets are in danger. The breed isn't for everyone. They tend to develop sometimes severe behavioral problems if kept outside or alone. Most seem to do best raised as part of the family. Working lines have high energy and mental stimulation needs, and nipping may be a trait that needs consistent training. They must be well socialized with all family members, otherwise their tendency to bond to only one person can lead to devastating results such as severe aggression with some family members. They are highly intelligent and often emotionally sensitive dogs that need someone who respects that.

 

[hennyandpenny]

i was looking at that breed as a possibility. we have a large property and everyone usually hangs around with all of the animals(even my brothers who tend to wear sandals in the chicken coop and then wiggle their toes and say the chickens are attacking them... they are adults i tell ya!) any way the possibility of having a dog is pretty low untill the day the cats "die" maybe sooner. my cats are avid hunters my oldest cat(and fattest), milo, is a great hunter but is terrified of chickens... chase is a good hunter but doesnt really get the food part of it, he doesnt chase the chickens unless they are outside the run and very young. needless to say they are well behaved cats but they hate dogs. too bad for them. milo is 10-11 years of age and chase is 3-4. i love my cats they are the substistute "dogs" right now, we call them that because they fallow us every where and act like well dogs.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

Here you go: http://www.puppyfinder.com/breedselector.php

That is the "breed selector" tool on puppyfinder.com. It will at least give you an idea of what breed or type of dog may fit your needs. Plus, the breeds database there has a short summary of the key breed information for just about any breed of dog you can imagine.

 

[hennyandpenny]

thank you i will use it!

 

[harleyjo]

Here is a thread that might help you too. I started this one awhile back....https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/416459/if-you-have-a-dog

 

[hennyandpenny]

interesting. mainly german shepards, australian cattle dogs, and goldens..................hmmmm. just the dogs that i want