Not Sure Where to Post This...Best Type of Dog to be Around Chickens..

[possumqueen]

The best way to tell if a dog will be trustworthy around poultry is how he behaves on the first encounter. You can expect interest, of course, if the dog is a normal, curious dog. If he behaves in a passive, relaxed manner then he'll probably be fine.

The dog to watch out for is the one who is TOO interested in them. He may seem "TOO friendly" or "TOO enthusiastic." That dog isn't looking at an unusual object. He's looking at dinner. Never trust him. Ever. You may be able to train him to behave IN YOUR PRESENCE, but never leave him alone with your flock.

That is the kind of behavior to watch out for in the presence of small children, too. If a dog is "TOO friendly" to a child, plays too roughly, gets too excited, then he's looking at dinner. In the news accounts of dog attacks on children, the story frequently goes, "He was so friendly with the children. A little rough, but he always wanted to play with them. We don't understand what happened!"

A really good kids' dog is very passive and laid back in their presence.

 

[mandelyn]

Breed doesn't so much matter as "prey drive". Prey drive is the instinct that causes dogs to chase. Some have very little, they could care less. Others have it to the point of it being an obsession.

Most herding dog breeds have prey drive. The trick is to train proper responce BEFORE an attack happens. Some dogs, once an attack happens, they just can't be untrained about this "fun" instinct driven behavior. Some can be trained to behave in your presense, others can be trusted fully... others are just hopeless.

I have 2 German Shepherds, one Working line bred dog who is full of prey drive. She desparetly wants to catch a coon or a squirrel. Anything that runs, really. If it's standing still, she doesn't care. She ran up on some baby squirrels, and they didn't flinch. She laid down, nose to nose with them, waiting on them to spring into action. They did not, they were either too young to seek escape, or knew to stand still was to survive. Who knows. I would trust her with chickens who were not afraid of her. But a running/flying chicken I would know she couldn't resist.

The other is an American bred Shepherd with little drive to do anything. Also male, so he's very lazy on top of having minimal drives. He would let chickens roost on him. He would watch them run, watch them fly, observant, but not really caring.

Same breed, different temperments.

I had a doberman who could not resist, knowing full well it was wrong to bother chickens. One made it into the back yard, she caught it and began to ever-so-carefully pull one tail feather out at a time. I went out the back door, she dropped the Roo and beelined it to the dog house, knowing the wrath she was about to see from me. Roo survived, only damage was missing feathers.

An Australian Cattle Dog (or Blue Heeler) I had would herd my chickens. She was very frustrated, since it's quite similair to herding cats. One false move and they scatter, and you have to start all over again. The chickens had no fear, and the Roos would even turn to fight her. She would drop to her front paws and bark at them, trying to get them back to the house in an orderly fashion.

Never once attempting to catch one, only trying her hardest to keep them together.

You'll want to start with a puppy, and spend a lot of timing teaching the proper way for it be around the chickens. And like anything with a puppy, don't set it up for failure by leaving it alone too early with the chickens, just like you wouldn't tempt fate by leaving all the shoes on the floor during teething.

When you go to choose a puppy, look for one with a calm, non-chalant demeanor. Not the one running around picking on the others, not the one "looking" for trouble or who's biting your nose when you hold it. You don't want the trouble maker, cute as they are, when the dog needs to be able to live up to certain expectations in it's future.

If you choose a border collie, start a "ball obsession" early. That way the dog only cares about the ball... not the chickens, not the gym shoes by the door, not digging in the yard. It's all about the ball, or the frisbee, or whatever toy the pup focuses on. Just be sure it isn't the chickens! Play fetch near the chickens, so that the conditioned responce is "chickens near means ball game... Yippee!" for example.

You just need to have a focus for the dog, regardless of breed, so that it doesn't focus on the chickens. The before mentioned Jack Russel for example, has chosen to protect the chickens, and it's focus is on anything that should show up to harm them. Other dogs mentioned ignore the chickens for fear of displeasing their human. Low-drive dogs are able to do this easily.

I had a Boston Terrier/Beagle mix that would let the baby ducks sleep on him and he liked it when they followed him around like he was momma duck. Very cute! But, a full blooded beagle stayed with me for a time, and she killed 5 call ducks and injured 2 Pekins in a 5 minute span when she managed to get in with them while I went to change laundry.

It's the individual dog, more so than breed, but choosing a breed without a strong prey drive is a good start.

 

[acountrychick]

Well, I don't think I can trust my almost eight year old yellow lab around our chickens, unfortunately.

Like another poster said, she acts waaaay too interested in them.

When we first got them, she hung out around the coop constantly. Then she calmed down and got used to them.

This past weekend, we got a little bantam rooster, and she is back to her old behavior and very interested in the rooster.

We like to let the chickens out to roam in the evenings while we watch them, so we put the dog in the house during that time.

We really would like to able to let them roam while the dog is outside, but do not want to take the chance. Better safe than sorry for us.

If she had been around chickens since she was very young, it might be different.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

Quote:
No dog. I got a GP as a puppy and thought I trained it well but it has already killed two of my chickens and tried to eat one!

Seriously...I don't think you can generalize totally by breed. Depends more on the individual dog's personality.

 

[horsejody]

If you like little dogs, Lhasa Apsos are nice. Mine loves to watch the chickens, but seems to have no interest in touching them. They are actually bred to be little guard dogs. I think that the guarding breeds are the easiest to train for life around chickens. All breeds have individuals that can be good around poultry, but they may be the exception, not the norm. Remember, hunting dogs hunt and they may have way too much interest in the chickens. Herding dogs herd and can be tempted to move the chickens around the yard, and that can easily escalate into chasing and biting them. Guard dogs just like to watch over things. With any breed, the best dog is one that pretty much seems to ignore the birds. If they try to play with the chickens, lick them, etc., it can get bad if the dog gets bored or the chicken protests. Find a good guard dog with a lazy, hands off attitude.

 

[gwennym]

Breed doesn't so much matter as "prey drive". Prey drive is the instinct that causes dogs to chase. Some have very little, they could care less. Others have it to the point of it being an obsession.


VERY true.

I have 2 dogs, a Doberman mix, Lyla, and a Golden Retriever, Tucker. NEITHER dog will bother my fowl, which is surprizing to me --- Retrievers are bird dogs and Lyla have a massive prey drive. What's wierd is that whenever I go to the barn, neither dog will come with me. Lyla HAS chased the chickens in the past, but now has resigned herself to staying away from them completely. She does have an obsession with my mother's peacocks -- poor things are lucky to have tail feathers.

Gwen

 

[lambchicks]

My boarder collie thinks she is the hen's momma! Today they were free ranging, everywhere. Next thing I knew all ten hens and the dog were back in the run. She doesn't like them to go too far. I have also seen her try and pick them up by the scruff of the neck like a moma dog would her puppies. I had to make sure to tell DH about this, didn't want him going off on the dog for trying to hurt the chickens.

 

[Kittymomma]

Prey drive is the key. I have a 5 year old lab/? pound dog and my son's 1 1/2 Aussie. They were both here before the birds and are both great with the chickens and ducks--the Aussie does try to herd the ducks, but doesn't ever get mouthy with them.

I did slow introductions with one dog at a time and on a leash. We progressed to supervised off leash visits and now I can comfortably leave either dog with the flock. In fact if I have to go off property in the afternoon when the chickens are out I make sure my lab mix is out with them--I can trust the Aussie with the chickens, but not to stay on the property so he goes in the house. She doesn't exactly guard the flock, but she won't tolerate other dogs, coyotes, or anything else coming onto the property.

I'd actually recomend getting a young dog instead of a pup. While it's true you can train a pup your way with an older dog you'll be able to tell pretty quickly if it has a high prey drive or not.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[aussieheelr]

No specific breed...
The best dog you could have is a well trained not-easily-spooked dog. I have a blue heeler mix that does much better with the chickens than my DH's border collie (BC tore up the trim on the coop door trying to get to my chickies one day). But I now it's just how she was trained. She's a herding dog and was trained to "SssGit that..." fill in the blank with any type of animal. Mostly for cows she'd heel them up like nobody's business. She's got a hold of my W leghorn once... henrietta made it fine just lost a few feathers...
I just think that the individual dog is what makes the difference not just the breed alone. And raising them with the chickens so they learn that neither wants to hurt the other.

ALL ABOUT TRAINING.

 

[gardenergirl]

I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi who is great with my 5 little bantams. She does like to steal their treats, but has never shown any agression towards them.