If you have a dog.....

[harleyjo]

Thanks everyone, this is interesting. Loving the pictures too. Please keep them coming. Trying to decide what breeds to look at. I know they are all going to need training.

 

[Frannabelle]

Yellow lab and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever....100% trusted! They completely ignore the flock

 

[boykin2010]

labrador retriever. she loves the chickens but whenever she gets to close the chickens go crazy! lol i think she has found out they want nothing to do with her so she keeps her distance

 

[forrestacres]

Patterdale Terrier who grabbed a chicken by the back because the chicken was chasing her and she had enough! The chicken was stitched up at the emergency vet, and the dog (after a session at the Forrest Acres Military School) now avoids the chickens at all costs. When she plays ball and the chickens are out, she goes all the way around the back side of the house to bring her ball back.

 

[shellybean40]

border collie/chow mix. She is 14 years old and whenever my 10 girls are free ranging, she follows them everywhere! She kind of "herds" them. It is really cute.

 

[san415]

English Bulldog and a toy poodle. The toy poodle is only 3.5lbs so the chickens are bigger than him and so he has a fear of them. I think that Ziggy (toy poodle) would like to play or maybe chase them. But when he comes into te chicken yard or when the chickens are in the main part of my middle yard he doesn't. The Bulldog Iz loves loves loves the chickens. Best friends. When they were in my "trash heap" coop he would sit inside for hours all hunched over. And the chickens don't mind him or ziggy either. There are some pictures on my BYC web page

This is of the two areas chicken area and the dog area. You can see Iz and Ziggy sitting on the step in the dog area.

Iz sniffs the chickens hind ends just like he would a dog.

 

[emmak]

Quote:
Surprisingly, we have a dog with the same mixture. She is a wonderful dog, but she is highly prey oriented to the birds. I have no doubt that if we left them out, she would go after them and have a wonderful time making feather pillows out of them.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Surprisingly, we have a dog with the same mixture. She is a wonderful dog, but she is highly prey oriented to the birds. I have no doubt that if we left them out, she would go after them and have a wonderful time making feather pillows out of them.

Ours thinks it is her job to keep all the wild birds out of the yard. She occasionally catches one (doves) if they get into the chicken run but leaves the chickens alone. I think it makes her feel useful. We're really lucky to have her; she's the best dog I've ever had. BTW, she came from the pound.

 

[Kittymomma]

Lab mix (female--6 yrs) and Aussie (male--2 yrs) both are great with the chickens though the lab likes to catch rabbits. I think the difference for her is that she knows the chooks are MINE, but the bunnies aren't--even though she still gets in trouble for chasing/catching them. I've lost track of how many baby bunnies (and a few adults) have spent the night in the brooder and been let back go the next a.m. after they've recovered from the shock.

 

[Criskin]

This is Harry our 1/2 dachshund, 1/2 beagle mix. He's great with the chickens but mainly because he is a big coward. He's had bad luck with poultry. When he was a puppy he slipped in the coop when I went to gather eggs. He started chasing the hens and, unbeknownst to him, the rooster was in full pursuit of HIM. Poor Harry discovered this when he came to a dead end and the rooster caught up with him. He's avoided so much as looking at a full grown chicken ever since! A few months ago he was being chased by a Welsh Harlequin duck and had to jump in my husband's lap to be saved! He isn't completely worthless, though...he recently saved my 8 baby chicks! A couple of nights ago I was getting ready for bed when he stuck his head out the doggy door, yelped, jumped about 2 feet in the air, whined for us and refused to go outside. We went out on the back porch to find a giant raccoon trying to get into the chick brooder I keep on the enclosed porch. With DH and I as backup he suddenly got brave and chased the raccoon out of the yard. We were able to lock the chicks in a big dog crate where they're safe.