Is a German Shepherd a good dog to be around/protect chickens?

[naychicks]

Hi guys,

I'm doing some reaserch about a good dog to be around/protect my chickens... I think that the best dog for the job is the Great Pyrenees but I kind of like german shepherds better... I would be buying him as a puppy of course so that it grows with the chickens... Any thoughts or experiences?

Thanks.

 

[wingsofglory]

My German Shepherd protected my hens. I trusted him alone for years with them. When a hawk flew over, they would run and stand under him until he saw it, then he'd bark and "chase" off the hawk.

He was pure German Shepherd, dad a show (both ability and looks) champion in Germany, Mom a police dog. Was bred for police work here. The breeding bred in a drive to obey - i'd never seen
anything like it. If I called, he came at a fast run. If I said "you can chase the rabbits, but not kill them" he checked his speed so he wouldn't run over the top of the rabbit and
let them go in their hole (the rabbit thing took a couple months to establish - only one dead rabbit. I guess he saw how upset I was over the dead rabbit).

He never chased the chickens. He like to run with them when they flapped their wings when first out of the coop in the morning to free range. But mostly he'd hang out with them and patrol wide circles around them. He liked something to do along his protection instincts. He had his best day when a bear came in the yard - he had that bear treed in less than a minute. I'm in Alaska, edge of valley next to mountain wilderness, so after he came home with me, no more lynx, coyote, fox in the yard which is something
with all the tame rabbits running loose. Only one (3 month old chick) I lost the entire time was to the neighbor's cat. I had a cat so I guess he let it alone. He learned to stay back about 15 feet behind porcupines as they crossed the ten acres also.

Little chicks liked to sit up on his back when he laid down.

He kept all other dogs away from the chickens - met them at the property entrance and drove them off growling ferociously.

I got him from the German Shepherd Rescue group. He was 18 months old, beautiful. Lived to 14 years old with me. Fine, fine dog. We went on many wonderful camping and road trips across Alaska.

Go with what you want, you'll find the perfect dog for you. I was looking for a German Shepherd and I had a feeling about this dog as soon as I saw him at the Rescue place; he was the "one".

The above post was right though, they are really intelligent. Work them on a leash every day for awhile to set up who's boss. Be consistent. Never get angry or afraid of
any other person while they are around because instinctively they'll back you up 100%. Its like having a loaded gun around, don't yell at someone just for show. Do not
tie them to anything another person needs to come round and get into or use. Don't tie them to your vehicle in a public place where other people walk by.

His former
owner was a ten year old budding gang member who used the dog to shake down the other kids for money, so I had a little talk with him about that attitude toward
people wasn't happening anymore. He dropped the vicious act and learned to ask strange people for pets and enjoy them. Took him back 6 months later to show the Rescue people and they were amazed he'd gentled down so. I learned with horses, just show them pictures in your mind of what you want. They get it.

 

[speckledhen]

If you read some threads by our member "ruth", she has some great stories about her GSD flock guardians, Rex and Scarlett.

 

[skysoldier]

German shepherds can be really good around chickens (or any livestock for that matter). As a professional dog trainer I can tell you that the breed doesn't matter all that much. The real deciding factor is what you put in to training your dog. I have long been of the opinion that you will always end up with the dog you deserve.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
You want a livstock guardian dog, then why not get a breed devoted to that specifically? Also if you have not owned a dog since you were a child then I would definately tick the GSD off your list. It takes more than reading books to properly train any dog -- especially for a very specific task of guarding your other animals. If you were to get a GSD I would tell you to, in the least, get a puppy from a breeder close to you so they can mentor you in rasing your dog the right way.

I have owned GSD's all my life, have also been around several breeders, including my own Grandmother. Of all her breeding dogs, there was only one of them that would (without lots of training) leave the birds alone. Other livestock was another story. None of her Sheps ever went after the goats or sheep, but to them birds were fair game. My own GSD, while ok with my birds supervised (and unsupervised for short periods), is NOT reliable around chickens or turkeys. When free ranging my birds sometimes they'd fly over the back yard fence and Foenix would consider them feathered toys. I caught him in the act twice and he'd stop when I would tell him to, but if I happened not to notice it, well, later I'd find a chicken carcass in the back yard.

Chances are less of you losing birds to a properly bred LGD than a German Shepherd. There is a liablility factor for each breed, but they are different there too. An LGD might wander off your property and they can (though not always by any means) be unstable with strangers. So if you live with neighbors close by or have friends that like to drop in, then an LGD might not be for the inexperienced owner. It is kind of the same with a GSD but for different reasons. Most GSD's will accept people readily, except one not properly socialized and untrained -- there you have another dangerous situation. If i had my choice of an unstable LGD and an improperly socilized GSD I would take the GSD any day LOL. An LGD isn't bred to take direction from an handler, where a GSD is more controllable in a given situation (that includes calling them off a flock).

So read up and educate yourself. If I were you I would go with an LGD or LGD mix.

 

[gritsar]

We put in many hours of training with our two GSDs to help them overcome their strong prey drive and live in peace with the chickens. I still don't trust them to be alone with the chickens though, but then again I don't trust any dog alone with my chickens. Just one minute of what your dog may consider playing and you have an injured chicken.

GSDs are not for everybody. They're so smart they'll try to take over the role of master. You have to work with them daily or they'll find trouble to get into, just out of boredom.

 

[chkn]

Yeah I had sheps and they were a problem. However, I was unaware of the prey drive thing and didn't approach the problem early on. One thing I will say for sure, we had no varmint problems in the yard. If you chose to get them, and I think they're great watch dogs, you'll very likely have to keep them separated. Just my opinion.

 

[akcharlie1960]

Aren't they called shepherds for a reason? Haven't they been bred to guard and protect livestock?

 

[NHchicks]

I have a feeling you're going to get lots of recommendations from dog lovers!

Okay. Here's mine. I have a really smart black lab mix, with a tiny bit of pit bull I believe, just enough to give umph to her bark and feel it is her duty to protect and defend, but the lab part is too much of a softy to ever put teeth to her bark. Anyway, she loves to take care of the chickens. When they do the egg call, she's at the door crying to get out and see what's going on. She has one eye on predators at all times, even if it's deer.

But the important part is, she's smart and she's loyal. It did not take long at all for us to teach her you don't so much as sniff a chicken. Never, ever, ever, not even one little whiff.

I have a feeling that it's not so much the breed that matters, but the dog's personality. They say border collies are great, but they're so active and work-minded you have to keep them busy. I wouldn't trade my lab mix dog for anything. She lays on the deck like a lump and comes to life when there's any movement in her world out there. Ha.

 

[honeydoll]

I've heard people say Pit Bulls are great around chickens. Part of it is training training training. Then there is breed. When I was a kid, we had a German Shepherd, great dog for us 6 kids, but killed our chicken, kittens if ever left alone. Took enormous amounts of training. Never could trust her around small animals for long periods. She was a great dog otherwise though. I have a yellow lab that was dropped off, chases things out of our yard, but also not one I would trust with chickens. Look into Maremmas, I have heard alot of good about them. But if you are a softy a guardian dog may not be the best choice, as they need a firm calm but not harsh hand. I wanted one years ago, but didn't think I had the right kind of training and personality to safely own one as I was used to being a softy around my dogs, now I feel I can. I have done alot of research and talked to dog trainers. Many people love their LGD dogs, so they are great, but training is essential.