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

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

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Thats becuase you may change what you say but your body language is the exact same

Dogs read body lauguage first and foremost and they are fluent, teaching them words comes a distant second.

But...but...Jamie! We try to be real casual about it, as if we are just having a conversation about the weather. Worst part is, Kane has learned to tell time. At exactly midnight he goes and stands at the living room window, knowing it's time for Daddy to come home. "Out", no matter what word for it we use, happens every two hours. Gonna take down all the clocks in the house. Maybe then I'll stand a chance.

Some dogs are just extraordinary, what can I say?

 

[alhanse77]

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An older dog may not necessarily be a problem, either. Our three dogs (golden retriever, age 8; shepherd mix, age 9; beagle/German shepherd mix, age 13) were old when we got our chickens last year. I watched them with the chickens when they were smaller, but as the chickens became full-grown the dogs were no longer interested. They were more interested in getting to the chicken feed than they were in the actual chickens!

Our golden gets a little excited if/when the chickens fly around the yard, but otherwise they are left alone. Good luck!!

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote:
An older dog may not necessarily be a problem, either. Our three dogs (golden retriever, age 8; shepherd mix, age 9; beagle/German shepherd mix, age 13) were old when we got our chickens last year. I watched them with the chickens when they were smaller, but as the chickens became full-grown the dogs were no longer interested. They were more interested in getting to the chicken feed than they were in the actual chickens!

Our golden gets a little excited if/when the chickens fly around the yard, but otherwise they are left alone. Good luck!!

...or chicken poo....

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

The OP was asking the question of whether a GSD would be good around AND protect her flock. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a big big fan of the breed. But realistically, given the information that the OP provided such as: she's not had a dog since she was a kid (NO dog experience really) -- with that in mind is the GSD a good choice? I don't think so. She's more likely to get a dog that is strong willed, too intelligent for its own good and kill her chickens. GSD's require a lot of training in most normal households, and in a household where the dog is supposed to guard a flock of birds...?

In the end I hope whatever the OP does is get a dog suited to her needs, no matter what breed.

 

[gritsar]

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[bemba]

Here is my Shepherd with the flock, she is now 8 months old and I trust her completely!

 

[3goodeggs]

Good girl!

 

[jmariebeef]

I am sure by now you don't need any input, but I had something to add. There is a lot of speculation about how GSDs require a lot of training and hard work, which is somewhat true. I had the pleasure of spending a great deal of time with a 1/4 German bred intact male GSD a few years ago, he belonged to a boyfriend. When we split up and I moved back to Nebraska I was devastated not to leave the boyfriend, but to leave the dog behind. I was born and raised with blue and red heelers...aka Australian Cattle Dogs...and I can tell you from experience that a GSD may require training but they are VERY easy to train using the positive reinforcement method. This may just be because no matter what anyone says an Australian Cattle Dog is the most intelligent, stubborn, and hard headed breed I have ever been around. They will learn what you teach them, then test you time and time again to see if they can get away with it now. So personally I don't think a GSD is a bad choice to be around chickens...they live to please...especially if they are taught starting from a puppy what is acceptable.

 

[mswillow]

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.

It absolutely depends on the dog and the owner. Our GSD is absolutely fabulous with our chickens. He lays with them and even let's them jump on top of him. He will stay near them all day if we let him. He is a great guard dog as well. However, not all GSD are that way. If you have never had the opportunity to train a dog then this breed is probably not the right one for you. Great Pyrenees are bred for this job. You can't go wrong with them. It's in their blood.

 

[kbennj]

I am looking to add a GSD to my household sometime in the next year. I've owned one before years ago, then went to Great Danes. I love Danes too. I recently lost my 10 and 11 yr old Danes within 4 days of each other. Right a Christmas. Heart breaking! I also have a pug and a Havenese. I live in the country, have chickens and soon will get Pygmy goats. I wanted to add the goats first before the GSD puppy just to be able to train them to all of our pack.
Some say GSD are bad around goats, can kill them even, but I would suspect it's the training or lack there of that led to issues. What do you all think?
Do you think the pup will have issue with the goats?