Rooster and a Guard Dog?

[Phantom_k9]

Hello!
In a few weeks, we are planning to get a great pyrenees mix puppy to train into a guard dog. Aside from not *really* knowing how to train a guard dog, it hit me that we have a Rooster who could cause some trouble...
Generally speaking, this Rooster is the best we have had. He will run up to us when we walk outside, and side step towards us, and run up behind us if we aren't looking, BUT he is probably the best Roo we could ask for. He is protective, alert, and hasn't been really violent. Ok, yes, we all have been bit by him before, but only once (lol).
However, I'm not here to ask about Rooster training, rather the dynamic between him and a guard dog. We have had an incident several months ago where a dog escaped from up the street and wanted to, play, with our birds; killing three in the process. Ever since, our birds have been pretty scared of dogs. With that, should I be worried about our Roo provoking the dog?

Just looking for some advice on how we should go about having both a dog and a roo.

 

[kiara0927]

Good morning I have raised a German shepherd from 5 weeks old her is now almost 4 yrs he has been raised around chicken well anyone that knows puppy’s especially this breed knows they have a hunting guard drive, He had sis wonderful with my flicks until I got a new roo that was highly aggressive and would attack my dog from behind, this went one for a few weeks and one morning here came the roo but my dog had all he was gonna take and he grabbed the roo after I yelled at him he let go the roo was fine beside losing feathers lol, then a few days later a fox came in the area and the roo tried to protect the hens but bc of it he lost his life So to answer your question Dogs are great especially the breed you have but when the pup gets older and the roo attack him he might not like it lol. If you have predators keep the dog a roo can’t stop a fix or anything like that.

 

[Folly's place]

Puppy training takes time, and at least at first, separation will be best any way. If your young dog develops a fear of this rooster (how old is the bird?) that's not all bad. If your rooster is going to get more human aggressive, he should be gone anyway.
Puppies we've raised have learned from the first that the chickens were not to be hassled, although they were house dogs, not outside all the time as LGDs. They certainly discouraged daytime predators though!
Do you have contacts with LGD trainers, people with experience, who can help? And have you trained other dogs in the past? Hope so!
Mary

 

[Phantom_k9]

Puppy training takes time, and at least at first, separation will be best any way. If your young dog develops a fear of this rooster (how old is the bird?) that's not all bad. If your rooster is going to get more human aggressive, he should be gone anyway.
Puppies we've raised have learned from the first that the chickens were not to be hassled, although they were house dogs, not outside all the time as LGDs. They certainly discouraged daytime predators though!
Do you have contacts with LGD trainers, people with experience, who can help? And have you trained other dogs in the past? Hope so!
Mary

Our Roo is almost a year old. We had a Dominique Roo a while ago who was the definition of a bad Roo. He legitimately scared my sister, and would actively fight her as if she was a threat to the flock. For obvious reasons we got rid of him. We had a Polish Roo after him who wasn't a Roo as much as a hen, but he passed away from what I think was trauma from fighting the Dominique. This Roo is (I think) an Americana, I'll post a picture of him.
He bit my mother inside the coop as she was reaching in front of him to mess with one of his hens. He bit me once in the yard (but I was wearing a bright red shirt), and he has bit my little sister, unprovoked (the most recent agro, and the most concerning). I do know of some ways to help tamp down the human aggression, and I know that it is possible to train the worst roosters, but these are the only incidents and two of the three were our fault.
We have not trained a guard dog, or even had a dog, ever, so this is our first time. With that, we don't know anyone who has trained a guard dog per say, one of our neighbors has two sheep dogs (and sheep) who she has used to help keep our birds out of her yard (with us watching), so she is the closest thing to someone with experience I personally know of. Also, we aren't going to hire a trainer since that would be very costly.
However, we still have several weeks before we plan to get the pup, so we still have some time to prepare.

Heres a picture of our Rooster - "Maple, Van Buren".

 

[Folly's place]

I think your cockerel may be going to the 'Dark Side' although I do hope not. None of those episodes appear to be 'provoked', at least not IMO.
Getting a big guard type dog as a first ever dog will take real effort on your part! And paying for classes, and trainers, is always cheaper than having a problem dog, over 100 pound body weight, who isn't a civilized family member. Look into local classes, talk to your neighbor, and it's interesting that the breeder is willing to send this puppy home as a first dog for your family.
@Beekissed , @BantyChooks , and @Shadrach all have good articles about roosters, and there are dog trainers (some good, some not so much) everywhere.
All the best,
Mary

 

[Phantom_k9]

I think your cockerel may be going to the 'Dark Side' although I do hope not. None of those episodes appear to be 'provoked', at least not IMO.
Getting a big guard type dog as a first ever dog will take real effort on your part! And paying for classes, and trainers, is always cheaper than having a problem dog, over 100 pound body weight, who isn't a civilized family member. Look into local classes, talk to your neighbor, and it's interesting that the breeder is willing to send this puppy home as a first dog for your family.
@Beekissed , @BantyChooks , and @Shadrach all have good articles about roosters, and there are dog trainers (some good, some not so much) everywhere.
All the best,
Mary

Well we aren't per say getting the guy from a breeder. My sister has a friend at school whose ranch dog has had pups. Given their friendship, and us looking for both a guard dog and a family dog, they offered to give us one of the puppies.
I have seen a Roo go to the "Dark Side", and I do not think this guy is. We may have to agree to disagree, but I'll argue that the first two incidents were semi provoked, but that's just my opinion. I will be the first to admit that he has had his moments, but generally speaking he isn't too bad.
When anyone first goes outside he is quick to run over and side step. And he will follow us for a while just to make sure we aren't up to anything. Either that or he's greeting us (lol). However, after about 5-10 mins, he looses all interest, and will treat us normally. Generally speaking, all he cares about is his hens and food!
With that, I know of ways to tame a rude roo. I have seen people take a roo who would fight you to the death and turn him into a lap dog. While I haven't had the time to try to teach this guy, I am about to graduate so I'll have the whole summer to work on him.

And believe me, I'm not to excited about having to train such a guard dog, but I hope it will be worth the headache in the end.

 

[Folly's place]

Have you met the parents, at least the mother, of this puppy? Nice? Difficult? Healthy?
A new puppy is a big commitment, in both money and time, best spent on a good individual. Might be the best puppy ever, have you met them yet?
And dog training is (mostly) fun!
Mary

 

[Phantom_k9]

Have you met the parents, at least the mother, of this puppy? Nice? Difficult? Healthy?
A new puppy is a big commitment, in both money and time, best spent on a good individual. Might be the best puppy ever, have you met them yet?
And dog training is (mostly) fun!
Mary

I have! The mother was laid back, and almost didn't care that a bunch of humans she had never met were handling her pups! She was very nice and friendly. The father laid around the whole time we were there. He wasn't too keen on getting to know us, but despite being shy he also seemed really nice. Neither barked as we walked up yet both of them were quick to bark at a dog (we couldn't see) that was probably 200 yards away. Generally speaking they seemed like two parents who were proud of their kids, but tired of being up all night!

 

[KathieMc]

A part of you decision for this breed should also be whether or not you'll be able to keep it from running off. If you don't have any fencing, your pup/dog will more then likely roam. And like mentioned before, these are very large dogs and not usually a first time dog owners choice. They are strong in body and can also be strong willed.
Be sure to read up on the good and bad about the breed and make sure it will be a good fit.

 

[Phantom_k9]

A part of you decision for this breed should also be whether or not you'll be able to keep it from running off. If you don't have any fencing, your pup/dog will more then likely roam. And like mentioned before, these are very large dogs and not usually a first time dog owners choice. They are strong in body and can also be strong willed.
Be sure to read up on the good and bad about the breed and make sure it will be a good fit.

Unfortunately we really do not have a full fence, only about half the property if fenced in. However, we have been told that temporarily using a shock collar can be a good idea. Some friends of our used one on a Black Lab, and have never had any issues with it after it got shocked once or twice. IMO its not my first choice since I don't want to hurt him, but hopefully it won't be on him for long. I'll for sure be doing a lot of research on the breed in the coming weeks!