Should I get an English Shepherd?

[rs00]

I came across the English Shepherd recently after several people said they are a great family dog and also useful on the farm.

I am needing a dog that will be a decent deterrent to predators, to protect my free-range chickens and guineas.

I found an English Shepherd who is already an adult and sounds like a great dog! I had plans to get him tomorrow, BUT met a person today who said that this breed is a herding dog and has a strong prey drive....not to be trusted around poultry unsupervised!
She said I really should consider an actual LGD, and English Shepherds are not that.

Makes sense, but pretty sure I’ve come across people online recommending them for poultry protection.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom here? I really want this dog, but at the same time, I can’t risk losing my flock if his supposed herding instinct/prey drive randomly kicks in someday!

My other option is an anatolian shepherd/kormador mix; guess that’d be a safe bet, but would still rather have the English Shepherd!

 

[kurby22]

I can’t say specifically what you should do, but I would say that English Shepherds are a herding dog and all herding dogs have high prey drives. However, if they are trained around poultry they can be a good dog around them—I’ve seen border collies in charge of ducks and geese before. Being that this dog you are looking at is an adult, I’d want to know his history with farm/livestock as protection and specific experience with poultry first. I’d want to see how it reacts to running creatures and what it does once it catches them. Even LGDs can be wrong for protecting livestock without proper training

 

[Celbalrai]

English Shepherds have a lot of variation because they were developed as distinct lines for different work across the country. Some are more similar to LGDs and some are more prey driven herders. There is a group called American Working Farmcollie Association which is about identifying the right dog for each farm. There is a discussion group on Facebook where you can get recommendations and training help. I was told one of the board members, Tish Toren has the best poultry program in the country.

 

[chickfused]

I've recently adopted one, look at my post history for a ridiculously long thread. A bit diff situation, as I got a puppy, but I agree with the previous posters - you have to know where and how the dog grew up, and preferably at least a few generations of it's ancestors histories as well.

I specifically got a farm dog that's entirely family line had born, bred, and died on that farm for multiple generations because I needed a dog that was a balance between family dog and LGD. She's just a baby and wants to play with the chickens, as friends, not toys. When she's not feeling playful, she just lays down with them and watches over them. Can't do unsupervised just yet (because puppy energy), but in a few years I have no doubt she'll be chicken safe unsupervised. She also loves the resident cats (and came programmed that way), and is very interested in horses and cattle. Her farm had goats, but I don't think the puppies were allowed to interact with them.

I will say, you have to be comfortable working with a headstrong dog and helping teach them the boundaries and who's boss. They are independent thinkers like LGDs, but are incredibly obedient if you can show/convince them that Mom/Dad always has the last word. My thread outlines a lot of my struggles there - it's not easy. But we're getting there.

 

[dekel18042]

I came across the English Shepherd recently after several people said they are a great family dog and also useful on the farm.

I am needing a dog that will be a decent deterrent to predators, to protect my free-range chickens and guineas.

I found an English Shepherd who is already an adult and sounds like a great dog! I had plans to get him tomorrow, BUT met a person today who said that this breed is a herding dog and has a strong prey drive....not to be trusted around poultry unsupervised!
She said I really should consider an actual LGD, and English Shepherds are not that.

Makes sense, but pretty sure I’ve come across people online recommending them for poultry protection.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom here? I really want this dog, but at the same time, I can’t risk losing my flock if his supposed herding instinct/prey drive randomly kicks in someday!

My other option is an anatolian shepherd/kormador mix; guess that’d be a safe bet, but would still rather have the English Shepherd!

I realize this is an older thread that I just came across and wanted to add my two cents.
These are the dogs I grew up with and recently lost our old one. These dogs are brilliant. They can make a border collie look like a remedial third grader. If it is yours, it is theirs to protect.
In addition to being a herding dog, they are also guardians. They can wear many hats and there are few jobs they can't do and do well. One of the first breed standards I read (Back when I was a kid when dinosaurs roamed the earth) stated one on one they should be able to take a coyote down.
Because they are so smart, unfortunately in the wrong hands they can learn the wrong things so getting an adult could be more difficult than starting out with a puppy who is raised right.
But my opinion is for the right person there is no better breed. If God ever made a better breed, he kept it for Himself.

 

[chickfused]

My English Shepherd is the most useful tool on my farm. And a good friend to boot!

 

[winterwolf4]

Hi, I'm looking at getting an English Shepard puppy and want to know your guy's thoughts on them. We had a Australian Shepard before and she would nip at my son's face. I am a little leary of herding dogs because of this. However my in-laws have a mini blue heeler. And he just nips at your ankles or bumps the back of your legs.