top 5 breeds of dogs

[AccioSarah]

Quote:
Agreed. I have a terrier who is bred to kill rats/rabbits/etc- guess what he gets along with?
He is great with my chickens too.

It's all in the training. Yes the breed helps immensely- and may make the training far easier if it's in your dogs instinct to protect livestock- but you get the idea.

Good luck!

 

[newchickengirl]

I have to say that a lab raised with chickens can be allright. I had one but in the end he turned out to be an egg sucker after many years of not touching them. His main job(to him) was to follow us therefore the flock was alone if we were to go anywhere. I have a Great Pyrneese now that has been raised with chickens since birth. Hands down, she has to be one of the smartest dogs. I have not had to train her to do anything. She even picks up a few things that I disliked about My horses and now does it for Me. Thing about Grt Pyrs tho is that you have to raise them from birth with what you want them to guard, if not it will not work. She keeps the predators away plus the strays. This is part of the breed. They do bark alot at night but they are trying to project their voice to make them seem bigger than what they are. A male and a female can work great together if you have the room and the land for them. The males generally patrol the area where as the female stays closer to her charges and home. Good luck on your search. A livestock guardian dog would be best.

 

[cmickelsen]

Quote:
Anatolians are a good idea! Except they are pretty big dogs, and from what I have read, they need lots of room to run, and will extend their "guard" range pretty far, much farther than the chicken yard. I have been tempted, as we have a dog pack made up of a family of dogs a few yards away, and they rule the neighborhood with no compunctions! A couple of Anatolians would put them in their place I am sure, and would protect several chicken coops in the area in the process.

 

[SB Austex]

True - Mine pretty much have the territory of our large fenced yard, but when we have them on our regular walking route, they definitely want to act like it's part of the territory.


Anatolians (aka Kangals) the breed that are used by the Cheetah Conservancy in an interesting way: www.youtube.com/watch?v=02cfBDxdMCI

 

[halo]

Shelties...shelties....shelties....

My guys have no prey drive at all. I cant tell you how many times Ive come home in the afternoon, and had all 3 dogs greet me at the door with a herd of chicks following them (after they hopped out of their brooder). When I have half grown chicks get out of the runs outside, I tell Punkin and Sweetie to get them; they run after them, corner them and put a paw on them until I can scoop them up. They dont as much as pull out a feather on them.

Ill never have another breed.

 

[cmickelsen]

Quote:
Pit Bulls may be good guard dogs outside the pen, but can you trust them IN the pen with the chickens?

Nice set of teeth, by the way!

However, German Sheperd Dogs have a significantly stronger bite than Pitt Bulls. They are also bred to be working and guard dogs, to follow a master's command, and are highly intelligent and trainable. Once trained, they do not forget their training.

GSDs have a history of being excellent guard and shepherd dogs, and when trained appropriately do not loose their heads and attack humans.

I would trust my GSD inside the pen, once he was trained to know not to eat the chickens. I also have had my GSD around large groups of children when he was very young, and he was very calm and well mannered.

But GSDs are also large dogs, and require consistent exercise and "work" to be happy dogs.

Good luck with the search.

PS. My GSD has NEVER left the yard, even when young and unaltered, unless he is with one of us! We have never had to chain him or pen him! He has NEVER attacked a human!

 

[zazouse]

I have these breeds and they are all wonderful flock dogs, but it really depends on the dog in the end, some work out some do not

I have always gotten my dogs from working stock and made sure i meet the parents, they play a big role in how a dog will turn out ,IMO

Great pyrenees
Anatolian Shepard
Rotty
Aussie
Corgi

I have alot of land and livestock, but i would not have all thse dogs if i did not.

 

[cobrien]

My cattle dog / aussie shepherd mix is an amazing chicken dog. As you can see from the posts it also depends on training. I disagree that it depends on prey drive, although you will have an easier time with training a dog with low prey drive. My cattle dog has killed squirrels, opossums, rats, and gophers, and if that's all we knew about her many would say she would not be good with chickens. But I taught her basic obedience which was how I taught her not to mess with the chickens ("leave it" is the most basic of commands after sit, stay, down, come). She is protective of the chickens and I can even leave her alone with them. 13 years with chickens and not one problem.

I think herding dogs and working dogs in general are good choices if you want them to be pets. Livestock guardian dogs are good if you don't want them as house pets. But almost any dog can be trained, it just takes time and commitment that most people don't want to expend. Even my silly clown dog Rufus, a dachsund-spaniel mix, has been trained not to mess with the chickens and can be trusted alone with them. But it took many hours of work and careful supervision on and off leash.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
Pit Bulls may be good guard dogs outside the pen, but can you trust them IN the pen with the chickens?

Nice set of teeth, by the way!

However, German Sheperd Dogs have a significantly stronger bite than Pitt Bulls. They are also bred to be working and guard dogs, to follow a master's command, and are highly intelligent and trainable. Once trained, they do not forget their training.

GSDs have a history of being excellent guard and shepherd dogs, and when trained appropriately do not loose their heads and attack humans.

I would trust my GSD inside the pen, once he was trained to know not to eat the chickens. I also have had my GSD around large groups of children when he was very young, and he was very calm and well mannered.

But GSDs are also large dogs, and require consistent exercise and "work" to be happy dogs.

Good luck with the search.

PS. My GSD has NEVER left the yard, even when young and unaltered, unless he is with one of us! We have never had to chain him or pen him! He has NEVER attacked a human!

to answer your question whether you can trust an APBT inside the pen....
well my chickens don't have a pen.. they free range on 40 acres w/ their "pit bull" bodyguard. this is a RESCUE APBT none the less......... so the answer is YES. they can be trusted ANYWHERE if they respect and obey their owner.

and who really cares what dog can bite harder???? seriously...

 

[AlixS]

I too agree that it's more the training and the human behind the dog, than a specific breed, but since you asked... My Boston Terrier doesn't seem to mind my chickens. Bostons are pretty laid back. Plus, they have such flappy/smushy mouths that they probably couldn't attack if they wanted too!