Best Chicken Guard dog

[bobbi-j]

How much do the Pyrs bark? All day? Or are they ok with the barking? My neighbors are close and I have a fenced backyard, so I hope that a Pyr would be ok, but if they bark a lot they may upset the neighbors. Any thoughts on that? Thanks.

You might want to do some serious research on GPs and how much space you should have if you get one. The only thing I know about them is that a neighbor had one, and it was all over the place. (I live on a farm, so by "neighbor" I mean people who lived 3 miles away.) That dog would roam several miles from home. It finally disappeared one fall. When I mentioned to her one day that I'd seen her dog a couple of miles away, she said, "Oh yeah, they're territorial and cover a lot of ground" I'm not saying you shouldn't get one. Just that you should do some serious research to see if it would be a good backyard type of dog. In my opinion, the best chicken guard dog is one that's properly trained to leave your chickens alone and will keep predators away. My labs have always been good at both. Granted, some breeds are better at that than others, but for the typical chicken keeper or backyarder, I don't know that breed is as important as training.

 

[Ren2014]

How much do the Pyrs bark? All day? Or are they ok with the barking? My neighbors are close and I have a fenced backyard, so I hope that a Pyr would be ok, but if they bark a lot they may upset the neighbors. Any thoughts on that? Thanks.

Pyrs bark all night long if there are predators around. It's their way of saying, "I am here and I am bigger than you so don't even try it." They can be food bowl aggressive but otherwise they use their bark to protect. We live in the country and our Pyrs walk the fence line at night barking. They bark anytime - day or night if they smell something is amiss.

You might want to do some serious research on GPs and how much space you should have if you get one. The only thing I know about them is that a neighbor had one, and it was all over the place. (I live on a farm, so by "neighbor" I mean people who lived 3 miles away.) That dog would roam several miles from home. It finally disappeared one fall. When I mentioned to her one day that I'd seen her dog a couple of miles away, she said, "Oh yeah, they're territorial and cover a lot of ground" I'm not saying you shouldn't get one. Just that you should do some serious research to see if it would be a good backyard type of dog. In my opinion, the best chicken guard dog is one that's properly trained to leave your chickens alone and will keep predators away. My labs have always been good at both. Granted, some breeds are better at that than others, but for the typical chicken keeper or backyarder, I don't know that breed is as important as training.

X2 Bobbi-j is spot on here!

I work with G Pyr rescue and so many dogs end up in rescue because of this trait. There is a saying in the Pyr world, "what do you call a Pyr off leash?" It is a... DISapyr. And this comes from some of the top dog trainers in the world. Pyrs can climb and even jump fences. Even wildife fences. I have literally had to run after and chase down several of my own dogs and foster dogs. No matter how close of a bond we have, they get it in their "pyr trot" and go. It's like a trance... they don't even look back when calling their names. The good side of this... our small town no longer has a coyote problem.

 

[bruceha2000]

Lost my first chicken yesterday. The presumed kill site was right behind the smaller barn, 30' from the barn which houses the coop. Found some down feathers and a few longer ones this morning, wet from the rain but enough to suggest they were from the orange Easter Egger that I could not find at roost time. Assuming fox. So I am again considering a LGD, the cost put me off in the past. Of course even if I got one today the remaining 10 birds would be long dead by the time the dog would be old enough to work so I'll have to either be able to be out with the girls or put them in the barn a couple of hours before sunset - their favorite time to forage

Does anyone know of breeders of LGDs in the vicinity of Vermont? I'm thinking on the lines of a female of the smaller and longer lived breeds like Anatolian Shepards Dog, Kuvasz or Akbash rather than the larger Great Pyrenees. No wolves or roaming domestic dogs (thankfully).

To Organic Backyard I would say: Unless you have a really REALLY BIG back yard, do not get a big dog that needs a job. A GP isn't a house dog content to sleep all day waiting for the owners to come home from work. Putting one in a small backyard would be cruel.

Bruce

 

[centrarchid]

Lost my first chicken yesterday. The presumed kill site was right behind the smaller barn, 30' from the barn which houses the coop. Found some down feathers and a few longer ones this morning, wet from the rain but enough to suggest they were from the orange Easter Egger that I could not find at roost time. Assuming fox. So I am again considering a LGD, the cost put me off in the past. Of course even if I got one today the remaining 10 birds would be long dead by the time the dog would be old enough to work so I'll have to either be able to be out with the girls or put them in the barn a couple of hours before sunset - their favorite time to forage

Does anyone know of breeders of LGDs in the vicinity of Vermont? I'm thinking on the lines of a female of the smaller and longer lived breeds like Anatolian Shepards Dog, Kuvasz  or Akbash rather than the larger Great Pyrenees. No wolves or roaming domestic dogs (thankfully).

To Organic Backyard I would say: Unless you have a really REALLY BIG back yard, do not get a big dog that needs a job.  A GP isn't a house dog content to sleep all day waiting for the owners to come home from work. Putting one in a small backyard would be cruel.

Bruce

Bigger threats not an issue, consider an English Shepherd. Has attributes suitable for guarding poultry / barnyard and is smaller than typical LGD. It is more than capable of dealing with foxes and smaller.

 

[rvt311]

I have 4 acres, and have a really big coon problem. Is 4 acres enough for a GP? We live down a country road with solid woods in front and neighbors on the side.

 

[centrarchid]

I have 4 acres, and have a really big coon problem. Is 4 acres enough for a GP? We live down a country road with solid woods in front and neighbors on the side.

Yes, but less costly options are available for controlling losses to racoons.

 

[Papagena]

I know this is an old thread, but just in case...

I love great pyrs but I'd be concerned about their thick fur in our tx heat. What do hot-climate dwellers recommend for a good chicken guard on a small property? (We have a 6 y/o BC, but she's a little intense for the chickens).

 

[dekel18042]

Bigger threats not an issue, consider an English Shepherd. Has attributes suitable for guarding poultry / barnyard and is smaller than typical LGD. It is more than capable of dealing with foxes and smaller.

Plus they're a lot smarter than the average sixth grader and any LGD's I have met. Once they know their job, they do it, Sometimes they can even come up with a solution you never thought of having the dog do.

 

[Justso]

I know that a well built coop and run work a heck of a lot better than a dog.but if you're going to get a dog, stick with the herding breeds and get one from working lines, not conformation show lines, that to me is key. I have an awesome working line Aussie right now.

 

[123RedBeard]

The Blue Lacy is a medium/large sized working dog originally from TX, also the YBMC (Yellow Black Mouth Cur) is a medium/large sized working dog from the South ... any dog in the South needs shade to come in out of the sun ...