Best dog breed around chickens? UPDATE post #117 Thanks all!

[babalubird]

I agree any dog can kill chickens, but if you're able to start from "Ground Zero" and you want the first job of that dog to be "Chicken Guardian", I would give yourself at least one advantage in that endeavor and pick a breed specifically bred for centuries to be a Livestock Guardian, such as Peranese, Anatolian, Akbash, etc., etc.

I've struggled with this question greatly myself. I had decided on Akbashes when we read that English Shepherds are one of the few herd dogs that are not prey-driven and can double as herding dogs and guardian dogs, properly raised and trained. Well, the jury is still out. My male is pretty rambunctious although when I picked him up from the breeder, his mom and dad were peacefully sleeping under a tree while chickens grazed all around them.

We are going to see if this works for us, but if I had it to do over again, I believe I'd get an Akbash pup, or other guardian breed and carefully raise and manage it through puppyhood to be a poultry guardian. We don't have our chickens yet, but it worries me that our ES wants to chase the horses whenever they run and won't always listen to us when we try to call him off. There's nothing vicious about it; when they aren't running, the ES will even lay down with them, touch noses with them, etc. But he wants to run things and wart them whenever he feels they're not doing what they're supposed to do. That could stress poultry, I fear.

Connie

 

[minnie1]

I tether my two dachshunds out in the morning after they eat, They can't be trusted to not harm the chickens. My boy dog is very excited to the point he is squealing and panting over the chickens just smelling them through our living room window. The female doesn't get so excited but she will do what he does. I won't go in the house until they are done with their bathroom duties, just incase they should snap the tethers. So I will feed the girls and fresh water by then I can take the dogs in and come back out to release the girls for the day. The rest of the day I'll leash walk them for the bathroom so that the girls can walk around the yard without being bothered. The boy dog is 20LBs. but he can pull like he is 200LBs. when he sees a chicken. But I'm sure there are trust worthy dachshunds out there, not mine though.

 

[Ohhhdear]

Quote:
We have had dachshunds in our family and extended family for almost 50 years, from under 10# miniatures to a 30# full sized standard longhair. ALL of them were unbelievably wonderful pets, great with our kids, protective, curious, gentle dogs which were obedience trained. Perfect in company, on or off leash, in crowds, anywhere we went.

However, every single one had an overpowering instinctive drive to kill small vermin. Any bird, squirrel, mole, gopher, rat, mouse, gerbil, hamster or chicken was fair game and if caught, killed in the typical shake-it-till-it's-dead! dachshund fashion. My in-law's mini dachshund has chased the girls and gotten tail feathers. She's fast!!

I think if you introduced chickens to your dachshunds, you'd be burying the chickens. Most of the small European non-herding breeds, especially terriers of all types, were developed to get rid of weasels, stoats, rats, birds, gophers, and any vermin they were loosed upon. You could try a shock collar (for the dogs) or a buried electric fence to keep the dogs away from the fenced chicken area.

Our current dog is a Rottweiler. She totally ignores the chickens, except to roll in the poop if she gets into their area! My daughter-in-law has an Australian Blue-Heeler who loves to corral the chickens into a corner, working them back and forth until he has all 12 of them bunched together. Talk about instinct! But not aggressive at all.

 

[turbo13]

Hi. I Have An American Eskimo Dog. She 20# And 10 Yo.i Also Have 4 Chickens.she Has Known The Chickens All Their Life,from 2 Days Old.they Are Now 3months.the Chickens Now Chase And Peck Her.the Dog Wants So Badly To Bite,when They Harass Her.but She Stops Just Short Of Biteing.however I Don't Ever Leave Her Alone With The Birds.beside Her Hurting Them,I Worry About Her Getting Pecked In The Eyes.

 

[goatranch]

I do believe the breed to not have around chickens is a daschund. Ours is 13 years old, and can still catch, kill, and eat without a bit of remorse. He is relentless! We are considering a German Shepherd pup to be our new addition. We have 3 dogs indoors a Lhasa Apso, Daschund, and a St. Poodle. The LA was at one time a chicken killer, but has since learned to help me "herd" them in at night. If they are trained to respect you, any dog can become a great dog.

 

[ZombieChickens]

I agree that any dog can be dangerous to birds, but also that "unexpected" dogs can be harmless. Our Beagle/pointer mix doesn't even look at our birds. If you are looking for a dog, go to Petfinder.com. They will give you great info on what the dogs are like, what they can tolerate, ect.

 

[megcpat]

so, does anyone know how I can edit my title of this thread to add that I updated on post 117( when we got our anatolian shepherds)? I've seen other threads have this title update, but can't for the life of me figure it out......?????????

 

[ZombieChickens]

I

your dogs! Go into your profile, go to your posts, and you should be able to edit the orininal post.

 

[megcpat]

Quote:
Ah ha! Thanks a million ZombieChickens!

 

[scwheeler24]

I am a foster with a Great Pyrenees Rescue and have chickens. So far all my Pyr's have been fine with them. Two were pups around 8 mo's old, they were the most difficult only because they just get too excited and scare the chickens, but I yet have fostered one that wanted to kill my chickens. Not to say they wouldn't, but on the most part they are naturally not interested in them. Anatolians would be in that same category. They are just great beasty dogs. I love them. I would suggest fostering to adopt one if you want to try them out. most of these rescues have not been guardians, or once they find the indoors they'd rather stay there. They can have weird quirks and can be quite independent or stubborn as some would describe them. I had one that wanted inside bad enough, I had a window partially open and he put his paw right through it. When they want something bad enough and their size, they can almost get it. But they make great pets, great with kids, and may not guard your chickens but if your looking for a pet dog that gets along with almost any other animal, a Pyr or antatolian is a very good choice. They drool too.