best dog breed around chickens?

[LilPeeps]

My lab is GREAT with the chickens. She won't even look them in the eye, never mind hurt them (guess she was pecked in the nose a few times too many lol...). And I'd trust her to be alone with them. She's protective of them, but not overly protective, which is perfect for me.

 

[Beekissed]

My lab and lab/BC mix are excellent with chickens! The mix is only a year old and when I brought the chickens home he made a few advances that looked like he might start chasing them. I jumped him, rolled him and growled while shaking his neck muff. I did that 3 times. Then I caught a hen for him and let him sniff it, lick it and check it out for a little while. Just when he was really getting that nose up it's egger I turned her to face him and she pecked him....HARD! He doesn't even LOOK at those hens anymore! He turns his head when they walk by, as if to say, "If I don't see you, you won't see me!" The Lab will bark and get aggressive if a buzzard flies too low over my flock, let alone a hawk. She even keeps crows out of my garden. The mix already killed a big coon when he was just 8 mo. old, not a scratch on him! Both are rescued dogs. FREE! I like the sound of that. I left them all alone for a long weekend and both the dogs and chickens were alive when we came back. They must have played nice! I don't have to worry about my chickens for any reason which is nice. Well, I DO have a tom cat who stalks them every day. The rooster finally gets tired of him and runs him off! He doesn't seem serious in his hunting, it's more like a game they both play. He only seems to do it if we are out in the yard watching. I think he likes to make us laugh!

You really can't go wrong with a good family dog like a Lab, but ANY dog will need some training if they have never been exposed to chickens. If you really want an Anatolian, they have a rescue site online and these people even try to bring the dog to you from all these different states!

http://www.anatoliandog.org/thebreed.htm

Here is a site to find out more about the breed. They sound pretty great. My sister raised Great Pyrenes and she swore by them.

 

[LilPeeps]

Quote:
That's exactly what mine does LMAO

 

[mamaboyd]

Hmmm, wonder if my Aussie shepperd cross rescue dog will guard our chickens. She has tried to herd our cattle to no avail(cows could care less, but she spent half an hour trying to get them moving). We got her in January from a rescue facility, she is 16 mnths old and we are training her slowly, she learns quick, but when she escapes the house, she runs to either the horses or cows

( she at the moment need to be on a leash etc when outside as she was never really exposed to the outdoors with previous owners so she bolts when given the chance. We have our work cut out for us but she's worth it!!

 

[earthnut]

How do you train a dog to be good around chickens?

 

[LilPeeps]

Mine is just naturally great around them, didn't even really train her.

 

[anya40]

My Siberian Huskey is great with the girls. I think she's actually afraid of them. However, the German Shepherd gets loose every once in a while and killed half of my girls in one fell swoop. I think it has become his hobby. I think everyone is correct in that you would be better with a puppy so it can be raised with them. My dogs are 5 and 12 years old and city dogs. Never saw a chicken in their born days until last year. The Shepherd just hasn't adjusted to country life with all the chickens, sheep and horses. So, when he goes out to do his duty, I have to chain him up because he will chase anything that moves! When he is outside, he tries to catch the birds that are in the tree above him. We have a barn kitty that lived here when we moved in and the chickens chase her all over the place. She is scared to death of them. My Huskey is much, much more placid than the Shepherd. She doesn't have to be chained up and goes to the barn and lays near the girls and watches them but would never hurt them. I don't think size has much to do with it. It's the personality of the dog. I wouldn't want an ankle biter around my girls either. They would have little heart attacks, but do well with the Huskey.

 

[Oblio13]

Quote:
We did it with our terrier. There's a Caesar Milan ("Dog Whisperer") episode specifically about that, my wife ordered it from Netflix.

Our favorite dog was a Great Dane. He was simply too dignified to chase chickens. We're looking for another now.

Re. your avatar: What's the egg at the bottom?

 

[hooligan]

I saw that Dog Whisperer ep. on You Tube...which is why I bought his book (well I am still waiting on it to arrive).

Here's the link

 

[fowlfriends]

I would suggest you get your dog from a rescue instead of a shelter, because the rescue dogs live in foster homes and they can tell you a lot more about the dog's behavior. I see you live in Seattle area - I would be happy to ask around to my rescue friends and see what they have. BUT - you will likely run into problems with most rescues/shelters with keeping your dog as an outside only pet. I do not know of any in our area who would adopt out a puppy as an outside only dog.

As far as breeds, I suggest you look within the breeds of dogs you like the best, and find the right dog to fit your needs. And as stated above, keep the coat in mind, since you want a dog able to cope with an outdoor life. As you can see from the posts, many breeds (some that would not normally be suggested around small prey animals) are doing very well with chickens. I adopted my cow doggie (blue heeler mix) at my local shelter when she was between 1-2 years old. Have never had any problems with her chasing our cats or chickens.