Best Dog Breed to Double as Both Housepet and Chicken Guard?

[jvls1942]

This thread was started in 2017.

But since it's been resurrected I'm going to put in my two cent's worth. Shelties. Aka Shetland Sheepdog, also incorrectly called miniature Collies, miniature Lassies, etc. My Gracie is no more, but for 13 years she was both: companion to me and Keeper of the Flock. Because of her, my chickens could free range. We have 10 acres in SE Missouri at the end of a dirt road, and there are coyotes and other predators about. Gracie once ran off three coyotes by herself. But I don't believe she was actively protecting the chickens. More likely she was defending her territory. She usually lay on the top step of either the front or back steps, surveying her domain and barking at intruders - mostly the squirrels who were doing their best to harvest our black walnuts, pecans or mulberries. She took this job seriously! I don't believe she ever considered herself a protector of chickens. She honestly couldn't care less about the chickens. But! This was HER territory, and woe betide the fool who breached its borders! Now, we who have both chickens and dogs are aware of one thing about dogs: they really like the little chicken "nuggets" that come out of the back ends of chickens and I'm not talking about eggs. So dogs follow chickens, if you get my drift. And dogs then leave their own not-so-little scent-laden packets in the areas where chickens wander, little piles that tell curious coyotes and other predators "this flock is supervised and guarded by an alert dog." And would-be predators go, "Maaan! Guess I'll go hunting elsewhere." So the dog effectively "protects" the chickens, and possibly, or probably, isn't even aware that's what she's doing. A word of caution, though ... okay, two words. Shelties have a tendency to be, well.. vocal, especially the females. And they're quite hairy. But they're charming, funny, loyal and beautiful!

I couldn't have said it better..