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

[Talithahorse]

Wow, this was exactly the information I was looking for myself. Ditto what the OP said to begin with as that is what I am looking for. I was wondering if the herding dogs like the Australian Shepard or the border collie would be too smart for us and as we both work full time, it does mean that they would be alone for a good part of the day. (well there are dogs and cats and birds and such but not people during the day)

 

[Michael P]

What you describe is the classic farm collie, a land race that was common on American farms through the 1800s until the mid 1900s. Here is the web site of the American Working Farmcollie Association http://www.farmcollie.com/

Any of the collie-derived working breeds are possibilities. Modern border collies are often too high energy and simply can't resist herding the chickens all the time. I've had Australian shepherds and their mixes, and they have done a great job for me. The breed tailor made for this purpose is the English shepherd http://www.englishshepherd.org/, but these dogs are uncommon and you will need to be prepared for a waiting list.

You've gotten good training suggestions already. I will only reinforce the fact that these breeds do not mature quickly, and usually don't become "responsible adults" until they are two and half years old.

 

[BW56]

My son's Field bred English Setter hunting bird dog rushes into the open chicken run and just sits with them. She chases away all the other birds and critters. Mainly cats, wild birds and squirrels that eat the leftover chicken food. Her and my ladies get along fine. Just don't let the other hunters know about her girl friends

 

[Chirpy the chicken]

I would recommend a giant Schnauzer

 

[centrarchid]

I have used Black and Tan Coon Hounds, Dalmations, Border Collie, Labrador Retriver, German Pointers and 1 English Shepherd. Dream team soon to be realized will be a more house oriented German Pointer with exceptional interspecies (dog-human) communication skills and a still mouth when approaching foe while two English Shepherds with the more hessitant barking approach keeping more continuous presence with stock. German Pointer reads shepherds and goes for sneak attack.

 

[Abriana]

Collies are fabulous, as are Great Pyrenees, Mastiffs or Newfoundland’s. Collies are family dogs and want to be with you in the house, so that rules out collie, but collies are the number one best chicken dog. I have one named Beau, he is a smooth coat (which means he doesn’t have long lassie hair, it’s short. Much easier to deal with especially if your dog will be chasing critters through underbrush) and great with chicks and chickens. Super smart, he can learn a new trick in less than two minutes.
The other breeds I don’t know too much about, but they are great with all pets even though their huge. Some Newfoundland’s look like lions, though black! Really amazing dogs, maybe your family should try one and they may end of liking them. Just be careful because they can get pretty aggressive if they feel the flock/you/other animals they protect are/is in danger, my sister was petting a friends dog who was a chicken guard dog and the dog punctured through the skin on four of her fingers. Just because he’s friendly to you doesn’t mean he will be friendly with all! Keep that in mind especially with the big breeds. Good luck finding a good guard dog!

 

[Mraya]

I have 2 dogs a female Zoe and a male Loki. Zoe is a Rotti Belgian shepherd x Loki is a Rotti German shepherd x both are 3 years old born a month apart. Zoe came first as a puppy at 12 weeks Loki we got a year later at 15 weeks both dogs were free from people looking for someone to give them a good home with room to run. Both are indoor dogs that sleep inside at night. We got chickens for the first time in spring of 2017 as chicks.
Both dogs LOVE to chase and catch things in the yard birds,mice, squirrels,moles any thing that moves. When we got our chicks I let each dog sniff them and told them they were MINE. We let them free range with the dogs for the first time yesterday . I was afraid that Zoe would attack the chicken because she always tries to dig into their coop and I have to stop her. Well surprise surprise once the chickens were out of the coop she went in and dug out and killed 5 mice that were hiding in there. Other then giving the chickens a sniff of two and eating free chicken poop they left the chickens alone. This being said it is still to early for me to trust dogs and chickens alone together, but so far so good.
Now my female 9 year old Jack Russell Min pin x (Terrier Breed) her pray drive is way to strong she tries to get the chickens when they are in their coop every time they make a sudden move. And when introduced as chicks she tried to bit them. But she will only do this when I am inside the run with the chickens other then that she ignores them.
When the chickens are out she is in the house.

I would stay away from the Terrier Breeds of dogs.

 

[Grenadianexpat]

Wifey wanted a dog to deter human incursion after some crop removal. A friend supplied what is not bad for that job. A pure breed cross between a German Shepherd and some form of Terrier.

Prey instinct and nervous from a very young puppy.

This was my first dog in life, 60 odd years. I have tried very hard to get her stabilized, I did get a dog trainer to put me through my paces. But there is no way I can trust her off leash. In a split second calm to exited, and once that happens unless on a leash any situation is a total loss.

Added to that having enjoyed terminating a few chickens she knows the reward chasing flapping creatures brings. She has calmed now she is over 2 years old, and seems not to be so focused on them, but regrettably being loose is not an option.

Maybe if I had been a dog person for years it would be a different story, but I think each animals innate temperament has as much to do with it as the breed.

 

[dogkahuna]

x2 with vanillachai

If you're looking for advice on training, here's some.

There's really only one difference between training a dog not to rummage in the garbage and not to hurt chickens. You can gradually train your dog to stay out of the garbage, and rely on age to mellow him a bit.

You cannot gradually train him to not hurt the hens. Remember that there are some things you simply will not tolerate and do not tolerate them. Make punishment swift, severe, and certain--and make it come from a person the dog respects.

If this is redundant, sorry. But I hope it helps.

Professional dog trainer here. Swift, severe, certain punishment is dog abuse. Enlightened people use positive reinforcement methods to get the point across--it works better to teach a dog respect than to teach fear.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

My black lab is a great dog! He doesn't help with our chickens, but he is sweet with our cats! And he loves to cuddle up next to babies. He also brings babies his toys. LOL! I don't know how he would do with chickens, but probably very good due to his calm and non aggressive temperament.