Chicken Dogs??

[BlueSky]

This might sound crazy but is there a certain breed of dog than is partial to chickens? We don’t have a dog but would like to get one however I’m a little concerned that it will chase my chickens. I was thinking if we got a puppy and it was raised with the hens it wouldn’t chase them but rather protect them.

When I was growing up we had a cat that preferred to sleep with the goats and a black lab that LOVE the cats—would spend hours cleaning them. I think they were like this because they were raised with them--however we never had chickens. We are thinking about getting a lab for the kids for Christmas and our approach is; if we really work with him it would learn to be kind to the chickens.

But I thought I’d ask all of you if you knew of any breeds that “stick out” as chicken chasers

Or are there any breeds that just seem to get along with the “ladies” better.

Thanks!

 

[momofdrew]

I have a lab rotty mix age 10 and a lab chow mix age 9...both are excellent around the chickens...I just started raising chicks this spring had them in the house for the first couple of months and introduced them to my dogs daily...they are now very protective of the babies..they will lay outside and watch while the birds free range...it is all in the way you teach the dogs...
good luck Pam

 

[horsejody]

It depends a lot on the individual dog. It takes a lot of supervision and training. Dogs bred to guard are usually better than terriers, hounds, retrievers, etc. There are always exceptions. Even if you get one of the livestock guardiand dogs, it will take a lot of time and effort with no guarantees.

 

[ChooksChick]

We have a chocolate lab who was 3 when we first got the chicks, and a gremlin-dog (your guess is as good as any) who is probably around 6 or 7, and as we were raising the chicks from a day old, we would let the dogs into the bathroom to investigate and watch us handling them. When they moved outside, we watched carefully and never left them alone together, correcting if they were more than passing-curious.

Now our dogs protect the chickens from falling leaves- it's pretty funny. We had a hawk swoop down while I was at the far end of the yard from the dogs and chooks one day and the lab tried to nab the hawk- he was reallllllllly mad.

I think the regular exposure and correction is key, but if you have a dog that's ever been a predator it may be an issue. Mine are not really tapping into that part of their wiring.

Best of luck!

 

[debilorrah]

Great Pyranese are flock dogs. Very friendly and they protect their birds. It's gonna be our next dog.

 

[Akane]

It depends alot on how they were raised, how good of trainer you are, and the individual. I was turned down by the midwest akita rescue and other shelters when looking for a dog because I have other small pets. Akitas are not only a guarding breed but at one point were serious hunting dogs that were used for bear and other large prey. They have a strong instinct to chase and face down any animal they come across.

but zami was raised with my pets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/puppy/2008/SANY0523.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/cats/Squeak/DSC00571.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/puppy/2008/SANY1010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/puppy/2008/SANY1036.jpg

And the chickens were raised in the house to start with so she'd get used to them being pets.

A little vid of zami and the chickens the first time I let her see them without holding them still.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/puppy/?action=view&current=SANY0745.flv

Nope akitas can't get along with other pets at all.

It really depends on how you handle introductions and your attitude towards various animals while the dog is around. My mom's dog will kill a rat, possum, or coon with one strike. He will carefully carry baby rabbits and stray kittens into the house for us to take care of. He knows from our attitude which animals are unwanted and which animals are to be protected and cared for.

Personally I'd take any guarding breed. They have instinct to protect if you can just channel it to include your other animals. I also tend to like those types of dogs. Any dog though can be raised and worked with to get along with the other animals. Herding breeds are often mentioned because they were bred to be around other animals and livestock. Some are good, some are difficult. Alot of chicken and poultry breeders also breed the various terrier breeds for hunting rodents around their farm. A pure hunting breed would probably be the hardest to train around small animals.

Never leave a dog unsupervised with any animal small enough for them to kill. No matter how well the dog has gotten along with them. Plenty of people have had their dog with their small pets for many many years without incident and then one day leave them unsupervised and find all their pets dead. They are still dogs and can get overexcited. If nothing else that can lead to accidental killings.

 

[BlueSky]

Thanks everyone. I agree, a lot of it has to do with how they are trained and what they are raised around.

debiraymond, I went to petfinder.com and I searched around for a Pyrenees and I think I found one...he's a mix but he's beautiful.

Akane, the video of zami with the chick is sooooo cute. My kids and I have watched it several times. I think you should send it to midwest akita rescue

Thanks again!