Dachshunds and chickens?

[Everose]

Just curious about the breed and how they would fare on a farm or in a household with lots of animals.
I've been around dachshunds my whole life and I've never met a super energetic* or prey driven* doxie, I've seen one obsess over a squirrel or toy but that's about as bad as I've seen them get. They seem very playful, smart, and affectionate, occasionally grumpy or full of attitude, but not very determined, tenacious, or aggressive. Have I just met abnormal doxies?
Have you kept one on a farm? Would you do it again?

**I compare their energy and prey drive to that of my Pit Bull who could probably run a marathon and kill a moose. They do seem like they have plenty of energy for their size but just not enough to be high energy or prey drive.

 

[The Ranch Girl]

It really depends on the Dachshund, our male Doxie started killing chicks and once they get a taste of blood it’s near impossible to get them to stop. It took a while before we finally broke him off it. Sometimes he still wants to get chicks though.
We have two female sisters, one who will kill any chicken or chick she can get her hands on (or paws lol) but the other will only kill if he sister is. Otherwise she leaves them alone. We have yet to break her sis of killing so she has to be penned up.
So it truly depends on the dachshund and what age. I think it’s easier to break a little dog than a big dog.

 

[sourland]

Several dachshund clubs use our beagle club grounds for their field trials. These dogs are extremely prey aggressive. I would trust none of them around poultry. Perhaps this is because of the sport they are bred for. I know a man who uses dachshunds for tracking wounded deer. His dogs are 'kill' aggressive, and he must be the one to remove them from a found deer. Anyone else will be bitten.

 

[Everose]

Aside from the question about small animals does this ring true in anyone's experience?

 

[Everose]

Perhaps this is because of the sport they are bred for.

Do you think that a dachshund bred more specifically for companionship and physical breed standard would be different? Or are they usually proven by hunting?

 

[sourland]

Do you think that a dachshund bred more specifically for companionship and physical breed standard would be different? Or are they usually proven by hunting?

Realistically, I do not know. I do know that many of the people competing are dual breeders - breeding for both conformation/shows and field work. I have noticed that the wire haired strains do seem to be more aggressive than the smooth or long haired. One of our club members has a Fd Ch smooth haired b*tch. She is very sweet tempered, but has a prey drive equal to or above any I have seen.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Any dog can be nice to chickens.
If trained properly.

My Retriever loves my chickens and ducks but any other birds are gone.

My male Retriever would rather kill them but with training i can hold a chick by him and he doesnt do anything. But he has a super high prey drive and have been training for hunting.

I havent ever really met a dashhund but someone in my town has one. She has no prey drive they have chickens, they do use her for shed tracking. But she has never killed a chicken.

 

[Everose]

Any dog can be nice to chickens.
If trained properly

Not this one.

In many cases (not all) you cannot untrain centuries of breeding. This dog has been bred for aggression, gameness, tenacity, absurdly high prey drive, and stamina. He will kill a chicken not because he's hungry but because they run, and he catches. His eyes flash red and there's no getting him to stop the chase. He would rather chase something (small animals, toys, smells, etc...) than stop and respond to a command. He's not a companion he's a hunter.

That's really the question I pose here. Have dachshunds been bred for companionship long enough that they would be willing to respond to training over self rewarding with the chase?

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Not this one.View attachment 3792669
In many cases (not all) you cannot untrain centuries of breeding. This dog has been bred for aggression, gameness, tenacity, absurdly high prey drive, and stamina. He will kill a chicken not because he's hungry but because they run, and he catches. His eyes flash red and there's no getting him to stop the chase. He would rather chase something (small animals, toys, smells, etc...) than stop and respond to a command. He's not a companion he's a hunter.

That's really the question I pose here. Have dachshunds been bred for companionship long enough that they would be willing to respond to training over self rewarding with the chase?

Was he trained since 8 weeks old that chickens are ok. It takes a long time and the right type of training to get a dog to be ok with chickens

My male Retriever hunts everything is prey even my outdoor chickens, but my chicks can become his friend. He is almost 2 and i can now just trust him if i hold a chick out of the brooder.


Maybe a conformation Dashund would be better than a field style. They have been bred for showing and being companions. Not for hunting.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

From what I hear, dashounds can be pretty ornery at times. And can have some listening troubles. They definitely can’t be killing chickens. Have you thought about a more docile and gentle breed… like Labs or Golden Retriever?