I have a St Bernard, a year old and still very much puppy. He was originally being trained as a SAR dog before he was hit by a car and had to have his shoulder reconstructed. He now has a permenant limp (though it doesn't slow him down) but will never be able to complete his training. He is now in training as a therapy dog.
The point is he was trained to track and find things in wide open spaces. Now he is being trained to just be still and behave. He has retained every bit of his training from both services.
I was fearful of how my 150lb dog would act with these delicate little birds (I started with silkies) when I first brought them home. He had raised 2 small kittens from infancy and was always incredibly gentle with them and is remarkably careful when playing with any dog smaller than him. I guess being the biggest living thing around (yes even bigger than most people in my household) He has learned how to be gentle with small creatures.
When the chickens are penned he circles the enclosure eagerly, wagging his tail, jumping (as well as he can) and barking. Once the chickens had grown accustomed to his earthquake bark and he had become use to their sight and smell I let a couple of the smaller gentler ones out.
My St. Bernards amazing nose was what always made him eager to be a SAR dog. Now he eagerly sticks his nose under each chicken and sniffs, snorts and snuffs his little heart out, practically lifting the bird off the ground. When he's had his fill of the smell he'll lick the poor bird until its covered in drool (I often have to take the bird away so he doesn't soak them) and when he's run out of drool for the time being he'll flop down in the grass with a bird between his paws and fall asleep cuddled up.
He protects those birds like they were his children instinctivly. I never taught him to be a guard dog. I trust my dog completely with my chickens.
