Dogs?

[bryan99705]

You are asking for trouble when you bring in a dog, especially a puppy! Keep it on a leash around the birds and apply disipline when they do anything more than sniff a chick and you might succeed but don't expect it to overcome instinct and puppyness for a long time. The chase instint is very strong.

 

[Zaxby's2]

Try this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=529148
That's proof that it can be done with at least some dogs, and soon I'll try it with mine. I probably still won't trust them around my chickens, but it would be nice to not have to worry about any accidents. For a dog that's already killed before it would be harder, but for a new puppy it should be fine. I would try it if I were you, besides, it's free. Good luck!

 

[pinkyglory123]

We have a three year old male german shep dog. He has been raised around chickens, horses and cats since he was eight weeks old. In a fit of high spirits he occassionally would make a half hearted chase at the chickens or cat but mostly ignores them. They make a lot of noise when they pass him going out when he is going in and they are sharing the same doorway but that is just the chickens. When they were younger we put up a low electric fence-one touch and his interest was gone-poof. Electric is the farmer's best friend!
Now the geese are another matter. The noise and flapping is just too much for him to resist. In this case-best method-keep seperate. second best method-shock collar. Dog glances in the direction of geese-apply shock. end of problem.
This type of behaviour gets worse if you add another dog-even if the first dog is "steady" on livestock-the pack prey thing kicks in and everything is forgotten. Herding breeds are almost as bad as hunting breeds because the herding is just a directed form of prey drive.
Electricity is universally respected. Plus the hens seem to be insultated by their feathers and go under it without problems.

 

[Annabella]

I have a 3 year old cocker spaniel. He was 12 weeks old when we brought him home - amongst the chickens.

It has taken 3 years of constant attention (the first 2 years were the worst). I still would not leave him alone in the yard without me at home; though I can leave him in the yard while I am at home. He finally is becoming more "adult" in his thought processes.

I learnt a hard lesson, when he was about 16 mths old, I thought he was fine and left him alone in the yard while I walked inside the house for a few minutes. In those few minutes he killed my favourite chook. My tears couldn't bring her back,

and I couldn't chastise him too severely - he's the predator, its in him to bring down birds.

So like everyone else has said. Constant training, constant attention.

Good luck.

 

[farmgirlforever18]

i have a pit bull terrier and he comes with me out with the animal to feed and water or gather eggs he’s almost a year and he seems to pay no attention to them. my little sister was attacked by one of the roosters ( which is in the freezer due to way to many attacks) Bleu doesn’t chase them but if one of the roosters try to attack someone he right there after the chicken but he doesn’t bite it yet i think he just worried there going to hurt me or someone else we also have a border collie kelpie mix he’s about 6 weeks old and the first day we got him he tried to chase the ducks but we spanked him and told him know ( had to do it twice ) but after that he doesn’t chase them he knows he will get spanked . But both my dogs have been around chickens since they were little and they learn to leave them alone it just takes time and training


GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 

[serenityNH]

One good thing, German Shepherds are incredibly intelligent and easy to train.

My experience with my Shepherd is he got along with everything as long as I introduced him correctly. He lived in a house with "free range" house rabbits, house birds, cats, iguana and rats. The rats use to ride around on his back lol. We use to visit a friends farm and he was excellent with all the animals including the chickens. BUT he had lots of training, earned his CGC and listened to me very well and had tons of exercise so he was not a bored, anxious dog. As they say a good dog is a tired dog!

My experience with chickens and dogs. I have 2 dogs that are 7 and 4 years old, one is a 65lb Rhodesian mix the other is a 120lb Black & Tan Coon Hound/Mastiff mix- they both are fine with our chickens, our Coon Hound mix is very protective over them and takes his job of chicken protector pretty serious. Even our cats lay in the yard and the chickens will jump on them and fall asleep! Our dogs are very well trained and all of our animals (dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens) are expected to co-exist peacefully and they do. But it takes patience, training and a dog with the right personality/energy.

In my experience I think a dog with a MELLOW personality, not a hyped up crazy anxious dog, with lots of training and lots of exercise and mental stimulation can get along with chickens. But it's definitely up to the owner to put the time in and be responsible. Don't expect to just throw a puppy/dog in with the chickens and expect miracles especially if she is a dog that is physically and mentally bored.

Good Luck!