German Shepherd Dogs & Chickens - are they compatible?

[operationindigo]

I've been poking around this forum and I am surprised, or well maybe not surprised, to see that no one has mentioned German Shepherds in relationship to keeping chickens. Let me tell you about my story...

I just got two chickens - as a first time chicken keeper - over the past weekend. My dog is a German Shepherd mix (nearly entirely german shepherd) who is about 6 years old. She's always been a city dog and has never had any kind of contact with livestock, especially birds like this. She's so socialized with people that I really didn't think she would have much of a prey drive. Well needless to say she was left out in our yard for 20 minutes to potty in the yard. My coop is pretty secure with good fencing around the run and a covered top. My dog had started trying to chew through the wooden frame of the chicken coop to get to the chickens. I'm terrified she's going to hurt them or get in sometime.

Can German Shepherds be okay around chickens? They don't free range in the yard - they have a run that they can range in. Is she too old to train? Any training suggestions?

 

[klcabe]

My three adult dogs - 11, 6, and 4 years old - do not bother the chickens; in fact, my oldest female will 'help' me when I go to feed/water my birds, by rounding them all up and bringing them to me. None were raised around chickens, and we've only had them for a year and a half (the chickens). I also have a hunt trained Labrador, and a rescue Belgian Malinois. Neither of them mess with the chickens, either, now; the Malinois killed two last year but as long as someone is outside with him, he leaves them alone.

I have three 'puppies' (they are just over a year old) left over from 2 litters ago (I breed working line German shepherds) that would kill every bird on the property if they could. No matter what I do, I can't make them understand that that is not acceptable, so I had to fence in an area for the chickens rather than letting them free range.

Here are some photos of my old lady 'helping' me a couple of months ago.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Hi Nulla, welcome to BYC.

Great to give a reply but did you notice the thread is about 20 years old?
Do please introduce yourself in the appropriate forum for new members for a warm welcome from the welcoming team .

10 but agreed otherwise

 

[yogifink]

Regardless of breed, any dog can be safe, and any dog can be dangerous.

It is not the breed, but rather how the animal is raised.

I have a lab and a tree-walking coon hound, both are hunting dogs, and both were taught not bother the chickens.

In fact, the hound will hop over the chicken run fence (4 feet) to tree a squirrel, and then proceed to sniff around the run eating tasty chicken treats (chicken poop) until I let her out.

 

[Krugerrand]

Welcome to BYC! That said though, this thread is 10 years old and OP hasn’t been on in 9. Also I am sure the dog is long dead now.

 

[bobbi-j]

When I came home from work today, I started doing some training with my dog. The chickens are totally fenced in in their run so this is low risk really, unless she is unattended and can get in. I turned on the hose on the jet setting and let it stay on and set the nozzle down near the coop in arm's reach. I let her wander the yard, and every time she locked eyes on a chicken I sprayed her. My dog HATES water and will do pretty much anything to not get wet. She got sprayed twice and that seemed like enough for one night for her - she stayed as far away as she could for the next little while. Now we'll have to see if it sticks.

Well, at the very least, she may have learned not to bother the chickens when you are out there and the hose is near.... It can take a LOT of time and consistent training to teach a dog to leave chickens alone. Sometimes not, and I believe that the younger the dog when you start training, the better. Older dogs tend to be more set in their ways, it seems. Not that they can't be trained, just that it will likely take more time. I believe any breed can be trained, but it does take much time and patience.

 

[D Kluck]

our dogs protect our chickens....but our dogs have been around chickens since pups... nearly all dogs that have not grown up around chickens could be dangerous to them...

 

[Chirpy]

Having had GSD's around chickens for nearly 7 years I totally agree that it depends on the dog... not the breed. My first GSD was a city boy until he was 8 and we moved to the country... we got chicks and he got a hold of one through the wire fencing and killed it! I verbally reprimanded him (with a lot of emotion) and he never touched another chicken in his life. He died at 14 years old; last year. He was 100% safe around my chickens after that incident.

My 2nd GSD was a rescue puppy and never touched the chickens. She was completely safe around them from day one but she was never allowed near them without a person there to teach her.

My 3rd GSD killed or attacked everything she could get her mouth on; chickens, goats, other dogs. She had the highest prey drive and aggression of any GSD I've ever had. (Side note... friends of ours have her sister from the same litter and have had lots of problems with her but not to the extreme extent we had, although they didn't have animals for her to get, -- I believe it was the genetics of the breeding) I gave her to a trainer, breeder of GSDs who had over 30 years experience and trained dogs world-wide for police, Schutzhund, etc. She agreed there was a 'loose' wire in that girls brain and she would never be safe around animals and was showing signs of not being safe around people.

My 4th GSD is now 2 1/2 years old and had great interest in the chickens as a puppy but has never killed one (she tried a couple of times but we were always there to reprimand her). She hasn't touched or shown interest in the chickens since she was 8 months old. I completely trust her... she runs outside guarding our livestock and us all the time. I could not be happier with this girl... she's my bestie! (She's got her head in my lap right now.)

I have a 4 month old GSD puppy and she has great interest in the chickens but is responding wonderfully to training. I won't trust her for a year or so by herself with them but I have no doubt that she will be as wonderful as my other girl because of her temperament. I did a lot of research on the breeding of her parents to get as much chance as possible for a more laid back puppy. (She's laying at my feet right now.)

Training... consistent training is absolutely necessary to teach any dog what they can and cannot do. If the dog is accidentally allowed one time to get a hold of a chicken... you have lost many steps in your training process and probably have to start over (depending on the dog). You need to make sure the dog never gets the opportunity to attack a chicken... someone should always be there to teach the dog what is acceptable and what isn't. It takes lots of time and patience but is to worth it when you have an adult dog that is trustworthy.

I encourage people who are going to buy a purebred dog to take lots of time to find the right breeder. That breeder will be taking time to find the right male and female for the best genetic match - to get the best conformation and temperament for that breed's purpose. Find the breeder who is breeding for the purpose you need a dog for. When I was looking for my 4th girl... I specifically looked for a breeder who was breeding for less prey drive in her GSDs, with a more laid back personality. I chose the puppy in the litter with the quietest temperament but not shy at all because that's what I needed in a dog. I live on a farm with lots of animals and cannot have a dog chasing and harassing them - I need a dog to protect them. I'm not doing Schutzhund trials so I didn't want that extreme prey drive.

But you have to remember that GSDs are bred for working, herding and protection and are very smart. They get bored if not given a job and trained to do that job right.

Good luck and have fun with your GSD -- they are great dogs!

 

[Nulla1418]

I've been poking around this forum and I am surprised, or well maybe not surprised, to see that no one has mentioned German Shepherds in relationship to keeping chickens. Let me tell you about my story...

I just got two chickens - as a first time chicken keeper - over the past weekend. My dog is a German Shepherd mix (nearly entirely german shepherd) who is about 6 years old. She's always been a city dog and has never had any kind of contact with livestock, especially birds like this. She's so socialized with people that I really didn't think she would have much of a prey drive. Well needless to say she was left out in our yard for 20 minutes to potty in the yard. My coop is pretty secure with good fencing around the run and a covered top. My dog had started trying to chew through the wooden frame of the chicken coop to get to the chickens. I'm terrified she's going to hurt them or get in sometime.

Can German Shepherds be okay around chickens? They don't free range in the yard - they have a run that they can range in. Is she too old to train? Any training suggestions?

It’s all in how you train your dog. I have a working line German Shepard with extreme prey drive. He’s fine with chickens. Because he doesn’t have a choice. He even herds them back into their cope when it’s almost dark. Dogs are like kids. It’s all in how you raise them.

 

[BDutch]

It’s all in how you train your dog. I have a working line German Shepard with extreme prey drive. He’s fine with chickens. Because he doesn’t have a choice. He even herds them back into their cope when it’s almost dark. Dogs are like kids. It’s all in how you raise them.

Hi Nulla, welcome to BYC.

Great to give a reply but did you notice the thread is about 20 years old?
Do please introduce yourself in the appropriate forum for new members for a warm welcome from the welcoming team .