German Shepherds and chickens - good combo?

[daisy_dukers]

I have 2 GSD's and I had only 1 issue this spring when I first brought the day olds home. I think the Peeping noise they made reminded my youngest GSD of her squeeker and she tried to suck the head off of one that was in my hand.

Fortunately I had my thumb over the chicks head so all it got was a bit of drool on it.

After a swat to the behind and a scolding neither of them want anything to do with my chickens any more. Fortunately they never make the same mistake twice and learn from each others mistakes.

I can put drumstick in the yard (she is my test subject)and she can happily munch grass and flap around without the dogs paying the slightest bit of interest in her.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Great post, beautiful dogs. Did the Shepherds require a lot of training to do what they are doing? Were they raised around birds as pups, or did you just raise the chicks in their presence?

Training advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'd have to say it's just instinct and in their nature. In the picture with Rex sleeping next to that first bin of chicks - that was less than an hour after I brought them home and set them up. He was already about 4 1/2 years old and really needed a job. He knew "guard" meant to lay outside our door and sleep (whatever else he thought that meant, I have no clue). In any event, when I brought the first chicks in, I showed them to him and of course he was jumping and barking and getting a little excited but I just showed him the chick, while I held it and petted it and cooed to it and I kept saying "no bark" "guard the baby chicks". After about 15 minutes, it clicked and he sat down by the bin and would not move. I couldn't drag him away from them. He would growl at me. The only time he left would be to run outside to pee/poo really fast and then right back in and would stick his nose in the bin and count and sniff them and then lay back down by them. This went on the first two weeks I had them inside. When I moved them outside to the back porch in a Chick-N-Hutch, Rex went with them and for the first time in his life began sleeping outside. Again, couldn't drag him in. He would not let any of the other dogs or cats come near that hutch.

At 4 weeks old, I turned them loose and he followed them everywhere:

All this, without a lick of "training". I was so impressed with the breed we bought Scarlett last year to learn from him. But she has one-upped him. She actually mothers the whole flock of freeranging birds and is there in the coop as they return each evening to keep the peace. She just made one year old and has been around them since she was a puppy but it just now "clicked" for her. Before she just ignored them.

Now for those who say "once a chicken killing dog, always a chicken killing dog...." again, not true. While Scarlett never killed a chicken she did, while still a puppy (same age as my GPs now, about 6 months) catch, kill and eat four drakes (male ducks) who flew out of their pen. But when caught and scolded and taken amongst the ducks, who lived in a fenced yard, she never did it again. Lucy, another dog of ours had previously done the same thing - killed 6 of the first ones we had the first time she had access to them. She too was taken through the pen and told "no" and she's never bothered them again. In fact, I finally decided to let the ducks run free because the Mallards kept flying out anyway and now all 40 ducks run and fly all over the farm and the dogs, all 4, are amongst them day and night without incident.

I believe that breeds who have been bred to be shepherds and that doesn't just mean (herding) and other breeds that were bred to keep watch make a good start for a LGD. With a little "training", in my case, simply introductions and being told "no" and shown that the flock was part of the family - I believe dogs, especially GSDs can be a real asset to the farm.

I also believe that letting them interact 24/7 or as close to it makes a difference. In the case of Scarlett as a big puppy and Lucy as our varmit killer, both dogs did not associate the ducks with the flock of chickens. The ducks stayed penned and the dogs never saw them - when they did, they killed them. It was my fault and my mistake for not introducing them to the ducks and taking them in and out of the pen when I worked with the ducks. That's also what I recommend for "training" - take them, on leash if they won't mind immediatley, with you while you clean pens, feed and water and just sit amongst the chickens. I would sit in the hen house with Scarlett laying at my feet for an hour and just let her watch the birds.

 

[ducks4you]

Thanks a lot, ruth--posting pics of your GSD's Rex and Scarlett!

Now I get to cry all over again over the loss of my GSD/Collie cross, Xena (RIP, Feb., 2008)

Xena was a GREAT animal guard dog. She wouldn't kill ANYTHING--in fact, she pouted when we killed some baby possums whose mother had been living in the barn.

She also was known to hover over baby birds that had fallen from trees. One of our cats adored her and used to sleep with her.

I REALLY miss her even though my 2 mixed breed dogs follow me everywhere and bug me twice a day until I go out to do horse and bird chores. (Ironically, each of them has 1/4 GS.)

I THINK what you need to know if you have never used a dog to help you, is that a dog needs a job to do. He/she is your helper, not infallible, and requires training and re-training if the dog has picked up an unneccessary habit, like charging your horse when he's rolling.

BTW, Le Canard de Barbarie, I enjoyed the light reading from your link about livingstock guarding dogs. I browsed through all 133 pages of it. Seriously, though, I've bookmarked it for future reference.

 

[Chirpy]

We have a German Shepherd mix so it's not quite the same but he's completely trustworthy, now, with my chickens. He did eat one a few weeks after we got our first chickens a few years ago. I had a serious talk with him and he's never shown ANY interest in them since that day.

We are looking for a new German Shepherd puppy right now to add to our family.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
I'm sorry to hear about your loss of Xena. It's especially hard to lose a really good dog.

Rex will lay and guard birds that fly into our windows and stun themselves - he won't let the cat get near them. If you put anything in a kennel and ask him to "guard" he's right there till you make him move. He brings in the groceries and, at our other house, he would go and get the newspaper from the street (driveway was long) and would bring it to the house for us. One day, DH asked him to go get the paper and he wouldn't go so DH said "Then I'm going to get the paper". Rex followed him all the way and begged for the paper but DH wouldn't give it to him - kept telling him "no, you wouldn't go get it, so it's MY paper". Anyway, it was a Sunday and later that morning another paper was found sitting on our front step - and a short while later, another paper - then about an hour later another one. Rex brought home four papers that day - stole them from our neighbors (who all loved Rex and weren't the least bit upset when we called and asked if their paper was missing). When we moved here, the house is also a long way from the road but the road is a busy highway so we've never mentioned "getting the paper" here.

 

[ellieroo]

I have a beautiful dobe who weighs 80lbs and is right now guarding Her flock of baby chicks! The whole flock can be in the front yard and the dog just walks right thru and nobody gets hurt.She has taught herself that hawks and crows are not wanted here and she will bark and chase them gone ! It is all in how the dog is raised and a wise observation of puppies before bringing one home.Watch the dogs in a given litter and the personalites of each pup should help in getting the right dog!

 

[Buster52]

What a wonderful thread. I'm really enjoying this, and seeing all sorts of possibilities.

 

[happytxchick]

Again, thanks for all the posts...I had almost backed out on getting a GS, but these last few posts make me want to reconsider...will go this weekend and see what I can find at our famous Northeast Texas Trades Days in Canton, TX. There are usually lots of dogs to choose from at the monthly "flea market."

 

[ruth]

Quote:
The only word of warning I would give about GSDs and other large dogs is that I would recommend getting a puppy and raising it yourself. I've found, since all of our other dogs are strays, that their temperament and personality all have to do with how they were raised. When I got Rex, I was afraid of dogs, especially a big dog, and especially a German Shepherd (don't ask how/why I got him - that's a "God" story) but I got him as a puppy and read so much about how they needed to be well socialized that I took him everywhere - even on trips (best story is the time he locked us out of a hotel room and no one, even the clerk, could work the keyless entry since he had deadbolted it from the inside - note: be careful if you teach them to work locks and handles - can't tell you how many times he's locked us out of the house, once when I was in my p.j.s and just ran out to meet the mail lady).

O.K. - I digressed - bad about that:

I so well socialized Rex, took him to Schutzund, obedience, and obstacle training classes that today he thinks everyone is his friend - so does Scarlett. They greet strangers with tails wagging and, for Rex, always with a ball or toy in his mouth wanting to play. I actually wish they were more of a "guard dog" when it came to the many strangers that pull up to our house - I wish they would at least "look" like they might do harm - but no, they run up, jump on, and slobber all over axe murderers.

So if you get a puppy, well socialize it - it won't be the best guard dog where people are concerned but you won't have to worry about it biting anyone either - that was my biggest fear.

 

[ducks4you]

ONE more thing about GSD's--They do not need to be aggressive to protect you. Many people were afraid to approach Xena, because she was so BIG. A dog can protect your other livestock, but, after you've trained your dogs (or horses) to be safe, THEN, you find yourself considering how to protect your DOGS in case a criminal is determined to wound or kill your dog.

There was a story on Animal Planet that is now about a decade old, in which a Denver couple raised an Akida mix for protection, and almost lost him because someone threw dog food laced with antifreeze over the fence in an attempt to poison the dog. After that, they kept him in the house when they were away.
Just FYI.