Good Dog With Birds

[Queen Scoot]

a great pyr...excellent guard dogs. i have one and he's wonderful with the chickens!!! he also guards Miss Tinker our bunny!!!

 

[SportTees]

Quote:
What a cute picture!!

I've noticed allot of people say great pyranees (excuse the spelling). I would think as big as they are they would eat ALLOT!! I guess its a trade off -- protection for food

 

[hippiehen]

We have a German Shorthaired Pointer who is great with all the animals, whether it be deer, poultry or goats.

He was a year old when I got chickens and I was a little nervous at first (him being a bird dog and all!) He does great though, I started introducing him to them when they were just little peeps. Now my chickens are pastured during the day so they are free to roam where ever and he doesn't bother them at all. Actually, the chickens are great at keeping him occupied, he'll point at one roosting in a bush for hours!

They are incredibly high energy dogs though, so if you don't have room for them to run (and run and run and run) then I wouldn't advise getting one! He is incredibly smart, loving and a total goofball - they are a wonderful breed!

Of course, remember dogs are dogs and any one will need the proper training to be completely safe around your livestock.

Now, if I could just get him to quit chasing the cats...

 

[ChickenToes]

Look on the internet or go to the library and check out a few books on dogs. Find a few breeds that you really like and that you feel will work well with you and your family. Get a puppy. If you train it well and are consistent with it, almost any puppy can be trained to stay away from your birds. I have a Bloodhound. We've had her since she was 8 weeks old and have done consistent training with her. The only time she bothers the birds is when she's trying to steal food from them.

 

[SportTees]

I had a weimaraner that I got as a pup that was great with almost anything! He was very smart but he died from cancer this year at only 4 yrs old. I have had other weim's that I got as adults and they weren't that bright. So it just may be in how you raise them. Someone is trying to give me a 10 mo old standard poodle-- has anyone ever dealt with them? I hear they are smart?

 

[tiffanyh]

Standard Poo are smart dogs....

 

[Queen Scoot]

Quote:
What a cute picture!!

I've noticed allot of people say great pyranees (excuse the spelling). I would think as big as they are they would eat ALLOT!! I guess its a trade off -- protection for food

actually great pyrs eat no more than say a german shepherd....great pyrs have a very low metabolism and dont require as much food as you think they would.

 

[purr]

I wish the GP was a hair dog instead of fur, I'm allergic , maybe we can make a pyrapoo or a pooranese.

 

[hooligan]

My APBT and EB are really good with them

 

[Chickfever]

We just got an English Setter. She was only here for a night though and then I sent her down the road to keep her hidden for a bday surprise. She got loose while here but she didn't even look at the chickens. Now the neighbors have an Australian Shepherd, another has a bulldog mix, and another down the road has a blue heeler. The bulldog mix and the AS eat my eggs but haven't been "CAUGHT" getting chickens. I have recently "lost" 8 chickens. I've seen all 3 dogs here so I'm not sure what's going on. The owner of the blue heeler has chickens but they don't free range so.....

I'm hoping with adequate training and coaching, our dog will be okay. I won't ever really trust her alone with the chickens, but I plan on working with her every day to get her to leave them alone. I'm hoping she'll be like hippiehens dog and just point

.

Good luck!