great pyrenese

[blucoondawg]

I am looking for a dog now to keep outside on the farm. I want one that will rip a man's arm off if he came unannounced. Someone has been coming in my hen house during the day when I'm not here and stealing eggs. Last year I had someone steal a duck and about 12 of her newly hatched babies... It's sad.

A game camera may be a good option to catch them in the act

 

[Triple Willow]

Not necessarily.  Anyone in their right mind in today's economy will want a dog as cheaply as possible...I'm one of these people.  I'd never pay $350 for a dog,even if I were very wealthy, when there are dogs capable of doing the job for free or very much cheaper.  I don't believe that only the person who can afford thousands of dollars in vet bills deserves to have a dog.  There are other options than expensive vet care when it comes to animals...some things you fix if you can afford it, some things you put the dog down for. 

I never vet a dog unless it actually, really needs it.  No heartworm, no vaccinations, no check ups...none of it.  I come from a culture and place where animals are only worth what you can afford to pay and then no more.  If you cannot afford to fix an injury or if it is very severe, you put the animal down. 

All my dogs live long and healthy lives...there have been times when injuries happened and I happened to have the money to fix them, but if I hadn't, I would have put them down.  There is a general belief out there that one HAS to fix everything at any costs so that the animal can live....I don't hold with that belief.  There are many dogs out there that need a home, a dog is replaceable, and they are not family, not fur babies, not children.  They are dogs....great dogs that I love dearly and give a good life...but can part with them if necessary if the cost is too much.

Not everyone feels like money equals privilege, nor do they feel like excessive money should be spent on dogs when there are people out there who need food, clothing, shelter...and that need it more than a dog. 

Ditto! I couldn't agree more. This whole dog (and cat) culture has gone insane!

 

[Triple Willow]

might try an australlian blue heeler they are great dogs to protect heards and flocks and they are not too expensive and they are a smaller breed

I have heard of several people using Blue Heelers/Australian Cattle Dogs as flock guardians. I have heard the same about really needing to socialize them too.

 

[nzpouter]

Get a dog from the shelter.... and train it well.

 

[Tracyree]

We had a Great Pyrenees show up in September. She was emancipated, had a scar around her neck from being chained and bald hindquarters. She doesn't sit and guard our chickens in the way you'd expect, but because she keeps the coyotes and other predators away in general, we have let our hens free range safely for the last month.

She eats surprisingly little (she's on the very small end of the range for a Pyrenees).

Besides all the vet care she needed when she first came to us, ongoing costs are just food, tick/flea topicals, heart worm preventative. She's a great dog, so lucky she found us!

(They do require weekly brushing to keep from getting matted)

 

[Triple Willow]

Get a dog from the shelter.... and train it well.

Sounds so simple. Can you explain how to do that?

 

[Debs55]

I have a golden retriever and a chocolate lab and both are protective of them but the golden tries to play with them and of course the chickens don't like that. Honestly, I would check out dog shelters around you or adoption days and find a young dog that will grow to be medium sized and start socializing it with the chickens. If you start off young no matter what the breed you should be fine

 

[nzpouter]

Sounds so simple. Can you explain how to do that?

a lot of time spent with your dog and chickens.... most people forget they have 2 species to train.

 

[Triple Willow]

a lot of time spent with your dog and chickens.... most people forget they have 2 species to train.

A whole lot of people talk like you can just take any dog and train it to guard chickens. The way they talk they act like a stump could be trained to guard chickens. The problem is that nobody actually tells HOW to train a dog to guard chickens or how to get one that kills chickens to stop. Most dogs are not going to guard chickens or anything else except maybe their feed bowl. And the majority that kill chickens will never stop.

 

[centrarchid]

A whole lot of people talk like you can just take any dog and train it to guard chickens. The way they talk they act like a stump could be trained to guard chickens. The problem is that nobody actually tells HOW to train a dog to guard chickens or how to get one that kills chickens to stop. Most dogs are not going to guard chickens or anything else except maybe their feed bowl. And the majority that kill chickens will never stop.

I am firmly in the "lot of people camp". I, and others here that clearly know what they are doing, have repeatedly described how to train dogs with respect to poultry. The efforts do not seem to have stuck because folks with much less ability with dogs have a lot more to say about dogs, thus swamping out good efforts of others concerning dogs.

The majority of my dogs that have been used to protect poultry killed poultry during early stages but habit was broken. Those that did not have sufficient interest to kill chickens when young where more likely to defend feed bowl later in life. Therefore I disagree with your last statement.