Guard Dog?

[Michellep224]

So I decided a big dog would be a great way to ward off foxes, coyotes, and the neighbor's dogs. So I now have a 5-1/2 week old pointer rottweiler mix.

Has anyone else ever tried this?
I've already started showing the pup the flock. The chickens are scared, but Rosie doesn't seem to mind. She's curious.
Rosie likes the goats, it seems.

Anyway, it seemed reasonable to me to train the dog to hate foxes, and to feel responsible for the chickens + goats.
What do y'all think?
Opinions? Tips/advice?

 

[pennyJo1960]

So I decided a big dog would be a great way to ward off foxes, coyotes, and the neighbor's dogs. So I now have a 5-1/2 week old pointer rottweiler mix.

Has anyone else ever tried this?
I've already started showing the pup the flock. The chickens are scared, but Rosie doesn't seem to mind. She's curious.
Rosie likes the goats, it seems.

Anyway, it seemed reasonable to me to train the dog to hate foxes, and to feel responsible for the chickens + goats.
What do y'all think?
Opinions? Tips/advice?

You are on the right track yes keep her with you when your at the flock but keep her on a leash and either in a dog house or yours until you know but every day take her out with the flock

 

[Michellep224]

Thanks for the encouragement!

You know what's funny? She follows me around so well that I trust her off leash
She chickens are in a coop + run, so she can't get to them anyway.

I also want a rooster. Rosie can also keep that thing in check XD
She'll weigh 50-60lbs.

 

[chicken4prez]

What breed is she She's beautiful! Love the name too!

We're also thinking of getting a guard dog.

 

[Delaneygraces]

She is beautiful! I think you are on the right track, just make sure she is 100% ok with the chickens before you start to trust her! We got a purebred rot puppy once, and raised it to be nice to the chickens, and our two dogs. But as he grew, he started enjoying chasing not just predators, but chickens too. He would chase off predators to protect the chickens, then eat those same chickens at another time. He also got aggressive with our two dogs, who would get mad at him for catching chickens. We finally got rid of him, as he started growling/behaving aggressive towards us every time we yelled at him for killing chickens.
This in no way means little Rosie will do this, such a sweet girl! It depends on the dogs personality! Just make sure she knows who is friends and who is foe!

 

[RuralLivingFarmette]

She gorgeous. But 5 1/2 weeks is way too young to be away from her mother. (I'm guessing mama is close?)
She may be a super good guard dog as she ages but her breeding may be an issue. I'd watch her development and see if she begins to get excited around the hens and correct any behavior that suggests she wants to bark, chase or stock them. Being she is started so young she may just ignore them all together, which is exactly what you really want!

 

[llombardo]

The dog across the way here got put in its place by the rooster. Now the pup keeps its distance and they are fine as long as the dog does so.

I got 7 dogs, none are allowed access to the chickens or ducks, but they do watch out for them and have alerted me to raccoons on a few occasions now.

A great Pyrenese just got picked up and was brought to animal control. if I didn't have so many, that would be the dog I would grab.

Dogs have prey drive, that is why different breeds bred to do different things. If you get a breed that is a herding dog, it will heard. If you get a guard dog breed, it will guard it's people and property--the trick is getting them to understand chickens are to be protected and prey drive doesn't kick in.

Lots of training and patience should work, but dogs are dogs. I've sern dogs that never used a leash for 12 years and were fine, but one day they would decide to chase a squirrel. To be honest in most of those cases the dog didn't survive. Everything is right until it goes wrong and it only takes one time.

Your pup is adorable. Good Luck!!

 

[llombardo]

My oldest dog has had experience with so many different animals in 13 years that nothing phases her. When she was younger she wanted anything baby by her. She has found her share of every baby animal out there.

 

[centrarchid]

I use dogs and fencing over too many acres for the number of dogs. To remedy a third dog as a pup has been acquired. We are a couple weeks ahead of you. Pup is interested in chickens. She will learn from that and the drive will be channeled to make for better protection. Leash is not being used yet and she is chasing birds a bit. Correcting with leash will come later. Current challenges here are learning physical boundaries and how to behave around pens and fencing. Most foes the dogs must face will come at night. Some like Coyotes better addressed by two or more dogs so I would not expect that of your dog as an adult. Predator pressure can be pretty intense making so dog has a hard time getting enough sleep so more than one dog helps with that as well. Once dog can work if you keep your poultry keeping area compact and close to where dog rests. I did great with one dog and chickens within 150 feet of house. Going past that required more than one dog and then fencing. Do not have pens more than 200 yards apart and expect one dog to be able to cover everything.

 

[snow5164]

Thanks for the encouragement!

You know what's funny? She follows me around so well that I trust her off leash
She chickens are in a coop + run, so she can't get to them anyway

Trusting her is not the issue, she needs to learn to stay right by you, turn when you turn, stop when you stop . Put the leash around your waist and take her everywhere.

You need to do some more research on dog training, and yes she is far to young to not be nursing from mom. You need to get her a milk supstitue from the vet or pet store , for her health .