Guard dogs

[Little Fuzzy]

Its a true blessing to have a dog that will accept your chickens as part of the pact. I have a Great Dane that loves her chicks and is totally trust worthy. Although she does like to scatter them around once in a while she never tries to hurt them. It sounds like your pups is accepting them into the pack and although they ae not the "Ideal Breed" they can be trained. If you start to see some aggression you can get an electronic training collar and try avoidance training . thats what I and a lot of people use. Read up on electronic collars they are not cruel if you use them correctly. I wouldn't get hysterical If I lost a chicken or two to my dog, they have to learn.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I have a GSD and she has been with the chicks since we got them at 3 days old. She was there for play time and every time I cleaned the brooder. She got so used to them (and protective) that she used to check on them more often than us! And wouldn't go to bed unless we checked the chicks.
When we let them go outside she was with as well.
Now they are in the coop. When they free range she plays fetch right along side and they both live harmoniously together.
She has a protective instinct as well. One night I came home from work and looked out my window and saw a cat leaning up on the fencing to the run. I let her out and she always automatically goes to the coop- and when she saw the cat she instantly chased it off.
So I think as long as they get raised around each other your dog will see them as family and not food, and it should work well.

Love the picture of your GS with the chicks. I'm trying to get a good one of my Dane with the chicks.

 

[Jiffyrocks]

Thanks! The one thing she's not cool with is them riding her, which I really wanted a pic of! Lol but she's still young.

 

[yellowherb]

See, I see it the other way: a non-LGD breed would take major considerations on my part to leave unsupervised around stock. I would not be able to sleep let alone trust them. And there is the key element - I notice most of you are always there when the dog is there with the chicks or chickens. Leaving them day and night alone might be a whole 'nuther experience, eh? I did see in another forum thread someone else also saying how they'd never leave their pit bull with chickens. I should go find their post and copy and post it here.

Just saying: I'm not the only one, in other words

Originally Posted by eggbert420

Pit bulls and chickens don't mix well especially if the dog is over 6 months old. Once they kill a chicken the will want to keep on killing them. I have raised bull dogs and had to make a choice between them or chickens. Now I have Great Pyrenees and catahoula hog hunting dogs. Both seem to gaurd chickens.

I have a blue heeler and a English springer spaniel. I would comfortably lock either in the chicken coop with them. My dogs have a dog door and come and go as they please into my fenced yard. The chickens free range right outside my back door where the dogs enter and exit. Not all dogs are a problem with chickens. And I can honestly tell you that unless a chicken is cooked, my spaniel will turn her nose up at it. The heeler is the one who retrieved a quail for me, without a harmed feather.

 

[lgdnevada]

Again this is one of those topics we could argue over till the cows come home, and I ain't gonna do that because I'll never convince some folks, and they'll never convince me, either!
I'll stick to my LGD breeds and sleep at night - glad you are lucky with your non-LGDs and I hope your luck continues to hold out.

 

[dekel18042]

Again this is one of those topics we could argue over till the cows come home, and I ain't gonna do that because I'll never convince some folks, and they'll never convince me, either!
I'll stick to my LGD breeds and sleep at night - glad you are lucky with your non-LGDs and I hope your luck continues to hold out.

Many breeds of dogs either naturally protect or can learn to protect what is theirs. Most of my life I have had dogs and poultry and the dogs have had access to the birds as soon as they came home. Pictured is a sheltie puppy with bantams. He isn't a livestock guardian per se but the chickens and ducks are his friends and if he is inside and hears a rooster's warning cry he flies to the door to be let out. He's learned we go racing out so now he follows suite. Usually the call is either something we can't discern or if an arial predator we leave him out for a bit.
The only dog we could never train to leave birds alone was a Siberian husky which is not uncommon for the breed.
BTW, I've always had English shepherds, collies, shelties or mixes thereof. After a lifetime of wonderful dogs I think it is more than luck.

 

[Cooper Gs Coop]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. It is reassuring. Today we were outside and my favorite bird 'Snowbird' was sitting on my lap. My dog was sniffing her then started walking away. She chirped then jumped onto his back and he was so startled he just trotted off. I was pretty taken back. We'll continue to do as we have thus far. Allowing the dogs and chickens to spend as much time together as possible. When a dogs tail isn't wagging, his ears aren't perked up and are downward in a submissive pose and he doesn't even chase after a 4 week old chick running away from him...I think we're doing it right. Opinions can't be offered and be different without it being an "argument". All opinions are welcome. I take little bits from everyone's advise and use them in a way that's best for us and our set up.

 

[Cooper Gs Coop]

Can* be offered

 

[katefollot]

I'm glad things are working out for you! I have a LGD and to be honest, he's great guarding large animals and really loves it, but tends to get over stimulated by small things running around and sometimes likes to chase them. The thing with these situations is, it's all smooth sailing until it's not. As with any interspecies interaction, you just have to keep an eye on it. I would be mindful of resource guarding, chickens like kibble and are generally pretty curious, so that does have the potential to trigger undesirable behavior.

 

[bobbi-j]

See, I see it the other way: a non-LGD breed would take major considerations on my part to leave unsupervised around stock. I would not be able to sleep let alone trust them. And there is the key element - I notice most of you are always there when the dog is there with the chicks or chickens. Leaving them day and night alone might be a whole 'nuther experience, eh? I did see in another forum thread someone else also saying how they'd never leave their pit bull with chickens. I should go find their post and copy and post it here.

Originally Posted by eggbert420

Pit bulls and chickens don't mix well especially if the dog is over 6 months old. Once they kill a chicken the will want to keep on killing them. I have raised bull dogs and had to make a choice between them or chickens. Now I have Great Pyrenees and catahoula hog hunting dogs. Both seem to gaurd chickens.

When I mentioned special considerations for LGDs, I wasn't thinking of them with the chickens. Please correct me if I'm wrong - the only thing I know about LGDs is what one neighbor told me about her GP - I understood that they need more room to roam. Her dog was all over the country and she told me it's because they cover a lot of territory, thinking it's theirs. I realize part of the problem was that her dog was not trained to stay on the place. But I don't think an LGD would be the best thing for someone with just a few acres, either. As I said, if I'm wrong, please correct me.

Our dog and chickens are out together all day every day whether we're home or not. I sleep just fine. The chickens are locked up at night, but that's for predator protection, not protection from the dog. My lab would probably have been fine left alone with the chicks as babies (and by that I mean less than 3-4 weeks old), but I just didn't want to take the chance. My current dog... No. I wouldn't even consider it. As they get old enough to get around better and don't sound like little squeaky toys, I will trust him.