Help! We are trying to find a dog who can live with chickens but doesn't eat ALOT.

[kathlind]

I have american bulldogs and the just watch my chickens. They walk the same yard and never bother them. I also have 3 puppies for sale also . They are in the yard also. It is the training they receive If interested send me a txt.. they are very smart and come when called. Chickens come up to the porch when they the pups are being fed. Just watch them sometimes they even get to eat some of the pups food. Very enjoyable. But it is their training that helps any dog be what you want.

 

[sheldojo]

Is the dog going to live outside or just spend long periods of time outside? It is really hard to say what breed would be best as it does seem to really come down to the individual dog, however you could avoid dogs that were specifically trained to have high prey drives. Perhaps you could go to a shelter and explain your situation and they may have some insight for you. Good luck!

Yes the dog would be outside except for cold nights.

 

[sheldojo]

Thank you for the advice!We really appreciate it!

 

[4theloveofhens]

A well trained pitbull.

Same here. I have a pit mix and a cocker spaniel too. Both protect my chickens from everything (including birds of prey), haven't lost one yet while they have been on duty. But if the dogs are locked up and we aren't home, we have lost a couple to fox passing through.

It's all about training. I won't be the one to tell you breed matters when it comes to most things (even the negative things). My mom has Golden Retrievers around her chickens, no problems. But then my brother brought his daschunds to our house and within a few minutes one fit in to the fence and killed one of my girls. I'd say breed, size, etc just has nothing to do with it. Find a good dog who listens to you, be the pack leader, and they'll follow suit.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My neighbor has three Cavalier Spaniels. Two ignore the chickens when they visit her son's house - the third one has killed one and had ahold of a second chicken - nearly killed that one also.

x2 on training, training, training.

 

[CrazyChickGirl]

We had a miniature schnauzer that was friends with our chickens/ rabbits and guinea pigs. Literally. Then we have our beagle, who listens to us and follows commands better, but can't help but want to chase the chickens. So far he's only gotten to chase them when they hopped their chicken fence, and no one has been killed, but I don't trust him at all... I was going to try to train him to not chase them, but I don't know where to start?!

 

[kd2man]

We have three dogs, a 60lbs plus black lab mix with Australian Shepard, a jack russell chihuahua mix, and a Pomeranian. We raised the chicks inside the house for 5weeks inside a dog cage, the dogs always can see and smell the chicks. Five weeks later we moved the chickens outside to their newly built coop and to my surprise the dogs doesn't care about the chickens roaming the yard. They loves their new family. I suggest you keep your dog inside cause inside dog makes better pets and also smarter.

 

[Rivenwood]

You could try a miniature Australian Shepherd. They tend to run 12-14" at the shoulder. I have a friend who raises them (and toy Aussies) and she's very carefully bred to remove a lot of the herding/chasing instinct but every now and then it will crop up when she has to bring in some new lines. Hers are raised on a farm with cats and horses but no chickens.

If you got a young pup (8 weeks) and worked with it daily through its youth, you'd probably have a dog that could be trusted with the birds. But as I have seen others say, it's about the training more than the breed.

 

[liaanne17]

I know this might sound strange but a bird dog mix we've have had her before we bought the chickens a great family dog and weighs 40 to 50 pounds

 

[liaanne17]

I