I need a guard dog

[nzpouter]

first of all you need a fence to keep your dog within your boundaries.... training just like anything else with dogs needs time, consistency and common sense.

 

[darren]

Any large dog raised with poultry from pup will work. My pit bull walking a young pullet

 

[darren]

Trained dog leave it command took it out feed chickens every day when she acted to exited I told her leave it .She has even been attacked by my rooster and cut pretty good and she did not kill him .and she kills any other animal in my yard

 

[darren]

 

[Sonya9]

I don't want to chuck a dog out into a field and be like "OK! GUARD!". Obviously that's idiotic. But then I can't cuddle it either because then it's all about me and not all about the livestock. So where's the line and how do you toe it?

First off i think you need to be realistic about your set up and if you really need a full time "LGD". What I mean is if you don't have a HUGE property with a chicken coop that is way off in the distance from the house do you really need a dog that is ONLY devoted to the chickens? Where they have to stay remote all day long? Because if you DO need a dog for that type of set up I would absolutely get more than one.

When i got my boy he was a year old and it was quite a challenge, I ended up doing a lot of research on the breed because he was unlike any dog I have had before. All of the people that I came across that LGD's strictly for flock protection (as opposed to flock/general farm protection like the poster above with all of her beautiful peacocks) had TEAMS of dogs in the field.

I personally would NEVER have a lone dog off in a field with a flock, they absolutely need canine companionship at the very least, I would consider that to be cruel. Lots of folks chain up dogs and let them rot in back yards, or buy colored baby chicks for Easter as "toys" to be disposed off when they grow, just because lots of people do it that does not mean it is okay.

ALL of the folks that I ran into that used LGDs to guard flock 100% of the time off in a field had at least TWO dogs working together, NEVER EVER a single lone dog isolated by themselves. That was not just to guard more efficiently but also because the dogs would have companionship and a canine "partner/friend" in the field with them, they have a companion to communicate with, play with, and work with when threats arise. I think that is the primary reason people have problems with LGD pups wanting to be near the house, those dogs are ALONE and that is not how they were bred to work. It is not natural for them or for any dog for that matter.

Unless you have a large property with a flock that is quite a distance from the house I would teach the dog to be a general "farm guard", and like the poster above said you never have to teach them to guard, they do that naturally, you do have to teach them to be gentle with the livestock. Also LGDs are such wonderful, brilliant, fun dogs you would be missing out on their company if you isolate them, my boy is so very intelligent and he has such a wonderful sense of humor, he is also very gentle and affectionate.

If I wanted to have a team of pure working dogs isolated with livestock I would start by finding a mature working dog (over 3 years, raised to work livestock in a field and not kept as a pet) and buy them along with a pup preferably of the opposite gender. They are out there and it would be much easier to work with an adult that has experience and teach them to get along with the new livestock and pair them up with a pup that they will train. Once you have experienced working adults then you have them train all youngsters instead of doing it yourself in the future.

 

[Mamadel4]

I am new to raising chickens. My dog is a West Highland White Terrier. While this breed iare basically rodant hunters, he didn't show much interest at all in the chicks when I first got them. We recently put them outside in a fenced area and I noticed my dog on duty. He walked around their area as if on patrol. Given that he has cornered two possums, a skunk, a ground hog and enjoys chasing squirrels, I think his breading is perfect for protecting the girls. His small size is also perfect for a small urban farm.