i think i need a dog--what breed is best?

[mtnhomechick]

Or 20 outdoor cats!!

 

[BantyHugger]

So did you get your sheep dog? I believe you posted you were getting one. Sorry i have been following really close.

 

[Chickies]

well i'll respond to the can of worm i opened!! i'd like to thank everyone for their input (i'm totally curious about those cats!) i've learned a lot, and i've got a much better idea of what i'm looking for. we're going to wait on getting a dog--for financial reasons. it's pretty cost-prohibitive to obtain and maintain a dog--especially a large work dog--LGDs all seem to be large. i also have two young children--one 4yrs old and the other 9months, so i've got to take into consideration the pros and cons of dogs with children (the dog protecting the kids from bad stuff vs the kids needing protection from the dog--well-meaning or not

)
one thing for sure is that i want a working dog, not a pet.
i've seen that most LGDs have those 'fabulous' fur coats, which will not be good in FL, but i did run across information on a spanish mastiff, who can tolerate both heat and cold. of course i don't know if i want to feed a 200lb dog

i'd like to know more about guineas--do they really scare off predators with their noise, or is it more of just a warning?
we did get a racoon trap for some preventative maintainence though

BTW we haven't lost any more chickens

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
Aww they are so cute, and all look so well taken care of. I love the gray tiger.

 

[babalubird]

I've been reseasrching this same dilemma in the hopes of having chickens, guineas one day.

Guineas can help your chickens out to a small extent. They are more aggressive and will take on snakes and smaller hawks, up to a certain extent. So in some aspects, guineas can guard.

But that would be no match for a coyote, wild dog, wild hog, bobcat, etc. We have all of these wonderful predators. I've looked into guardian dogs and have also been advised to get a donkey or llama. Do a websearch on all these as guardian animals and you will be as confused as I am.

I think I have come to the conclusion, which could change tomorrow, that I'm going to rely on a pair of anatolian guardian dogs, this article and a person I talked to who had poultry and an anatolian:

http://www.anatoliandog.org/poultry.htm

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

Black mouth cur!

 

[Cara]

Quote:
LOL you could gather those maverick chickens.

 

[houndit]

I also would never trust a dog. We had a couple that were supposed to be good guard dogs they killed rabbits and birds chased cows ect . We had to put them down. All of our 200+ chickens free range. My personal opinion on the remedy is guineas. We have 6. They are not the prettiest birds, but they do there job. Most of the time when they set up a racket the chickens totally ignore them. But one time when all the birds were down in the woods( we have a portable hen house) any way I was out gathering eggs one day and I heard the guineas start up in the woods( we have about a 10 acre wood on our 40 acre property we also live about 5 miles from town so there are a lot of predators) All the chickens started to run to the hen house. It was amazing to see all the birds 40 turkeys + chickens 40 ducks +3 geese all come running to the hen house from the woods. Finally the guineas came out of the woods. When they hushed up the birds knew it was safe. Guineas eat very little feed, can be trained to come back to the hen house, plus they can fly and will almost never get caught by a predator unless they are nesting.
I think guineas are perfect.

 

[sandymart]

Quote:
One of my dogs is named Koda too!

I've got a chocolate lab named Koda too!

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

Quote:
LOL you could gather those maverick chickens.

LOL