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

[MsBentleyboy]

Instead of getting a guard dog, try getting a guinea. I hear they make a lot of noise but scare off predators. My friend's dad uses them but I personally know nothing about them. There was an awesome front cover picture of one on the Backyard Poultry magazine this month.

 

[injunjoe]

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Sure does look ready to help out.
A fine dog you have there, sorry they are all great to me!

 

[summerwindsfarm]

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Cool! Whose his breeder? I absolutely *adore* my English Shepherds. They have been bred for generations to be great all around farm dogs. That said, of course, for any dog to be useful on the farm and good around the livestock takes time and training.

Until i got my dogs i lost chickens to coyotes, coons, possums, snakes, a weasel and chicken hawks. Since they have gotten old enough to work (the last 2 years) i have lost only one chicken and that was to a chicke hawk. So i dont agree with the person that says..dont get a dog to protect your chickens.. i know of too many great farm dogs of lots of different breeds that are great chicken protectors. But expect to *work* to mold that pup into a great farm dog..doesnt just happen. Im sure you'll do a great job of that though

 

[kodiakchicken]

Woohoo, Chickie - did you ever open a rat's nest!

Everyone has their own personal opinions about dogs and everyone has had their own best dog. I have a Boston Terrier and a Golden/Shepherd cross. They are both fabulous with the birds (ducks and chickens) and I leave the entire manegerie out in the yard by themselves all the time. The golden took to the chickens immediately but could care less about the ducks. But, the shepherd in her comes out and she always wants to herd them! The chickens can't wander 5 steps out of the circle or she's herding them back in. Drives the birds nuts. But that is just her nature. I would never, ever recommend all golden's based on her nature.

I think your best bet is to find a breed that is specifically bred for livestock protection. My first recommendation would be the Great Pyrannese, although a good point was raised about the Florida heat. They have extremely thick coats and are huge dogs. They are specifically bred for bonding to certain animals or people and protecting them though. The downside is that if you get a pyranese pup and it bonds with the chickens, it will be very protective of them, even toward friends and "friendly" animals. They are used extensively at the US Sheep experiment station with the flocks, but they are adamant about not allowing them to bond with a human, because then they will not guard the sheep properly.

For you want, that's probably the best training though. Not a family pet, a guard dog.

I would not recommend any form of lab or retreiver (even though I have one). Yes, they are sweet tempered and I don't believe most would ever go on a killing spree, but they are bred as bird dogs and will constantly be picking up the birds to "retreive" to you.

Just a few ideas. I hope this helps. It's a tough decision.

(BTW - My own opinion is that getting a dog as a guard dog for your chickens is a very valid purpose. Not every dog was meant to be a lap pet and some people do certain breeds a disservice by not allowing them to do what they were bred for.)

 

[Hotwings]

I would personaly stick with a livestock protection breed. A great pyranees would do tht trick but they have quite a shaggy coat and I don't know how well they would do in the Florida heat, maybe a anatolian but they will cost more than the pyranees. You need a big dog as raccons can be quite vicious when confronted. Most wild animals will stay clear if there is a big dog around, but then to you have to worry about the dog. Herding dogs don't necesssarily make good protection dogs. Terriers are fearless but will go after most chickens in a heartbeat. German shepherds might make a good guardian, but you need to get a dog that is from guardian stock not pet quality. Most livestock guardian stock live 24/7 with the animals they are suspose to protect.

 

[portlandpeeps]

Wow, lots of opinions here. Thought I'd put in my two cents.

We got a border collie/australian shepherd mix puppy just after we got our 2 day old chicks last year. She is now a great guard dog for our hens. Our 4 hens roam all day and Bailey babysits them. If she's inside and hears any noise from a chicken outside, she's whining at the door immediately so she can get out to help them.

When Bailey was just a pup, she would chase the chicks, but all she needed was a bop on the nose to know that these were not to be messed with, and after that her maternal instincts seem to have taken over. Since she's a herder, she's also good at making sure the chickens are safely back in the coop at night.

My advice is get a smart breed and you can train it to be good around your chickens.

Here's Bailey at 9 weeks and again at 9 months:

 

[Jaybr]

I was searching for a dog to keep the vermin off the farm and got a great pyr puppy about a month ago. He was born in a sheep pasture and stayed there until I got him at 3 months old. He took to the chickens quick, and when i left him outside he would hang out in the shade by the chicken run. Last week I started letting the birds free range and he's been great with the birds, I leave him out with them unattended. I took this picture yesterday shortly after I opened the the gate. I have other dogs, but don't trust any of them with the birds, I'm working on them though.

 

[Beekissed]

I find it interesting that, whenever someone asks this question, there are several people who insist that no dog is 100% safe with chickens. Then there are several posts from folks who have never had a problem with their dogs....ever!

Could it be that the people who feel that way do so because THEIR dogs can't be trusted and assume that this means NOONE'S dog can be trusted around chickens?

I am one of those people whose dogs can be trusted and have proven it on a daily basis for a long time. I agree that animals aren't always predictable but one has to trust animals sometime...or none of us would be married!

I think getting a dog to guard chickens is a very good reason, just as folks get Great Pyrenese to guard sheep, llamas to guard sheep, sled dogs to pull sleds, etc. Not every dog is a pet, you know. Some of them are obtained for work and being a pet/social animal is a fringe benefit.

I got mine first as pets but it comes in real handy that they also guard my chickens! I trust them to guard my family, my property and my livestock. I'm sorry so many of you have dogs you can't trust, but don't paint all dogs with that brush. Some have proven time and again their worth and their loyalty.

 

[Cara]

Killing chickens has nothing to do with loyalty, and everything to do with instinct. How many threads do you see on here from members whose dog that had never set a foot wrong has killed their birds out of the blue? Find me an example of a breed created specifically to guard birds, not sheep, cattle, llamas or people's houses, and I might be convinced.

 

[Beekissed]

Well, these birds just happen to be domestic livestock. So, I think the Livestock Guardian Dogs were bred specifically to guard livestock....birds included!

There are also dogs who have killed goats out of the blue, as a previous post describes. They also kill lambs out of the blue, they kill anything that is small enough and can't outrun them out of the blue.

Some dogs are bred to regard livestock, of any kind, as property of their pack leader and let their instinctive loyalty to the pack leader override their instinct to kill. My younger dog will jump in the air and kill a songbird, devour it whole in one gulp. He lets the chickens eat his dogfood out of his bowl...while he is eating!

I don't particularly care if you are convinced...as long as I am. I'm not the one who has to keep my dogs and chickens separate!

I get to enjoy the feeling of my chickens being safe, my dogs running free in my own yard and the peace of mind that comes with that scenario!