What I've come to realize about chickens and the dogs who protect them... or chase them... is that it doesn't have anything to do with breed. It's the temperament combined with training. I'm sure there are dogs out there that are just cool with chickens. That same breed somewhere else with a different mind and different owner, just got done rampaging through a run.
I have two German Shepherds and a Beauceron. My German police dog drop out is the worse, insane prey drive, weak work ethic. That combination means she'll likely never be able to leave the chickens alone. She'll let a kitten eat from her bowl. And she'll chase it if it starts a game, even though she knows not to. It took me something like 3 years to get her reliable in "come" and "leave it" to get her out of chase mode while in the middle of it.
The boy, is a whole other dog, same breed. So far he's been great with the birds. He's interested, but not really. Forgets all about them when he sees his ball. The puppy I started taking in the chicken run when I first got her at 8 weeks old, mindful of not letting her eat the poop. She has a lot more herding drive, and at 6 months, she seems to think they'd make wonderful toys. So she's a work in progress before I know how she's really going to be. But I've never had a dog more loyal to what I say than her, so her future is promising.
You can't train out drives, but you can manage them. All 3 of my dogs guard the house, the fence line, and the chicken area. They know those are ours. Sometimes Logan will be sleeping on the stone up against the run wire, even though I have a porch and two stone patios just as shady. He chose the birds. Ricca is bad about jumping at the run to make them flutter... there's a lot of things that dog does because it's "fun". With all the time and training I've put on her, she only does it once. I watch her from the house to spy on her... leaves them alone totally until I go out there to feed, that's when she does her one jump.
But the same breed with a different mind, could turn out just like the dog mentioned above who let's his birds hide under him. Sounds like he has the perfect work ethic though. Logan is close to that, but because of how dogs can be, I've let him free range with the birds, alone from the other dogs, and he did fine. Pack mentality is a mother though, so there will never be a day when Ricca has the other two AND the chickens.
I think Ricca has two dreams in her life. 1: Actually catch one of the 200 squirrels out back, and 2: Jump in the chicken run and scatter them until she's tired. When birds take flight, she loves it. Can't even cut her loose off leash when geese are down, she'll send them into the air, charging right into their midst. Not grabbing at them, or at any one bird, just scaring the whole flock airborne. My dad's Shepherd did that too. Ricca, even doves on the ground get chased airborne. She needs a job at an airport or something scaring birds off. She'd love it!
But maybe I'm being paranoid. This is the same dog that charged two baby squirrels who were at the bottom of a tree in our yard. They didn't run. She slammed on the brakes and sat down and looked at me... then back at them... like "Why aren't they running?". She let them slowly scuttle up the tree, almost like she was in wonderment that they didn't run. I didn't freak out as soon as I saw her slam the brakes on without my say-so, and watched. She's such a quirky dog!
It's hard to know how a dog will act in any situation until it's actually in the situation. That sweet face from the pound might b a holy terror at home. The young pup you got at 8 weeks old might turn into a nightmare dog. Or be perfect. You want to go for the dog with the drives you can train and manage. I'm a herding dog person. Some people like retrievers and their kinds of drives better. Other people like terriers. All those types have drives, and they can be good or bad, depending on the individual dog and training methods used.
There's also the LGD types, like a Pyrenees. Big hairy goof ball with a real bark, can be trained to hang out and guard whatever animals it's raised with.
If you want a German Shepherd then get one for yourself. You'll find out after it's grown if it can be used as a chicken guard or not. Some will and some won't, same with any other breed. So choose a breed you'll love whether it guards the chickens or not. Mine guard the chicken area, same as any other area. They rid the yard of everything from stray cats, squirrels, birds, and sound the alert when the neighbors get in their car or someone is walking down the street. They don't need to be in the run with the birds or guarding the flock as they free range. Between the fencing and the dogs, my birds are pretty safe.
I have two German Shepherds and a Beauceron. My German police dog drop out is the worse, insane prey drive, weak work ethic. That combination means she'll likely never be able to leave the chickens alone. She'll let a kitten eat from her bowl. And she'll chase it if it starts a game, even though she knows not to. It took me something like 3 years to get her reliable in "come" and "leave it" to get her out of chase mode while in the middle of it.
The boy, is a whole other dog, same breed. So far he's been great with the birds. He's interested, but not really. Forgets all about them when he sees his ball. The puppy I started taking in the chicken run when I first got her at 8 weeks old, mindful of not letting her eat the poop. She has a lot more herding drive, and at 6 months, she seems to think they'd make wonderful toys. So she's a work in progress before I know how she's really going to be. But I've never had a dog more loyal to what I say than her, so her future is promising.
You can't train out drives, but you can manage them. All 3 of my dogs guard the house, the fence line, and the chicken area. They know those are ours. Sometimes Logan will be sleeping on the stone up against the run wire, even though I have a porch and two stone patios just as shady. He chose the birds. Ricca is bad about jumping at the run to make them flutter... there's a lot of things that dog does because it's "fun". With all the time and training I've put on her, she only does it once. I watch her from the house to spy on her... leaves them alone totally until I go out there to feed, that's when she does her one jump.
But the same breed with a different mind, could turn out just like the dog mentioned above who let's his birds hide under him. Sounds like he has the perfect work ethic though. Logan is close to that, but because of how dogs can be, I've let him free range with the birds, alone from the other dogs, and he did fine. Pack mentality is a mother though, so there will never be a day when Ricca has the other two AND the chickens.
I think Ricca has two dreams in her life. 1: Actually catch one of the 200 squirrels out back, and 2: Jump in the chicken run and scatter them until she's tired. When birds take flight, she loves it. Can't even cut her loose off leash when geese are down, she'll send them into the air, charging right into their midst. Not grabbing at them, or at any one bird, just scaring the whole flock airborne. My dad's Shepherd did that too. Ricca, even doves on the ground get chased airborne. She needs a job at an airport or something scaring birds off. She'd love it!
But maybe I'm being paranoid. This is the same dog that charged two baby squirrels who were at the bottom of a tree in our yard. They didn't run. She slammed on the brakes and sat down and looked at me... then back at them... like "Why aren't they running?". She let them slowly scuttle up the tree, almost like she was in wonderment that they didn't run. I didn't freak out as soon as I saw her slam the brakes on without my say-so, and watched. She's such a quirky dog!
It's hard to know how a dog will act in any situation until it's actually in the situation. That sweet face from the pound might b a holy terror at home. The young pup you got at 8 weeks old might turn into a nightmare dog. Or be perfect. You want to go for the dog with the drives you can train and manage. I'm a herding dog person. Some people like retrievers and their kinds of drives better. Other people like terriers. All those types have drives, and they can be good or bad, depending on the individual dog and training methods used.
There's also the LGD types, like a Pyrenees. Big hairy goof ball with a real bark, can be trained to hang out and guard whatever animals it's raised with.
If you want a German Shepherd then get one for yourself. You'll find out after it's grown if it can be used as a chicken guard or not. Some will and some won't, same with any other breed. So choose a breed you'll love whether it guards the chickens or not. Mine guard the chicken area, same as any other area. They rid the yard of everything from stray cats, squirrels, birds, and sound the alert when the neighbors get in their car or someone is walking down the street. They don't need to be in the run with the birds or guarding the flock as they free range. Between the fencing and the dogs, my birds are pretty safe.
