Male or female make a better guard dog?

[yinepu]

something I have found to be true with most dogs.. a female will guard her "family"
a male will guard his "property"

Our Pyr looks at the critters (all of the barnyard fowl, the barn cats, our dogs, our rabbits and our equines) as her babies.. and nothing will come between a mother and her kids

your millage may vary.. but this is what I have seen to be true in my experience

 

[ranit]

We have a female great pyrenees that has done great. We got her as a pup and just raised her around the chickens, ducks and rabbits. She is very people-friendly and also gets along well with our small indoor dogs when they go out.

I always have to tell this story on her: We have a few San Juan rabbits (look like wild ones) that run loose around the yard. We had bred Sasha and she had puppies at the time in her doghouse. My husband went out and came back in asking if I had put a baby rabbit in the doghouse. The rabbits tend to have babies under the shed and apparently one had managed to crawl out and Sasha picked it up and put it in the doghouse with her babies. The baby rabbit was not hurt at all, just a little wet where she had slobbered on it!

 

[startingover]

Females are more protective, more fierce guardians. My female anatolian has never touched the chickens. She knows she is to guard them and protect them. The same goes for us, the house, the property. My male - well he is bigger, but he is much more aloof. Half the time he isn't even sure why he is barking. He's just doing it because his sister was paying attention and he wasn't and he doesn't want to look dumb. Don't get me wrong - he is protective - but males are slower learners and much much more aloof.

 

[Vamvakas]

I have a female beagle thats a very good outside dog she will bark if theres a fox, rabbits,and other small furry animals. Beagles make great hunting dogs.

 

[mkeawsh]

I have a 9 mo.old GP and he is wonderful with the chickens and the goats. He is like an adolescent at this age and will get the idea to go running in the woods for a spell. I walk the boundaries twice a day with him and he's doing much better. Any animal is going to have to be trained - some more than others. It depends on their personality. Until he hit this teenage time, he never left and was very diligent about guarding. When he was 4 months old, when he chased a coyote away and kept on looking back to see where the does and chickens were. He stopped at the boundary and kept on barking until he could not smell or hear the coyote any longer. Then came back a laid down right in the middle of the flock and the goats. He thwarted a hawk from taking one of my barred rocks. The instant that hawk came down, Buddy was up and running and totally freaked out the hawk. The bird had grabbed the hen and dropped her with Buddy immediately there barking. The hen had a deep gash in her thigh and Buddy would lick her wounds, lay with her and kept on checking up on her for days to see how she was. Buddy is always looking up at the sky looking for predators besides the one on the ground.

 

[Martha80]

It wasn't a mix I chose, it's what was available. I now know of Rottweiler/lab mix pups. Better combination?

 

[watchdogps]

When looking for a dog to guard, esp for poultry, look for one with low prey drive. One can expect that with an LGD and some other breeds, but even within those we have to watch to see which ones are the least driven. Poultry is the hardest thing for a dog to be good with, so even dogs who may be fine with larger animals may not be good with chickens.
When dealing with a mix, you never know what traits they will get from which parent and often the breed mix is a guess so you cant even count on that. Most breeds besides LGDs are more prey driven, BUT are more easily trained, so it can kind of even out. So, worry less about the breed mix and look at the individual dog.
Look for some puppy temperament tests online, and do the ones that indicate low prey drive. You want to opposite results that someone looking for a performance dog would want. You want a pup/dog who isnt inclined to play, chase, etc. Roll balls and drag a tug toy or towel. If the pup chases, not such a good sign. Good natured following can be acceptable, but not pounce and attack. Not a pup that wants to gnaw on you, or tear your shoes off. Should be calm and somewhat confident, but a bit independant. Not a velcro pup, but not fearful. Sitting a few feet away and CALMLY observing you is good. Running from you, not good.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Duplicate thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/618510/male-or-female-make-a-better-guard-dog/0_50#post_8218032