Yes Ma'am a dog just needs to learn who is the master he wants to please and that your birds are to be gaurded and regarded just like your children/families once your chickens are part of the pack it will be fine. I know that I really do have to watch my dogs much closer with keets and poults under 12 weeks so I never leave them alone, when I see my dogs show sgns of "too much interest" I gently give a verbal "No" or distract the dogs. When the keets or poults run around the brooder or are making the distress call the dogs react. Im sure to reward my dogs when they recognized a "need call." My GS comes to me and "lets me know" by sitting in front of me and catching my attention looks back or towards the brooder. He looks after them I tend to them he's satisfied and given a verbal reward "Good Boy." All gentle tones at low volume I figure the more excited I get the more excited he should get and I don't want him to be more excited I want him more watchful and gentle. We are working toward flock watching status, the big chickens are able to walk on him and he lays there now but the chickens still give him the stink eye for the most partNot all dogs are created equally. Many, many dogs are completely trustworthy around chickens and other livestock, with some prior training. Some don't even need to be trained. Some cannot be trained. It's worth the effort if you are going to have both chickens and dogs, to put some training into your dogs. Dogs get loose, chickens get loose, it happens...it would be nice if, when this happens, one does not become lunch for the other.
Being a high prey drive dog means absolutely nothing...most breeds of large dogs have a high prey drive and many small breeds as well. That has very little to do with it when it comes to if they will respond to training or not.
Chicken...everybody loves chicken. Prepare for it.
