Need Good Ol' Chicken Dog

[ShaVirginia]

My grandfather culled his English Setters, and they were better for it. He had excellent bird hunting dogs.
But, at 78, I've seen many changes, and many people save the entire litter, regardless.
We believe in and support neutering projects. All of our "2nd hand dogs are immediately neutered & caught up on shots. We have received 8 or 9 German Shepherds from private parties in the last 50yrs. All have been chicken friendly, regardless of background.
Geese are good, as well. Ours did better in pairs; we had to watch or they laid eggs in the stallions stall, and sat on them! We had to move them as the geese frightened the stallion.
Regards,.
,

 

[hellbender]

Both the north and south. I have lived in both and heard the term used this way. Don't know what else to tell you. Not saying it's right or wrong. Again just a human label.

Among those who are involved in dog fighting refer to dogs that quits as a 'cur'.

 

[TytoAlba]

I just looked up English shepherds on the internet and my grandparents' dogs looked a lot like that so they might have been those or a mix! (My dad confirmed they never intentionally sought out purebreds or bought dogs and got them from other local farmers.) They lived in Kansas and the internet says English shepherds were popular in the Midwest. They sound like great dogs. Good to know.

 

[Steve J]

I have a chicken run, two sides of which my dogs can get to. It's excellent protection, as I have 6 dogs and one is a black and tan coonhound. He has the nose to smell anything out of ordinary, alerts the rest and they go nuts barking at whatever is lurking. His bark is huge and has to scare the heck out of anything, sneaking about looking for a chicken dinner. My mixed shepherd has very good eyesight and alerts on any bigger birds flying close. I still lock the chicks up at night in a tight coop though. Letting them out during the day. Having a couple of sides border an area with good watchdogs, seems to work well for me. Surprisingly the dogs didn't hardly look at the chicks and seem fine to see them through the wire. Chickens were a bit afraid of them at first, but I just notice now they are standing close and looking at the dogs, when they are close.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Another good old farm dog is the Scotch Collie. They are endangered breed, but have featured in many stories, from Beatrice Potter's Jemima Puddle Duck to Jack London's Call of the Wild (Buck, the main character/dog, is half Scotch Collie and half Saint Bernard). Here's a link for more info:

http://www.scotchcollie.org/

 

[dekel18042]

Among those who are involved in dog fighting refer to dogs that quits as a 'cur'.

Cur is also a type or breed(s) of dog, purebred but not recognized by AKC, popular in the south and west. These dogs can be mountain curs or blackmouth curs as well as several other varieties. They are working dogs, stock dogs, farm dogs, can do some hunting. Old Yeller was a cur, not a labradore as portrayed in the movie.
Because they are bred to a working standard they tend to be more intelligent than dogs that are just bred.
There are a few who do agility in the northeast.

 

[dekel18042]

I just looked up English shepherds on the internet and my grandparents' dogs looked a lot like that so they might have been those or a mix! (My dad confirmed they never intentionally sought out purebreds or bought dogs and got them from other local farmers.) They lived in Kansas and the internet says English shepherds were popular in the Midwest. They sound like great dogs. Good to know.

As a child we had English shepherds and a Scotch collie, working dogs all. The first dog preceded me, dying when I was about three and he was 14. Because he was black and white and born on a nearby sheep farm, I assumed he was a border collie. But later on realized he was calmer than a BC (maybe just old then), herded but didn't have the "eye" , was an excellent guard dog and my uncle and older cousin hunted with him. My parents called him a "farm collie" and later I realized he was very English shepherdy.
My father, returning home through Iowa brought out first English shepherd with papers. As an adult, I wanted another of these wonderful working dogs, but couldn't find any and assumed their gene pool had been absorbed into that of the Aussie or BC.
There were pockets of English Shepherds left and because of the internet, people were able to find each other. At one point the breed may have been as low as 2,000. Now there could be as many as 8,000.
These intelligent dogs can excel at so many jobs, herding, hunting, guarding........It would be a shame if these dogs were lost to posterity.

 

[dekel18042]

Another good old farm dog is the Scotch Collie. They are endangered breed, but have featured in many stories, from Beatrice Potter's Jemima Puddle Duck to Jack London's Call of the Wild (Buck, the main character/dog, is half Scotch Collie and half Saint Bernard). Here's a link for more info:

http://www.scotchcollie.org/

Another beautiful working breed.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I often wish the Livestock Conservancy would include endangered farm dogs on their list. I wonder... is there any way to contact them about this? I want to know if they have ever considered it or would consider it.

 

[TytoAlba]

Dekel 18042, you've inspired me to start a new thread specifically related to English shepherds. I would love to hear about other people's experience with them and find out more about people who might raise them and where to get them. Maybe on that thread you can let me know where you got yours, although Pennsylvania is a little far from me!