New puppy love: Beware of bringing home those cute deceiving predators!

[TwoShepherds]

I keep my GSDs and chickens separated by a chain link fence 100% of the time. Not sure what the dogs would do if they met the chickens. I need to put some training into the dogs, but since I don’t free range it hasn’t seemed like a priority. The 62 x 20 ft chicken yard is within our main fenced yard and I like to think that the GSDs are good deterrents when they are outside.

 

[2 many chickens]

I don't like dogs anyway.
Not really a fan of cats either but I have three.
I'm just a mean. Old. Scrooge.

 

[JadeFarms]

I don't like dogs anyway.
Not really a fan of cats either but I have three.
I'm just a mean. Old. Scrooge.

I am not a big fan of dogs or cats either. But, I would never give up my cur!

 

[2 many chickens]

I am not a big fan of dogs or cats either.

Only have three because my husband is a sucker for kittens. I put my foot down after the 3rd one came. No more cats and definitely NO dogs. I'll stick with birds.

 

[FortCluck]

I have a saying "if my dog doesn't like you, chances are I don't either"

If my Cockerels don't like you then you better run like heck If the Drake doesn't like you, you better kiss your bum goodbye

 

[ducks4you]

When I HAD my birds, Eva would sometimes slip into the run with me, mostly sniffing around. She LOVED to run at the chickens while OUTside the run and watch them scatter. She has a bad habit of chasing the cats, but That has a plus side. ALL of my 7 cats are climbing trees and posts all the time now bc Eva chases them. I lost a wonderful cat 7 years ago. Her name was "Favorite", she was hanging mostly in the barn at that time, but sometimes in the summer would come to the door pretty early, like 5AM. I was beat that morning and didn't get up early. A neighbor's dog had ripped her apart. We only found her her front legs. She was 12yo. and not afraid of dogs. THAT dog had been wandering onto the 5 acre property, but I never saw him after this incident. I suspect he dragged the rest of her home and the neighbors panicked.
ALL puppies will mouth a cat on the neck and we broke her of that very early. It was one of the few times I smacked her in the face. She doesn't do that any more.
We have 3 cats, 1 yr 9 months old, that were abandoned by their mother--left and got caught by a coyote I imagine, since, though she was feral she had been a very good cat mother. There were 5 in the litter and these 3 were the only ones crying and still alive. So, I brought them in from the barn loft at 3 weeks old. I knew they were female bc they are all diluted calico. No droppers or bottles, just kitten milk in a bowl. Our ranking male cat, Tomkins, who pretty much lives inside since he was neutered last year, would spend lots of time cleaning them up after they ate.
These 3 cats are so docile and Tomkins and (Lynx, Mynx and Smudgekins) aren't at all afraid of Eva. They know that you have to run to be chased, so they will walk to the door. All 3 cats think that DH and I are their parents. Lynx even tried to go with us on our CO trip this week, since she blends in DH's rabbit hat.
What is important is that you spend time with your animals. Dogs and cats, especially will reward your time in multiples. Set barriers, be consistant in your training, OVERdo the praise when your dog does what you want, rarely hit any animal in the face, or at all. Dogs understand crating and isolation and will work towards avoiding it. Even though I crate Eva when she is naughty, she willingly goes in her crate by herself at bedtime, and she knows that it is the only thing that she really "owns."
Maybe you are NOT a dog person. If you have young children at home, a puppy is just another child and you can get "dog tired" with one more to train.
Older dogs, especially, are heartbroken when they are rehomed and don't understand.

 

[JadeFarms]

I am a bird and reptile lover.

 

[FathertoFeathers]

I also am having to rehome my dog due to the same circumstances. She has been caught killing our chickens and ducks time and time again and recently she started to attack our parakeets as well.

 

[ducks4you]

Please don't get another dog, then.
It really isn't "what pet is the best" contest.
Like what you like.
The ONLY dog I couldn't retrain would take off and run for 3 days, then come back hungry. Dogs that attack humans are pretty much not retrainable, either.
Surprisingly, most horses Are retrainable.
ALL of my cats and dogs have been spayed or neutered, and thus lies the biggest problem. A dog and cat explosion.
My Vet has a 50yo Cockatiel that will probably outlive her, since she is older than the bird.
NOBODY wanted him, but SOMEBODY sold him to a previous owner.
BAD animal stewardship.
She rescues Samoyoids (dogs) and won't let them near the bird.
Your snake and lizard won't notice if you rehome them, but your dog will.
So, will your cat.

 

[Barredhen]

We have 3 well trained dogs. A Siberian Husky X Malamute X GSD X ?, her faithful Golden X Malamute sidekick and I'm not sure why but I now also have a Reg Siberian Husky pup too
I keep our chickens in a 100x100 old horse paddock that shares fence with the dogs. Thus far, they've not killed any of OUR chickens, bothered them, dug to get to at them etc. However it has happened that when I'm in with our chickens dog #1 thinks "Chickens?! I know where theres more chickens and we can eat those ones because they're not OUR chickens!..." and so the brat pack takes off to my neighbors free ranging flock of 60+ and kills one or two. Unfortunately they (mainly dog #1) has differentiated "our chickens" from "those other chickens"...

For what its worth: We had one dog who only took one time of me tieing his killed chicken to his neck and him wearing a dead barred rock for a week to fix that issue and he never killed chicken again.



More in regards to the original post: I have two professional dog trainers in the family. We have a handful of German Shepherds in the family, seem to be a favorite. I will advocate for the OP & agree with others that, these are a brilliant dogs, but some are just NOT easy to manage and they're not for everyone and that is OK! Not everyone has the same skills as a dog trainer. I've likened the GSD to the Thoroughbred horse before, they're just more horse. Not every laid back trail rider wants a horse that is "to much extra horse" and thats OK. German Shepherds, while I love em, can be intense, driven dogs that need more than casual training and limited jobs. I do not suggest trial and error rehoming of dogs, sometimes it happens, but to avoid further rehomings, I would suggest looking at breeds & deciding what dog traits you're OK with. First off, Why do you want another dog, is its purpose to be the older dogs friend or a livestock guardian? That might help narrow it down. And assume that ALL DOGS will need to be taught that chickens are friends, not food.
Personally, I've found the Husky type mixes to click well with me. I do not necessarily need them to guard my goats, chickens or rabbits because we keep our stock in very secure and appropriate fencing. I landed on them because 1) my dogs are strictly outdoors and I live somewhere where it is very cold 6 months out of the year. 2) I need them to respect my other critters, not bark at and terrorize them and in that they're dogs running around putting dog smells places and generally not OK with foxes and coyotes on their farm they do protect. Even from within their pen. By proximity to the chicken coop, due to our set up and them fence sharing, they deter anything from getting the chickens without actually having to be so chicken safe themselves that they live with them. 3) I think they're stinking cute and they can pull a sled. So thats how we've landed here. The Huskies struggles in training differ from my relatives GSDs struggles... obviously, teaching anything with husky in it to STAY HOME is the training compliant you'll hear people have. Hence, look into various breeds to see what it is that you do not want to deal with, and narrow it down.
Some of the best laid back easy farm dogs I've known are small-medium sized mixed type breeds. Think, like, the cute little puggle posted. That makes sense to me, that dog would do well by nature with chickens. We have a neighbor with a beagle, lab, rat terrier something (right...) mix who is great at protecting and great at ignoring the livestock. No prey drive. However, she isn't a great serious protector "size" dog.

The good ole small mutt is so often looked over but so often the best choice in many situations. Or, to not replace the dog is a fine option too.