The thread for bad farm dogs

[Ext 918]

I draw the line at if I cannot trust them not to maim or kill without supervision, they have to go. I've had a variety of breeds. I had a male Pit that would let orphan kittens nurse on him. I've only had to get rid of 2. A Huskey I was given, gorgeous and smart. Killed chickens every chance she got. I tried for months to correct the habit. I returned her to her prior owner. The other was a Rottweiler. I purchased her from a breeder i knew personally. He bred K9's and other defense dogs. Great lines, I knew both the Mother and Father. Belle was vicious from the get go. Not to your face, just demure and obedient as could be. As soon as anyone turned their back, she attacked. No idea why. She was returned to the breeder to see if he could do anything for her, after 2 months he offered a refund. I'm pretty sure he euthanized her.

 

[NotabitaiI]

I draw the line at if I cannot trust them not to maim or kill without supervision, they have to go. I've had a variety of breeds. I had a male Pit that would let orphan kittens nurse on him. I've only had to get rid of 2. A Huskey I was given, gorgeous and smart. Killed chickens every chance she got. I tried for months to correct the habit. I returned her to her prior owner. The other was a Rottweiler. I purchased her from a breeder i knew personally. He bred K9's and other defense dogs. Great lines, I knew both the Mother and Father. Belle was vicious from the get go. Not to your face, just demure and obedient as could be. As soon as anyone turned their back, she attacked. No idea why. She was returned to the breeder to see if he could do anything for her, after 2 months he offered a refund. I'm pretty sure he euthanized her.

Woah, I love rotties but that's terrifying
the Aussie I mentioned earlier would only kill if she was mad at me, she'd go long periods of time with no offenses and then I'd piss her off somehow and she'd kill my ducks. She was such a bad dog, most of her really bad behavior occured when she was a senior dog so I just stuck it out with her until the end, she was my first ever dog.

 

[Ext 918]

One of the best dogs I had was an Aussie. We got him because he didn't get along with the owners other dogs. Buster was just the sweetest, but he wouldn't follow basic commands...so I thought he was dumb. Found out a year later, he was very trained.... in German. He probably thought I was the dumb one.

 

[EggzactlyRight]

My family doesn't live on a farm (just a small city) but since we keep animals we obviously can only have dogs who are suited for such a life because we like to free-range as often and as much as possible.

We have two dogs at the moment, which is more than enough for us. The older one, bless his heart, is very much in his senior years and has practically retired fully at this point. He only ever barks and patrols when he thinks it's serious enough, most of the time he watches from a distance. We got him from a shelter close to us, he was around a year old when we got him, his background was/is a total mystery to everyone. He is a Dachshund and Pekingese mix, everyone thinks he is cute and pretty (which he very much is!). We got him first, then came the poultry. It took time and effort but he very quickly learnt to respect the other animals and has started looking out for them as soon as he realized they are our friends. We have never ever had an issue with him in 10+ years, not even once, he is always left unsupervised and he is a very good boy, very trustworthy.

Our younger dog is... well, let's say he is still very much puppy-like despite him being over 4 years old. He often forgets to listen because he is so happy and eager to please. He is a German Spitz apparently, but has no proper papers or anything so I suppose he is a mutt. He is definitely not as smart as our older dog but knows how to do his job, which is to patrol and alert. We had one incident with him (poor hen, I cried so much), but I believe it happened because we underestimated certain circumstances. Since then he has been a perfect dog with the chickens, he loves to watch them and keeps a healthy distance from them. He does just fine unsupervised, we can see most of our property from the window and he does not bother anyone anymore.

I've read a lot about keeping dogs around farm animals, which breeds are recommended and which ones are not, and though I am definitely no expert I think it mostly comes down to the individual dog's personality and temperament. You can put as much time and effort and money into a dog as you can but there are some that are simply not fit for such a life. The worst thing is that you are most likely to find out only after something happens.

I'll likely move in with my partner in 2 years or so, and since we'll be keeping farm animals I am already thinking about what dog to get (we definitely want at least one). My mom is suggesting I take my grandparents' dog with me since they are not exactly in the condition to take proper care of her and while I really really like the dog's personality I am a bit hesitant about it. She has been kept away from all farm animals ever since we took her from the shelter - she can hear and smell them, but I don't know if she has it in her to learn how to respect them. She's a mutt, not too tall but she is very strong and much more muscular and heavier compared to our two dogs. She is so kind to every human, she's such a loving sweetheart, but I still don't know if I should take on the responsibility of training her if we take her in a few years. ​

 

[NotabitaiI]

My family doesn't live on a farm (just a small city) but since we keep animals we obviously can only have dogs who are suited for such a life because we like to free-range as often and as much as possible.

We have two dogs at the moment, which is more than enough for us. The older one, bless his heart, is very much in his senior years and has practically retired fully at this point. He only ever barks and patrols when he thinks it's serious enough, most of the time he watches from a distance. We got him from a shelter close to us, he was around a year old when we got him, his background was/is a total mystery to everyone. He is a Dachshund and Pekingese mix, everyone thinks he is cute and pretty (which he very much is!). We got him first, then came the poultry. It took time and effort but he very quickly learnt to respect the other animals and has started looking out for them as soon as he realized they are our friends. We have never ever had an issue with him in 10+ years, not even once, he is always left unsupervised and he is a very good boy, very trustworthy.
​

Awwww, that's cool that he's a dachshund mix and he behaves around them, all the dachshunds I've met are pretty chill but I've heard some horror stories about them. I still want one even if they do lean more towards that prey aggressive mindset.

Our younger dog is... well, let's say he is still very much puppy-like despite him being over 4 years old.​

Ah yes, the grown adult puppy, my pittie is still a bit of a puppy, he's like if a toddler on crack and a roid-raging body builder became a dog, love him to pieces but he's a bigger handful than any child I've ever met, he does his best to listen but you can tell he's literally got veins bursting from his neck when you tell him to sit and stay

He often forgets to listen because he is so happy and eager to please. He is a German Spitz apparently, but has no proper papers or anything so I suppose he is a mutt. He is definitely not as smart as our older dog but knows how to do his job, which is to patrol and alert. We had one incident with him (poor hen, I cried so much), but I believe it happened because we underestimated certain circumstances. Since then he has been a perfect dog with the chickens, he loves to watch them and keeps a healthy distance from them. He does just fine unsupervised, we can see most of our property from the window and he does not bother anyone anymore.

I've read a lot about keeping dogs around farm animals, which breeds are recommended and which ones are not, and though I am definitely no expert I think it mostly comes down to the individual dog's personality and temperament. You can put as much time and effort and money into a dog as you can but there are some that are simply not fit for such a life. The worst thing is that you are most likely to find out only after something happens.
​

Exactly, with dogs who are particularly capable of killing other animals I always recommend rescues because at least you get some history on them. I was super confident in my ability to train high prey drive dogs when I got my pit bull puppy, almost everyone out here has a pit on their farm, they can be surprisingly nurturing and protective of other animals, but in my case even with lots of exposure and obedience work he became hyper fixated on the small animals, he's only killed two (he's caught quite a few of the fence jumping chickens) and both were accidental exposure, he's never shaken or brutally torn one apart he just carries them in his mouth and sniffs them like they're the coolest smelling toy ever.
I see this happen all the time with LGDs, they're supposed to be great with animals but quite a big chunk of them kill an animal at least once, and some will never be fit for a farm.

I'll likely move in with my partner in 2 years or so, and since we'll be keeping farm animals I am already thinking about what dog to get (we definitely want at least one). My mom is suggesting I take my grandparents' dog with me since they are not exactly in the condition to take proper care of her and while I really really like the dog's personality I am a bit hesitant about it. She has been kept away from all farm animals ever since we took her from the shelter - she can hear and smell them, but I don't know if she has it in her to learn how to respect them. She's a mutt, not too tall but she is very strong and much more muscular and heavier compared to our two dogs. She is so kind to every human, she's such a loving sweetheart, but I still don't know if I should take on the responsibility of training her if we take her in a few years. ​

She sounds like a really good candidate but without exposure there's no way to know for sure
People pleasing dogs with good willpower usually fare well transitioning to a farm setting. If she's the type to knowingly do a bad thing and then look guilty about it several hours later she might just be one of those opportunistic dogs like my Aussie and lab, they both moved with me from the city to a farm and it was a struggle getting them to adjust.

 

[NotabitaiI]

One of the best dogs I had was an Aussie. We got him because he didn't get along with the owners other dogs. Buster was just the sweetest, but he wouldn't follow basic commands...so I thought he was dumb. Found out a year later, he was very trained.... in German. He probably thought I was the dumb one.

That's so funny

My current mini Aussie isn't formally trained, I just haven't gotten around to it (never even wanted a puppy when I got him) and there's really been no need since he's incredibly intuitive, I kinda think it benefitted him in a weird way because he reads my face and tone like I'm a book. It'll probably only take a couple minutes to teach him the whole rule book plus some calculus and then I'll feel stupid for putting it off for a whole year.

 

[NatJ]

I'll likely move in with my partner in 2 years or so, and since we'll be keeping farm animals I am already thinking about what dog to get (we definitely want at least one). My mom is suggesting I take my grandparents' dog with me since they are not exactly in the condition to take proper care of her and while I really really like the dog's personality I am a bit hesitant about it. She has been kept away from all farm animals ever since we took her from the shelter - she can hear and smell them, but I don't know if she has it in her to learn how to respect them. She's a mutt, not too tall but she is very strong and much more muscular and heavier compared to our two dogs. She is so kind to every human, she's such a loving sweetheart, but I still don't know if I should take on the responsibility of training her if we take her in a few years. ​

I wonder if you can work with the dog before you have to make a final decision? If you can train her to be safe around animals before you move, then you know she's a good choice. And if you try to train her and can't do it, you know that she is not a good choice for the situation, and you can be more confident of your decision because you already did try.