At this point I say definitively my hunting dogs do in fact guard as a function of the presence of chickens. A great deal of my dogs' predator-aggressive activity is in response to alarm produced by chickens. The dogs have become very adept at interpreting the chickens alarms and respond appropriately. This all started with dogs simply defending location followed by learning chickens are very informative observers.
Interesting point and subtle too. I would say my dogs do NOT pay attention to chicken alarms but I need to pay more attention to verify. Like I said, very subtle. What I believe is happening (again, need to verify) is that my dogs smell the predators long before the chickens have a clue that the predator is around so the chickens have never sounded a real alarm. The rooster does sound the alarm pretty frequently but it's never for anything real. Usually, he's alerting for a potential predator, like a crow or in fact, one of my dogs! He's just doing his job and well, albeit cautiously. But to my knowledge, no predator has ever gotten past the dog's noses or ears to cause the chickens to have reason to alert.
And as always... I caveat all of this in my mind with "up to this point." Up to this point, whatever my dogs and I am doing, has worked to keep the predators away. I hear coyotes nearly every night very close to or on my land, even up near the barn, yip, yip, yipping. My dogs (especially the sighted beagle mutt) clear the area in the morning for me. She really does a good job, barking and running off anything in the area. She'll do this again probably 1-2 more times during the day and every evening. It's the gaps between these times that worry me. And her running up in the woods on a barking jag by herself. She's a good dog too, coming when she's called. After even I get tired of her barking, I'll call her back and she's pretty good about coming.
But... all this said, Cenrachid, have you ever seen one of those livestock guardian dog videos? It's so different to watch those dogs in action vs. my own dogs. Those dogs station themselves between the predator and the livestock. Those dogs glance back at the livestock to make sure they're safe. They have it very clear in their minds that they are protecting that flock or herd. If a predator does try to get one of the livestock, the dog pushes the predator back while trying to fight it. It's not as much (or at all?) about protecting territory or location. It's just fundamentally different. Which is why it was such an "aha" moment for me personally.
I'm still not sure what I need/want in my next dog. And I'm grappling with it. The downside to a true LGD is that they are bonded with the animals, less so with you. They are not pets so much as they are working dogs. Today, our dogs go hiking with us, live in our house, are pretty much part of our family. A LGD is part of the family of the livestock. And, if your LGD stays with the flock/herd at night, they bark ALL night so you have to decide if you can put up with that.
Certainly, I bet there are degrees and a spectrum of ranges between a full fledged LGD and a pet dog that runs off predators. I don't know though, how you get a dog to bond with livestock so much so that he WANTS to stay with them and is happiest when with his flock/herd and still want to be with the humans and other dogs in the family. It seems like it's probably more of an either or situation. Either the dog wants to be with the chickens because that's his pack or he wants to be with the family because that's his pack. I don't know if there is a place in the middle that still achieves the objectives of a dog that stays with and actively defends the livestock.
Anyway.... just thinking outloud. I joined the LGD Facebook group so I can try to ask these questions there.
Guppy
