What dog breed would you recommend?

[Luv Ducks]

I have a Chihuahua and a Boston Terrier/ Weiner Dog mix. They will both show an interest in the babies I have had in the house but have been trained to look but not touch. I would never leave the babies where the could reach them however if I was not in the room. Dogs will be dogs. They live fine with my big ducks however and have been trained not to touch them. I don't honestly feel it is the breed as much as it is the training they get when they are around them. Mine would never touch my ducks and are in the backyard with them every day but they had to be trained to leave them alone.

 

[Sammster]

Teach them, young ♡

 

[dekel18042]

My family currently has 2 dogs - a 10 year old Jack Russell terrier and a 1 year old labrador/samoyed mix. The Jack Russell used to be interested in small chicks only, but nowadays has very little interest in chickens at all. The lab/samoyed mix (her name is Peach) is much more driven to chase after other animals. For example she sometimes likes to chase our 2 cats across the yard. Last summer she killed 3 chicks. After that I've tried to close off my chicken run and I try to keep a close eye on her when I can. Recently she's started to take interest in my chickens again (the 3 week old chicks specifically). Every so often she'll try to dig a hole under the fence. She also likes to run around the fence and watch them.

What dog breed do you think would fit for me? Now, were not getting rid of our current dogs, nor are we getting a new dog, but I've sort of been trying to figure out my "perfect dog breed" for over a year now with no luck. I'd want a loyal, medium sized dog with low prey drive. I've heard a lot about the great Pyrenees, but I'm not a fan of it and I've also heard they tend to kill chickens. My chickens are very precious to me and I name and get very attached to every single one. That's why I'm so scared to lose another one to a dog. Border collies were on my list for a while, but they need like a LOT of exercise and requires you to work with them a lot. I also absolutely love whippets, but they have a high prey drive, so I'll probably never own a whippet or greyhound. I'm not a huge dog person, so I'd prefer a dog that doesn't need me to play with it 24/7. Like a chill dog that will lay down in the shade while chickens walk around it, but wouldn’t hesitate to protect me and my house.

Is this a bit too complicated? Can you at least nudge me in the right direction to solving this "perfect dog breed" question once and for all?

 

[dekel18042]

Some of my dogs totally trustworthy even around day olds. I've had dogs and chickens and other poultry almost all my life and many breeds are fine, although I am not crazy over LGD's.
But some things to think about. What was each breed bred for? I would stay away from terriers and other breeds with a high prey drive. (The only dog I wasn't able to train to leave chickens alone was a Siberian husky.) Some hounds are fine, others aren't.
We've had all kinds of herding dogs, plus goldens, and a lab who all coexisted peaceably with chickens.
The golden we have is phenomenal with the chickens. (Who would have thunk?) She can actually herd them away from things and is very protective of them, really great at tunning off and even tangling with foxes. She can be in the house and if something is going on or a predator is even quietly nearby, she wants out NOW!.

 

[SBChickenLady]

I have what is probably a not so typical situation with our 7 year old dog.
She is an APBT from pure stock. I was always not trusting to allow her to be outside when my chickens were out foraging.
I would sometimes let her hang out with me if I was just doing some quick maintenance out in the coops.
One day (at 4 years old), like usual, she was watching out the back door and I was in back of our home. She started barking and got the door open, ran out before I could even get close to her. She caught a stray cat, I can only guess, that cat was after my chickens. It didnt end well for the cat. My dog now believes all of my chickens are her chickens and she is their protector.
She loves the chicks.View attachment 3331500
You never know how any breed is going to act...
Oh, she is great with my chickens. She has a different feeling for my peafowl... LoL
Just sayin

I know this is a little older post, but I love this. We had an amazing American Staffordshire Terrier aka Pit Bull years ago and she passed of old age, this was pre-chickens for us. She was literally the best dog ever and wouldn’t hurt a fly, like seriously. We think about getting a dog again from time to time, but obviously consider the chickens in best fit at this point. I have a soft spot for these breeds and would love to be able to incorporate one into our family again. Thanks for sharing

 

[Liz1799]

It’s all about the training. 2 American Bulldogs and a Gordon Setter who are great around our flock.

 

[Luv Ducks]

You are so right that dogs can be unpredictable and have to be trained for sure. Mine could never be trusted with baby ducklings but after they are 3 months old no problems at all. They go out daily with them and are actually afraid of them. A family member had a Pitt that was raised with her prize goats and around them every day. One day it went off the deep end, grabbed the goat by its milk sack and was killing it. Her husband was beating the dog with a shovel to get it to stop but it continued so he shot it. They had a young child and he was thinking if it could do this to the goat it could do that to her also. She had bottle fed it when it was 5 weeks old and it was 6 when this happened. Dogs are dogs and their instinct tells them to hunt prey. Good luck with your decision and training.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Thank you for the information and suggestions. My dog is doing a bit better with the chickens. She doesn't try to dig under their fence anymore and only seems to be interested in them when someone enters the chicken enclosure. She's well behaved when I have a chicken out. I take my silkies outside of their enclosure when I need to take photos or when I just want to spend some time with an individual chicken.
When I'm around she's not too interested in them. I'm pretty happy with her progress. Only problem is she's unpredictable when no one's around. I woke up one morning to a pullet screaming her head off. Turns out she had somehow escaped the run and gotten into the yard. Peach was holding her down with her paws and ruffling her feathers(?). Idk what she was doing. She probably thought she was playing with the Esper the pullet. I called Peach over to the window and she came quickly, leaving Esper to run and hide. Esper was fine with no injuries other than being in shock and covered in dog saliva. I'm glad she didn't do any serious damage. But yeah, that's that.View attachment 3217810View attachment 3217811

This is Esper the same day that it happened.
View attachment 3217819

Such a pretty dog!!!

 

[Luv Ducks]

I totally agree about it not being the breed but the dog itself and the training it gets. I was able to train a mixed breed and Chihuahua not to touch my free range tame rabbits in my enclosed yard and years later after they died off my ducks. I had a shock collar on them that I never had to use but for the sound and if they got close to either of them I would let them hear it. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Pyramidt]

I know this is a little older post, but I love this. We had an amazing American Staffordshire Terrier aka Pit Bull years ago and she passed of old age, this was pre-chickens for us. She was literally the best dog ever and wouldn’t hurt a fly, like seriously. We think about getting a dog again from time to time, but obviously consider the chickens in best fit at this point. I have a soft spot for these breeds and would love to be able to incorporate one into our family again. Thanks for sharing