What dog breed would you recommend?

[Cloverr39]

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?

 

[NatJ]

solving this "perfect dog breed" question once and for all?

It is impossible to give a single answer and have it solved.

There are many dog breeds that COULD work for you.
Even the "best" breeds will need quite a bit of training, unless you get an adult dog that has already been trained.

Some Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers are lazy, happy to lie at your feet, and easily learn not to chase chickens. Other dogs of those same breeds have a lot more energy, and need a lot more training. (I picked 2 breeds as examples. There are many other breeds that also fit what I described.)

Some breeds are known for being easier or harder to train than others. Retrievers tend to be among the easier breeds, but there will always be some individual dogs that are exceptions. Terriers, huskies, whippets, and greyhounds are breeds that I have seen listed as harder to train-- but again, that is a general thing, not a guarantee about any individual dog.

 

[MasAhora]

My rescue mixed dog was a chicken killer. So I spent about 6 months with her alone (no other dogs exciting her) and trained her to be around my chickens. She joined me on the may daily feeds every day. At first she was tied at a safe distance. When she could remain calmer she was tied a bit closer, then closer and then though still on a leash - I stopped tying her.
She's now a protector of the hens and looks to me for help when they try to steal her morning doggie bone!
They key is daily exposure without the excitement of other animals/people.

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have a Chihuahua and a Boston Terrier/Doxen mix. They are both very interested in the ducklings when they are small and in my house but know better than to even think of going after them. They have seen them raised in my house for two years. I also had them around my bunnies that I had previously before the ducks. They were scolded enough when they were young that they are great around them now. I don't believe it is the breed of dog, I believe it is the training that they get around your Chickens or ducks. Any breed can go after them if they are not trained not to. My pet bunnies used to be in a range free enclosure and they knew better than to bother them after being around them. I also had a training color I used on them. I never had to shock them, they only heard the beep on it and knew whatever they were doing to stop. That helped a lot with the bunnies and ducklings both. Good luck with your dogs.

 

[SmiYa0126]

My dog protects me when my rooster is confused when I'm trying to help my hens . She's a mutt, I trained her to be nice to chickens.

Our second dog is also a mutt, he came from the city and I quickly discovered that he has a huge prey drive, he almost killed one of my girls. After months of training he now knows that chickens are friends and not food. However, I still keep him leashed because we live in the country with lots of rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk and deer...he follows his nose.

 

[igorsMistress]

I don’t think you can reliably say a certain breed is going to be the right one for you. The key is to train your dog not to chase or kill the chickens. That’s going to be difficult with a lab as they’re retrievers and hunting dogs, but it is possible. Instead of thinking about what the right breed is, train your current dogs to leave your chickens alone. You are supposed to be the master. If you need help with this, I suggest you and your dog go to training classes so you can learn to control the dog you have already. I don’t mean to be harsh, dogs are predators plain and simple.

Yes, some breeds are typically better than others based on breeding, but it’s no guarantee. If your dog loves you and respects you as the pack leader, your issues are typically easier to resolve.

I had a silkie terrier who was a critter getter and very nearly had a cat by the tail on several occasions. I never called her off a cat, but she left the chickens alone, even if they ran away from her. I didn’t trust her alone with them, but when I was out with everyone she was fine to run around the yard.

I currently have two bullies, English/American mixes. Would I let them out in the yard with my chickens? Absolutely not, even though the male
didn’t kill a chick in the yard, it wasn’t running away from him but it was screaming its head off and all he did was sniff and give it a nudge. However if they run, game on. I know this so I don’t take any chances and keep the dogs and chickens separate. These same dogs can be walked in public without leashes, and follow commands when given otherwise. So know your dogs and their limitations and work around it to keep everyone safe.

 

[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.

 

[Cloverr39]

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.

This is Esper the same day that it happened.

 

[MotherofOrpies]

Wolfspitz is supposed to be a breed with very low prey drive, but they do love to bark ( among others at intruders) and there will always be one who likes to chase other animals my dog, a mix between Australian Shepherd and Tervueren has a very strong prey drive. It took all of 3 years to train her to leave the chickens alone ( she is still very interested in baby chickens) I always corrected her when she tried to go after the chickens, and now, for the last year or so, she ignores them. When the stupid ones fly over the fence she just looks the other way or gets out of their way, but it was a long road to get her there

 

[Sussex19]

Just because a puppy chases chickens, doesn't mean it will when its grown up.
One of our dogs, a shar-pei x Australian cattle dog, has quite a high prey drive, and chased one of my Orps.
I think if we haven't rescued it, she would have killed it.
However, now that she's grown up she's mostly very good with them, despite the fact that we never gave her any formal training to leave them alone.
Well I still don't let her be with my most precious hens, she is often with the cockerels, and is actually starting to take care of them a bit.