what is a good breed of dog to raise with and guard chickens?

[Sarplaninec]

I own and breed a rare LGD- Sarplaninac. I have female that specifically protects my flock of poultry. She gave birth to a litter in Jan. 2011. I have kept a pup that is also growing to be a great poultry protecter. I also have a Yorkie/Chi. cross from birth. He's great with my poultry,but doesn't care for them as my Sarplaninacs do. Just thought I share my experience.

 

[watchdogps]

Quote:
Disagree with some of this..

- LGDs can be very good with poultry and in general have a much lower prey drive than most other dog breeds, so are more likely to be successful in this venture.

- - not all LGDs are huge, and I know the ASDCA does not consider the Anatolian a giant breed, and does not want it to be considered as such. Yes, they can be over 100 lbs but I know plenty of ASD, Pyrs and kuvasz that are in the 85-95 lb range. Most maremma I know have been in the 75-85 lb range. Either way, a 12 lb JRT is as deadly as a 100 lb dog if it wants to kill a chicken.

- No breed easier to teach? What? That's why we have breeds! Of course an LGD will be easier to tecah to be good with poultry than a fox terrier would be! There will be individuals with different temperament, and some that do not show correct breed traits (ie, an LGD breed that has high prey drive or a fox terrier that doesnt)

Now, I do absolutely agree that and LGD should be fenced in, preferably with real fence , not invisible fence.

 

[nzpouter]

any breed can be trained to guard poultry.... but my choice of breed are bull/ terrier based... pitts, staffs or bullies....

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

No breed easier to teach? What? That's why we have breeds!

-

LGDs can be very good with poultry

They can also kill a lot of birds before they are trained, so they aren't any "easier' when it comes to chickens

Many other breeds that can be trained more easily and aren't as large, which was one of the criteria in the OP

Breed matters far less than individual temperaments.

There are no breeds developed to "guard" poultry.

the ASDCA does not consider the Anatolian a giant breed

Maybe they don't.
Maybe they are wrong:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/anatolianshepherd.htm

Height: Dogs 28-30 inches (71-76 cm.)
grump 26-28 inches (66-71 cm.)

Weight: Dogs 100-150 pounds (45-68 kg.)
grump 90-130 pounds (41-59 kg.)

Dogs that are going to work as flock guards should not be family pets or they will prefer the family over the animals they are supposed to be guarding

Seems they aren't too easy to train either:

This is not a dog for the passive owner or an owner who does not understand canine instinct.

It is very important to begin training as early as possible, because a fully grown dog may be too strong and too big to be corrected by the average person.

Owners who do not display natural, very strong, but even tempered, authority over the dog will find the dog to have his own ideas and will not obey known commands if they do not wish to do so.

True LGD's are specialized breeds, and aren't good to get without a lot of thought and understanding beforehand​

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

I have a pit bull, never has touched any of my birds and has killed many a 'possum and coon in his day (as well as mice and a groundhog or two).

That being said, I would not reccomend a pit bull as a "flock guardian" simply because I would not reccomend a pit bull to a novice dog owner. Your best bet, as someone said before, is to go to the pound and get a young dog... Just remember that no matter what the breed, you are going to have to invest time and effort into training.

Good luck!

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

my lab does good..

It really depends on your persistence with training.. not the dog itself
My friends pitbull (oooh pitbull yes, a pitbull) does great with her birds.

 

[watchdogps]

Quote:
That website was written largely from input from any joe blow who thinks they own the breed. There are photos of breeds on that site that arent even the dog they claim to be. The site solicited anyone they found on the net with the breeds they needed info on. I dont take that seriously.

The OP wanted "smaller than an elephant" which any LGD is, LOL. Honestly, I dont see an 85 lb dog as that big.

I agree that one should not get an LGD without forethought, but I don think one should get ANY dog without forethought. The primary difference between LGD and other breeds is that the LGDs are actually protecting the ANIMALS (yes, even chickens), whereas the other breeds dont generally care about the chickens they are just raising a ruckus being territorial.

 

[babyrnlc]

We have three dogs. One killed chicks a while back. Not sure which one. We have a lab, an Australlian shepherd and a mix that looks german shepherd, but the size of an australlian shepherd.

We have been working with all the dogs lately and my gsd mix is the only one I can trust with the chickens. She has taken it upon her self to guard them. She will growl at them if they try and take food out of her mouth (which my ee pullets does often!) and if they try and take her dirt hole (theirs is next to hers and they get greedy sometimes, she will jump at them, they scatter and go back to her hole), otherwise she is amazing with them. Also when it is time to put them up (like company coming etc) I tell her, lets put the chickens up and she actually helps me herd them to the coop. I never trained her, she just did it. (She was adopted at 3, and from the country, maybe she was trained before)

My lab is TOO interested in them. She drooles when she looks at them and tries to chase them. She is very old and I dont think she could catch one, but we wont take a chance. She is locked up when the chickens free range.

The other dog is the australlian cattledog and she is fine with the chickens if we are there. She is very obedient, so if she gets too close to the chickens, we can say Off and she will leave them alone, but I would never leave her alone with the chickens. We were outside and our borrowed roo was sitting on the back of a chair and she reached up and pulled him down by the tail!

Yesterday I was not feeling well and forgot to put the girls up and also forgot to close the side gate!

Annie (the gsd) protected them all day and kept them in the yard and everything else out!

 

[Blue Ninja]

Corgi or dachshund. Mine are great!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

That website was written largely from input from any joe blow who thinks they own the breed.
There are photos of breeds on that site that arent even the dog they claim to be.
The site solicited anyone they found on the net with the breeds they needed info on. I dont take that seriously.

Do you believe this source?
Do you have a source that gives a different breed standard?

If you are considering purchasing an Anatolian Shepherd Dog puppy, learn more here.

•Working Group; AKC recognized in 1996.

•Ideal size: Males – 29 inches tall at the shoulder and 110 to 150 pounds;

Females – 27 inches tall at the shoulder and 80-120 pounds.

The American Kennel Club, Inc.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/anatolian_shepherd_dog/

You will probably disagree with this too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_dog_breed

Giant breeds
The following breeds are generally described as giant breeds:

Akita Inu
Anatolian Shepherd Dog
Borzoi
Caucasian Shepherd Dog
English Mastiff
Great Dane
Great Pyrenees
Irish Wolfhound
Kangal Dog
Leonberger
Neapolitan Mastiff
Newfoundland
Mioritic
Saint Bernard
Šarplaninac
Scottish Deerhound
Tibetan Mastiff
Presa Canario

The easiest dog I ever trained to protect my chickens was mostly Bloodhound:

He took FAR less effort than any of my 7 Maremmas​