What is a good breed of dog?

[N2Shown]

While I would agree that Border Collies and other herding breeds can make good dogs for farm animal protection, remember also that the herding instinct is basically just a variation of their prey drive. I would definitely start with very young dogs and raise them around the animals you want them to protect. The Pyrs on the other hand are bred to guard and protect livestock that they are raised with. Yes some of them will roam, but there are lots of ways to limit that too.

 

[DurhamDuck]

Quote:
I've raised Huskies and they are predator driven. You do NOT want a Husky to watch ANY of your animals. They usually are OK in a house while you are there if you've got a housecat, but they are not a good ranch/farm dog when you've got animals running around. The running and noise stimulates Huskies instinct for hunting.

Australian shepherd is good. Any dog will probably need training to know which animals are to be protected on the ranch and which animals need to be driven away.

Good luck!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My biggest loss was to huskies. Too closely related to their origins.
I vote for any "guard" dog raised with what you want it to protect from a pup. That would be anything like Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherds, Akbash, Maremma, Carpathian Sheepdog, Caucasian Ovtcharka, Komondor, Kuvasz, some of the Mastiffs including Newfoundland. There are exceptions but most other dog breeds won't bond with the flock and you'll have trouble breaking their prey drive when the chickens run.

No dog will be a perfect chicken guard. A hawk or snake will still be a problem.

 

[P-Funk]

Thanks again, all. And again, I have decided against the Husky. There is an adoption agency near here that promotes 'fostering' dogs. I can only assume that means if they don't work out, they go back 'home'. They have a pair of male German Shepherds, 3 and 4 years old, who are just beautiful. I appreciate all of the input, and again, once I pick a pooch, I'll post a pic

 

[Dingo]

I agree, any dog can be taught to tolerate other animals, some breeds it may take a little more effort but it can be done.
Just remember most breeds of dog were originally bred to live on and around farms and live stock, if they couldn't coexist they didn't exist at all.

 

[Lacey1988]

Any dog is good when they're raised around them....

 

[Mzyla]

I agree with everyone who's are against Husky.
I used to have one. I purchased him as a puppy.
Training didn't worked out. He was killing chickens, just for the fun of it!
He also killed my beloved cat!

One early morning, I let it out all of my dogs to do their "business" - as I'm doing every day and....after a while they came back, but no Husky! He just disappeared!
I posted fliers and was searching all neighborhood for two weeks - and nothing!
Must to be God's will.....

I love my Great Pyrenees now!
Just started creating My BYC page - mostly about him.

 

[Jasper_899]

I believe its all in the training of the dog. I have a husky greyhound mix that I rescued from the pound and he has been by far the best with my chickens. He grew up around the full grown hens and the chicks and never did anything to threaten my chickens. I did LOTS of training with this dog early on. First night I brought him home I already worked on basic obedience and respect and he was still very young. In my opinion I think huskies are extremely intelligent and if taught correctly early on they can be one of the best guard dogs. I admit my dog likes to chase things. He will chase the neighbors cats (which doesn't bother me at all I don't like those cats anyway) But he has never done anything to hurt my chickens and I made sure that he knows that they belong to me and they are family. He just loves to run and I think that would be the greyhound in him. My only problem with this dog would be keeping him out of the cupboards and our refrigerator. He loves human food and is extremely sneaky and intelligent. Just because people have had bad experiences with other peoples huskies getting loose and killing their chickens doesn't mean the breed can't coexist with chickens. Its just how the dog was raised and trained. A respectful husky is the best husky. And most huskies know nothing about small animals and instantly think of them as prey because they were never properly introduced to small animals at a young age.

I also think bird dogs are one of the best flock guardians. My oldest dog is a Irish Setter mix with Golden Retriever and he never grew up with chickens and never met any until he was 3 years old and he got along great with them and even watches over them while they are free-ranging. He makes sure to keep the ravens and hawks away.

 

[Mzyla]

You do have point, that good training is playing a huge role here.
In the entire animal kingdom, there is always a "bad apple"
No matter how good of a history or feedback a given breed may have,
there is always the one different from the entire group.

And vice-versa; In a group of animals having less favorable opinion of, you may find an angel!
These seem to be facts - even just by reading posts on this forum.

You were in a way lucky to find these "angels" that absorbed your training.

 

[animalpro24]

Quote:
Out of those two I would go with the Husky.