What is your 'Chicken Dog'?

[Love my Critters!]

I agree with the above post, I have a boston terrier and she is great with them. I had a boxer that we lost at the age of 12 and she was great with everything. We resently rehomed our 1 year old boxer because she wanted to eat all the chickens no matter how much we worked with her and we had her since she was 6 weeks old.

 

[featherfooted]

All my dogs are great with the chickens. I have an English Setter that is 12 years young, a basset/beagle mix who is 7years old, a Cairn terrier that is 3 and a Rat terrier that is 1. Only the Cairn terrier and the rat terrier were raised with the chickens. I think almost an dog can be trained to leave chickens alone.

 

[Wyo Chick]

We have a sheltie that is really good with the chickens! He loves to work with them. He's not to rough. He'll get excited and loves to work with them!

 

[Dar]

LOL LOL LOL

I seen "chicken dog" in the title and i did a double take..

my dog freckles who is wonderful with the girls ...but any way..

she had her anus scent glands EXPLODE and it was a nasty gooey mess well we took her to the vet and he put her butt back together...but as you can imagine her lil bum was a little sore for a few days...her first poop after her reconstruction surgery she yelped poor baby but it sounded like someone stepped on a chicken...so from that day forward she was know as "chicken dog"...

here is my chicken dog

eta: i had a n a l glands but the server changed it to picky...lol

 

[PeepsInc]

Save a nice mutt from the shelter. Get a spayed female. There usually calmer & smarter. A shelter mutt will be as good a friend to you as any. If they let you take the dog to get to know it, take it to a goldfish or frog pond. Find a dog that's content just sitting and watching everything. Your not looking for a frisbee catcher. My rottweiler lab mix will spend hours just watching the frogs in my pond.

 

[LyonFuzz]

I agree with the rescue route. THey can tell you a lot about the dog and what they've been tested with. My favorite is the doberman. They are natural protectors of what they perceive as their pack. Everything from kids to chickens in our case Here's Ruby with her new lavender ameraucana chicks. We've had 6 rescue dobes over the years and never once had a problem with them and our other critters and kids. Keep in mind that they cannot be outdoor dogs to guard at nite. They cannot tolerate heat/cold and are very companion oriented.

IMG]http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/lynndoberwoman/DSC00625-1.jpg[/IMG]

 

[aussieheelr]

My DH's border collie is not good with them... she even tore up the pretty trim on the door trying to get to them.
However, strangely enough, my 1 year old blue heeler is pretty good, we'd never leave him unattended. He's very interested in them but is very calm as he watches them. The only time he gets excited is when we pick up one of the girls then he comes right up to you. I just tell him to be nice and he gives her a kiss. He learned the que with the foals. Being a heeler, he wants to do what he's been bred to do. Had to teach him not to bite but liking was ok!

 

[KotaDVM]

I have a golden/lab X who LOVES to chase little critters. When we went to go visit family who had chickens we placed a chicken in a cage and let my dog sniff her. The plan was if he got too excited to a point that he would not listen to me, the caged chicken would be safe and we would know to keep him away from the flock. Luckily it was more curiosity than predator drive and so we worked with him to remain calm around the bird. Now I can walk with him (leashed) around the flock when we visit.

If you adopt a rescue pup this would be a good method to see how the dog will react around birds

 

[Xtina]

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g7siYPakXGdM6MSa-w8MbQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJutxLbX8bPMTw&feat=directlink

I never trusted my dogs around my chickens. They showed themselves to be untrustworthy when the chicks were little by barking and lunging and similar behaviors. My backyard is divided down the middle with a fence that is reasonably dog-proof. But one day, and I don't remember exactly how it happened, there was some comingling. This was probably about 6 or 8 months after I got the chicks. And nobody got killed. So I started experimenting with short trial periods with just one of the dogs. Since then, all dogs, cats, and chickens get along perfectly well together. There are some days when Marla (the shepherdy mix) tries to get her kicks by chasing the ladies around. But no harm is ever done and the girls know how to fight back.

The point is, even bad dogs can be rehabilitated a bit. And like other posters have said, never trust the dogs fully. If I ever came home to a dead chicken (or three) I wouldn't be shocked at all. That's life.

 

[Wyo Chick]

We also have a German Shepard that I will NOT trust with the chickens. He is a rescue and in his previous life lived on a chicken farm! They would throw him the dead chickens to eat!!!! Guess what his favorite food is? Well we've had him 2 years and he has ATE 3 chickens. I think that's pretty good. I can't get mad at him this is what he knows. I have to be the one to be careful with the girls!