What kind of dog would be good to get?

[fluffycrow]

That’s about what I’ve decided. Get a sweet dog I like, inside dog, and do train to be nice to chickens but for the most part not interact unless supervised. And also train my husband and grandson to do the same!

That sounds like a good plan!

 

[NatJ]

the owner said that any dog bred with a poodle will kill chickens. That rules out lots of dogs.

Almost any puppy will kill chickens, regardless of whether it contains poodle or not. Most adult dogs will too.

If you want a puppy, I suggest:
--make sure you have good fences
--plan to spend a lot of time training that puppy, probably for about 2 years
--plan to watch the puppy every single minute, no exceptions unless it is in a crate or secure fence. This continues for at least 6 months, and possibly for 2+ years, depending on the puppy. Of course you will slip up a few times, and most people (including me) have stories of chewed furniture or shoes, chickens that were chased or killed, messes on the floor, pups that got out and ran down the street, and similar problems when they didn't watch the puppy for "just a few minutes" because it had gone "so long" without getting into trouble.
--consider attaching the puppy to your belt with a leash while you tend chickens. This gives it some exposure to the chickens, but lets you promptly stop any chasing or other inappropriate behavior the puppy may try.

I would consider trainability to be the single most important point. A dog that is easy to train, and wants to please you, can be taught to do almost anything (sometimes that includes ignoring chickens.) I thought poodles had a reputation as being very trainable, which would be a good point in my opinion. Livestock guardian breeds are often expected to work independently, so they tend not to be as trainable as some other breeds.

If the owner thinks their dogs would kill chickens, I would definitely avoid any puppies from them or from their dogs. I would not completely rule out an entire breed on the word of a single owner, but I would definitely think hard before deciding either way about getting that breed from someone else.

Poodles were bred as bird dogs. Anything with "doodle" at the end is going to be a problem, as well as any of the retrievers. Research any breed you consider. Eliminate anything bred to hunt, and whatever you choose be prepared to train it that the chickens belong to YOU.

I'm not so sure about that.

Traditionally, any hunting or retrieving breed was supposed to hunt the RIGHT things (birds not rabbits, these birds not those birds.) Any of the retrievers was supposed to retrieve when told, but not supposed to run madly around scaring birds before the hunter could shoot them. They were supposed to retrieve gently, not chew it up.

The ones that are bred for hunting should still have those qualities. The ones that are just bred for pets should be similar to any other breed that has been selected only as pets (variable, but not automatically bad or good.)

I would expect to do a lot of training with any breed, but I would not completely rule the bird-hunting breeds. There are quite a few stories (including some in this thread) of retriever-type dogs that are good with chickens. Personally, I would be more inclined to avoid the kind of terriers that are supposed to chase down small animals, bite them, and kill them, although I have also seen at least a few stories of rat-hunting terriers that were fine with chickens.

That’s about what I’ve decided. Get a sweet dog I like, inside dog, and do train to be nice to chickens but for the most part not interact unless supervised. And also train my husband and grandson to do the same!

That sounds like a good plan, that has a good chance of success

 

[Ebal]

Has a Golden Doodle years ago that I could now break from chasing and killing several of my chickens.

Have a pure bred Lab (13) and a Brittney Spaniel (5) that I trained to hunt. Also trained to not chase chickens. Brittney at times acts like he might be tempted. Use a Pet Safe Collar with him. Has a "safe zone" circle around the house. Coop/Run is a 15' outside his zone. Both the Brit and the Hens for the most part stay out of each others space.

 

[ArizonaSky]

Livestock Guardian Dogs are really just not appropriate for in-town. They're not even appropriate for 5-acre hobby farms. They belong on sheep stations. They're aggressive. They are not biddable. They are unlikely to care about chickens, they want to hang out with ungulants. And they are likely to ignore small predators that cannot threaten a sheep.

Hmmm..

 

[Linnre]

Almost any puppy will kill chickens, regardless of whether it contains poodle or not. Most adult dogs will too.

If you want a puppy, I suggest:
--make sure you have good fences
--plan to spend a lot of time training that puppy, probably for about 2 years
--plan to watch the puppy every single minute, no exceptions unless it is in a crate or secure fence. This continues for at least 6 months, and possibly for 2+ years, depending on the puppy. Of course you will slip up a few times, and most people (including me) have stories of chewed furniture or shoes, chickens that were chased or killed, messes on the floor, pups that got out and ran down the street, and similar problems when they didn't watch the puppy for "just a few minutes" because it had gone "so long" without getting into trouble.
--consider attaching the puppy to your belt with a leash while you tend chickens. This gives it some exposure to the chickens, but lets you promptly stop any chasing or other inappropriate behavior the puppy may try.

I would consider trainability to be the single most important point. A dog that is easy to train, and wants to please you, can be taught to do almost anything (sometimes that includes ignoring chickens.) I thought poodles had a reputation as being very trainable, which would be a good point in my opinion. Livestock guardian breeds are often expected to work independently, so they tend not to be as trainable as some other breeds.

If the owner thinks their dogs would kill chickens, I would definitely avoid any puppies from them or from their dogs. I would not completely rule out an entire breed on the word of a single owner, but I would definitely think hard before deciding either way about getting that breed from someone else.


I'm not so sure about that.

Traditionally, any hunting or retrieving breed was supposed to hunt the RIGHT things (birds not rabbits, these birds not those birds.) Any of the retrievers was supposed to retrieve when told, but not supposed to run madly around scaring birds before the hunter could shoot them. They were supposed to retrieve gently, not chew it up.

The ones that are bred for hunting should still have those qualities. The ones that are just bred for pets should be similar to any other breed that has been selected only as pets (variable, but not automatically bad or good.)

I would expect to do a lot of training with any breed, but I would not completely rule the bird-hunting breeds. There are quite a few stories (including some in this thread) of retriever-type dogs that are good with chickens. Personally, I would be more inclined to avoid the kind of terriers that are supposed to chase down small animals, bite them, and kill them, although I have also seen at least a few stories of rat-hunting terriers that were fine with chickens.


That sounds like a good plan, that has a good chance of success

Thank you for this very helpful and positive response! My own Labrador retriever is fine with my chickens. Now to decide which to get and when! Thank you again!!
Oh and the owner who said that they will kill chickens had that happen to his son who got one of their pups. I asked if these had the same parents and they do not.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for this very helpful and positive response! My own Labrador retriever is fine with my chickens. Now to decide which to get and when! Thank you again!!

Glad it helped

Oh and the owner who said that they will kill chickens had that happen to his son who got one of their pups. I asked if these had the same parents and they do not.

Honestly, I would expect that could happen with a pup of any breed that was unsupervised around chickens. The pup wants to sniff the chickens or play with them, the chickens run and flap, the pup chases-- perfectly understandable, but not something you want to allow!

 

[Ebal]

Nat J said
Traditionally, any hunting or retrieving breed was supposed to hunt the RIGHT things (birds not rabbits, these birds not those birds.) Any of the retrievers was supposed to retrieve when told, but not supposed to run madly around scaring birds before the hunter could shoot them. They were supposed to retrieve gently, not chew it up.

The ones that are bred for hunting should still have those qualities. The ones that are just bred for pets should be similar to any other breed that has been selected only as pets (variable, but not automatically bad or good.)

*****************************

I agree here. Dogs trained to hunt carries over to the chicken issue. They are trained to take instruction, when and what to hunt, what not to hunt. They have the instinct bread into them, but it takes some work to bring that instinct out.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I would avoid doodles because most people breeding them are backyard breeders. Which means they're likely to have health and even behavior issues. Mixing a poodle with a LGD defeats the purpose in my opinion. LGD take years of training, and will bond to your livestock rather than you. Poodles are most often bred to be companions now, though they were originally bred as hunting dogs.
Mixed breed dogs can be great, but there are plenty in rescues that won't cost nearly as much.

If you want a non shedding dog, purebred poodles are friendly, very intelligent, and there are three different sizes (toy, miniature, and standard). A standard poodle is going to be more to manage, and be more difficult to tire out, but with consistent training they can do just fine with chickens.
I wouldn't worry about toys (which are under 10") with chickens because of their small size, though they are quite delicate and don't do well with children for this reason.
A mini may be a good size for you. Large enough to not have to worry about stepping on them, or larger dogs playing with them, but small enough to be easy to train, exercise, and care for overall. I recommend meeting some in person first, for any breed or size really.
Some people don't like poodles because they're often seen as dainty and silly looking, but with the right haircut they'll look like a doodle. Ironically, most of the things people tend to like about doodles are poodle traits.

No matter what breed you choose, just be sure to do your research and find a reputable breeder.
Though it may be expensive, a breeder that actually cares for their dogs health should be doing all the health tests recommended by the OFA for the breed. This means you won't be paying those costs later in vet bills.
A reputable breeder should only be breeding their best dogs, which can be determined by showing them. It's not just about looks, having the right proportions is important for the dogs health.
Going with a reputable breeder insures your dog will actually have the traits that made you fall in love with the breed.

 

[Sussex19]

. Any dog (again, unless it's an LGD) will chase a chicken if given the chance.

I guess no one told our two dogs
Neither are LGDs, and they both can be left unattended with the chickens, and didn't get much training with them.
One did chase them as a puppy, but as soon as she grew up a bit more, she has been perfect.
And is very good at picking up sounds and smells of foxes, and loves chasing them off.
But of cause, there is a lot of dogs that can't live with chickens, and will kill them; but just making general statements that aren't true isn't very helpful.
It is all down to the individual, and how much time you put in.

 

[NatJ]

just making general statements that aren't true isn't very helpful.

And in this case it's doubly wrong, because untrained LGDs chase and kill chickens too. I've seen too many threads about people raising LGD puppies and having trouble with that. And I personally knew someone who got a very sweet adult Great Pyrenees-- that turned out to be quite a chicken killer, and was eventually rehomed to a chicken-free home.