whats the best breed of dog to get with 3 chickens in the backyard?

[gumbii]

i have a pit bull... he leaves them alone... lets them roost on top of him... maybe because he's the laziest dog on the planet... but he hates my muscovy duck... i think because of the noise he makes... but still... it depends how you train him... and getting an older dog sounds kind of like a bad idea to me... what if the person before trained him to chase a toy chicken...? the reason my dog hates the duck is because i trained him to chase a cat or bark at anything when i make a hissing noise... duck hisses, and now he hates duck... i can't stop it... i have to get rid of duck...

 

[Moochie]

Bruno is a mix and so far he does okay with my flock. His mom is a pit/lab mix and his dad is german sheperd/malamute. He looks like a miniature lion, just needs a mane!
He pays more attention to their poo, snack I suppose?

He needs quite alot of training with them, he play bites which is a big no no. I think any breed of dog will do good with chickens, just depends on how you raise them and every dogs' personality is different.

 

[newchickky]

Quote:
can you please post a picture of that!!

 

[speckled_egg]

I have two rescue dogs, both mutts, and with varying degrees of training, both are now great with chickens and can be left alone with them without consequence.

My younger dog, a boxer x hound/pointer, was easy as pie. He's a submissive dog with a low prey drive and an incredibly soft mouth. We did get him as a pup, but he didn't meet any chickens until he was at least a year old. What I did with him was, I let him go into the room with me and sniff the brooder when I had chicks. I'd just ignore him (unless he looked a little too interested) and do paperwork or something while he scoped out the chicks. He figured out pretty quick that chickens are part of the furniture. Once, when the birds were fully grown, he got out in the yard unsupervised (he learned how to open the back door), and the only sign that he showed any interest anyone was a particularly disgruntled buff orpington with some slime on her back. Since then, he's been thoroughly henpecked, and will let the hens chase him off the porch with his tail between his legs.

My older dog, a border collie x lab-chow, had more trouble because she has a higher prey drive, is a bit higher on the totem pole, and has big, sharp teeth. She is incredibly eager to please, though, which helped tremendously with her training. We got her as an adult, and she was probably six by the time the chickens came in. I knew she had a high prey drive, so I was very careful when introducing her to the birds. Unfortunately, she had a few 'accidents' and we lost a small handful of birds to her. It was heartbreaking, but the good news was she never ate one - she just played with them until they stopped squeaking. We told her to "leave it" whenever she saw a chicken and she learned to avoid them. She was eventually able to be left alone with the chickens and can stay with them for hours, unsupervised, without mishap. (We learned this on accident when our other dog opened the back door while we were at work. It took a couple times for us to realize that, not only could he open the door, he could also unlock it.

)

I would recommend looking for a more submissive dog (or at least one that will let you earn its respect) with a lower prey drive. And make sure to take the time to train your dog - which is tricky when what he's supposed to ignore runs, squeaks and tastes like chicken. An all-around command like "Leave it" can be very helpful.

 

[jcbydesign]

I have been in the dog show world for 40 years and my recommendation would be to avoid the sporting dogs (consider that they are bred to hunt things like birds and ducks) and go for a dog in the herding group, or perhaps some of the working group, such as the rottweiler, who was bred to be an all round farm dog. These dogs are bred to protect flocks of all kinds plus help round them up and such. You can find a size and personality that will fit your needs. Do your research. If you go for a mixed, rescue type, than be sure to get one that doesn't have sporting dog as part of it's heritage.

A dog should be a lifelong companion so make sure to get the right one for you and your family. (Too many people don't) We have too many animals in shelters and rescue because people don't stop to consider their needs and the needs of the dogs they get. JMHO

 

[gumbii]

Quote:
can you please post a picture of that!!

ok...

but today he made a hole in this huge run i just built trying to get the duck... i have someone coming over to get him today... hopefully...

 

[MinnesotaChick]

Bird dogs are not necessarily a bad choice. We have a Viszla, who my husband uses for pheasant hunting, and he does not touch the chickens when they are free ranging. He is a VERY intelligent dog and just seems to know they are off limits. In fact he tries to avoid them because he has been pecked a couple times when he got too close! I agree with other posters about choosing a "smart" dog...look for one that is very responsive to your commands and is eager to please.

 

[centrarchid]

It appears dogs are very capable of distinguishing different bird species either by sight or smell. Even related species of birds can be sorted out like pheasant versus quail versus chickens. Certainly this is case with dogs we use for hunting racoons, rabbits or squirrels. Coonhounds properly trained will target racoons and ignore rabbits, oppossums and deer. Same with other dogs used for other game. Some dogs sharp enough to target racoons at night and squirrels during day.

My German short-hair pup is leaving chickens alone but it appears I will be able to use him for pointing rabbits and treeing squirrels which should provide some release for prey drive.

 

[FireTigeris]

How about fostering or offering to foster with the first chance to adopt, then you can really find out about the dogs.

Any that are leash ready that instantly lunge and pay lots of attention to the chickens foster and release to another home, practice training.

The one that reacts properly keep?

 

[grendel]

Any herding dog, like a cattle dog.