Which dog breed is best to protect chickens?

[snugglepup]

Good points, Cara. I always tell clients who are dog-shopping to first consider the original purpose for which the breed was developed. That will give you a good idea of what traits the dog will carry. That is the point of the purebred dog. Believe it or not, selecting for certain traits in a breed for hundreds of years actually does make a difference.

Yes, there will always be exceptions. Individual dogs that don't meet the breed standard for whatever reason. In general, these should be the exception rather than the rule... if breeders are doing their job.

No matter what breed is discussed, when I (or someone else) posts that a breed has certain traits... someone will get up in arms and post that THEIR _(insert breed here)_ is a GREAT _(insert whatever is being discussed)_. Doesn't mean that if you get a Japanese Fighting Dog that it will turn out to be as dog-friendly as Uncle Roger's.

So like Cara said, if you want a dog for a particular job, start looking at breeds that were developed specifically for that job. And PLEASE check health certifications. It might seem like a good idea to save a little money upfront, but hip replacement, a lifetime of thyroid or seizure meds, etc is much more expensive in the long run. So many inherited diseases you can't see just by looking and don't show symptoms in a 2 yr old dog. Without the xrays, blood tests, eye exams... you might never know until its too late.

 

[3peeps]

I haven't read the other posts, but I would say that whatever dog you choose, you should make sure that your own bond with the dog is excellent. They tend to do their job much better if they love who they are working for. Also each dog is very individual. I had a german shepherd who did not guard me when I wanted him to, and would overreact when everything was fine. And I didn't have a tremendous bond with him.

Now, I have a friend with a shepherd mix who absolutely ADORES her owner (and vise versa) and she'll protect anything in the yard from the chickens to the goats.

 

[tink]

We have a Doxie, Jack Russel and a Pit. They all are good with the chickens and are very protective of them. I think the thing that worked for us was we got the chickens as babies. We let the dogs smell and lick and we reinforced that they were their babies. We haven't had one problem with anybody....hairy or feathered!!
Tink

 

[bantymum]

I myself think that just about any dog who is brought up in a close knit family environment and who is trained from a very early age to not touch the chooks will be great!
They will inprint on the chickens and will protect them as If they were his/hers.
I have seen xbreds- who I feel are the best pets do a great job.
Some terriers are a bit bitey!!
Though I dont wish to start a breed debate as there are some great terriers out there too.
A dog with a shorter snout will have much better vision for predators than those with a long snout. FACT.
There was a documentory on Nat geo about this subject.
Good luck, im sure you will be fine.

 

[ruth]

Bonding and how a dog is raised is very important. Rex was raised from a pup, living inside with us. My husband and I work from home so I was with him 24/7. I never even used a kennel except for him to sleep in at night as a puppy. That's why I said sometimes I didn't think I would live through it. He wanted to play non-stop or I was taking him out for potty training including during the night. I'll never forget that first month, it was Feb. and it was cold and raining every day and I had that puppy outside every 15 minutes day and night - with an umbrella, standing under a tree because it was the only dry spot in flooded yard. He had a huge basket of toys and he would constantly get one and keep bringing it to me and putting it on my lap till I got up from my work and played with him. He was so smart from birth. He knew each toy by name and you could say "go get the rope - or go get Baby Boo Boo or get Mr. Frog" and he would run and get he toy and come back ready to play. He has never chewed up or destroyed anything in our home and you can leave a plate of food out and he won't touch it. However, raising an actual child would have taken less time than raising Rex

so I urge anyone considering a high energy dog like a shepherd to consider the time it takes to raise them properly. You can't just leave them alone all day.

All that said, it was the special bonding from puppy hood that has him so loyal and loving and willing to guard to the death anything and anyone. He once guarded a sick baby kitten we found, sleeping with it and never leaving it's side. He greets all strangers with a toy because he only associates people with play. I didn't teach him to guard, he just seemed to understand within 15 minutes that the new baby chicks were fragile and important and loved by me so he adopted them and loved them to.

Here's a pic the first night with the first batch:

Here he is when they were 4 weeks old and started freeranging. It was summer and hot so he dug a hole under some bushes and they all crawled in for a nap:

 

[Cara]

The Greyhound is a sight hound, as is the Afghan, Whippet, Wolfhound and Deerhound, but they are far from short-snouted

Brachycephalic breeds such as the Boxer, Pug or Boston Terrier do not have as good a sense of smell as the longer nosed breeds though, so they may not locate a predator unless they hear or see it, whereas others might smell it coming.

 

[snugglepup]

I am also questioning this statement. Most wild canids have longer muzzles, compared to say a boxer.

 

[bantymum]

I will have to get a factsheet from the documentary, I didnt think I would refer to it, I just saw it as I was walking past the telly and thought this looks interesting so I sat down to watch it.
They had eyes from all types of dogs who had passed on and disected behind the retinas etc and it showed the differing lines of vision that they would have.
It was on foxtel last weekend, Ill have to try and track it down.

 

[domromer]

Dogs with shorter snouts tend to have their eyes right in the middle of their faces. This is not good for peripheral vision, not good for spotting predators.Thats why wolves , site hounds.....ect have eyes that are much further part then say a pug. Dogs with front facing eyes were created by breeders. It's supposed to emulate children with there big eyes. Thats why you see it mostly in the toy/companion breeds.

 

[ruth]

I don't know about length of snout versus eye spacing but I know Rex smells something long before it gets close to our property and he takes off barking. I read in one of my GSD books that he can distinquish the difference between 10,000 gallons of water and 10,000 gallons of water that have a teaspoon of salt added - and salt has no distinquishable scent to humans. The GSD relies almost totally on scent. He knows when something's coming long before he could hear it or see it. Thus he gets to avoid having to fight it off because it never gets close. Once he smells it and takes off barking, whatever it is takes off running - hence a good guard dog. If a guard dog had to wait till the predator, say a fox or coyote or really big coon, was in the coop/run/barn, the dog is at risk of having to fight something that has been cornered.