Who else uses dogs?

[KentuckyRooster]

I was curious how many others use dogs in the protection of their flocks. I have a cattle dog mix who's a huge part of keeping my ranging birds safe. She also helps herd them if I have a reason to collect them up into the pens during the day. At night if the birds call in concern I turn her out and follow her and she runs the offending whatever-it-is out of the yard.

She knows who and what belongs to us. She won't accept flyovers from other yards but any chicken we hand to her she takes. She knows what cats belong to us and what ones are not welcome. She is one heck of a dog.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

sounds like a great dog ! If my dogs were able to get out of the yard they would run for the road.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My gsd was very useful for this in our previous location where we were on a larger, open property. She still patrols now and drives out any animal that does not belong to us, but we're on a small, fenced, city lot so not much work for her as the birds are confined and only out in the fenced yard under direct supervision, being kept in the run otherwise

 

[KentuckyRooster]

She can't get out, it's a 6 foot fence but she makes good and sure that whatever she is after is long gone. Stands at the fence and waits for it to come back and looks through the cracks or gets up onto the lowest part of our huge maple and searches the nearby area for further unwanted guests to chase...LOL

She is not so welcoming to strange humans on our land either until told it is okay so if we did not have a fence it would be a problem, too. A good all round dog. When I send her outside she runs a circle around the yard along the fence.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I had started to train my cocker to help round up the chickens at night and she was doing so good ! She would he and haw on command . LOL Well, one evening a hen decided she just wasnt going and the dog decided she was gonna work alone. They both took off around the house and before I could get there dog had chicken in its mouth carrying it back to the coop. LOL That ended her training .

 

[KentuckyRooster]

I had started to train my cocker to help round up the chickens at night and she was doing so good ! She would he and haw on command . LOL Well, one evening a hen decided she just wasnt going and the dog decided she was gonna work alone. They both took off around the house and before I could get there dog had chicken in its mouth carrying it back to the coop. LOL That ended her training .

Oh no.. That would upset me so bad. Thank god my dog (and my other two dogs as well) would never harm a chicken in a million years although my yorkie annoys them a bit because she thinks she is a chicken and wants to hang out with them and sniff their butts. Alli (heeler) has such strong livestock instinct that once she has been taught a chicken is livestock she will NOT touch it.

Cockers are bird dogs though so they lack the livestock protection and herding instincts that make my Alli trustworthy to not eat one when they run from her. I haven't taught her verbals, she goes on hand signals and runs off on her own also in the opposite direction as me to head them off. It's instinctive to her I didn't really teach her anything- she just started helping me bring them up one day. I trained her NOT to chase or hurt them and she took them to protect and once she did that, the herding came naturally as a part of that.

Heelers are very strongly ingrained with their "job" and if they don't have one they go crazy. I'm glad she has the job of caring for my birds and protecting my home to keep her mind happy. She's only half heeler but she got the temperament and drive through and through.

 

[Shiyanne]

Lol so kool. I have a pitbull who is let out at night to watch the yard.. But i have been catching her centering her patrol around the coops.. When resting she sleeps in front of the coop doors, and noticed the ladies will stick thier heads out and "groom" her in the mornings.

P.s. she gets a raw egg every morning, shell and all, for her good work.

During the day my 4 male cats watch over the ladies and helps the roos keep them in a tight area... I was afraid at first they would attack as they will chase the next door guineas when they come into the yard. But they only lay in a perimeter around the hens boundries.. And the ladies in turn groom the cats.. Has anyone ever seen this behavior before?

 

[KentuckyRooster]

My cats like the chickens and hangs around but they don't help persay- I was just glad they keep to themselves and don't hurt the chickens