Wolfhounds

[urbanfarmer101]

I love wolf hounds and cannot wait to own one! I have a minature schnauzer and he keeps all of our predators (fox, possum, coon, stray dogs) at bay. He sounds the alarm and gives chase. That seems to be enough.

My step dad hunt the coyotes with a coon dog, in a very similar method mentioned above. I wouldn't want those dogs roaming my property, they are pretty aggressive when they are trained to hunt coyotes.

 

[Kate in CT]

Just want to throw my two cents in . . . and share 20+ years of experience with sighthounds.

Sighthounds (which include Irish Wolfhounds, Borzoi (Russian Wolfhounds), Deerhounds, Whippets, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Salukis, Basenjis, and Greyhounds) are bred to hunt by sight. This means any movement they interpret as prey will be chased. This characteristic is used in lure coursing where the dogs eagerly pursue white plastic garbage bags tied to a cord pulled by a flywheel & car battery. Sometimes, they get so focused on the chase that they pay no attention to what else is around them.

These traits are why I would not use a sighthound to chase coyotes. First, they would pursue the coyotes . . .over hill, across fields, across ROADS . . .until the coyote is run down or escapes or the dog gets tired. If a more interesting prey should cross the trail, most sighthounds would drop the coyote and go after a deer or rabbit. In CT, a dog caught chasing a deer can be shot on sight . . . Also, the fact the dog would run across a road of any kind could easily result in a hound hit by a car.

The other reason I wouldn't use a sighthound to protect my chickens is a sight hound would love to chase fluffy, squawking, flapping chickens. Even though not all sighthounds will kill, a large fast moving dog can seriously injure or kill a bird unintentionally!

 

[EricH]

any outside dog would keep em away.... as long as its a full sized dog. all you really need is something that is going to be decently alert (meaning wont sleep through your chicken coop being ravaged) and can bark (which even teacup chihuahuas can do).

 

[NYboy]

My first dog as a adult was a Russian Woulfhound, I had her for 15 years. She was the gentlest dog I ever had. My cat used her for a bed, she never chased my birds. The only time I heard her growl, was when she spotted a coyote at a park. One of the girls at my vet was from Eastern Europe, she told me the dogs are still used for hunting in her home land. I was wondering if anyone in this country used them, for what they where bred to do.

 

[sheila3935]

We have seen coyotes once in awhile in our area. I have 4 dogs of mixed breeds. I dont allow them in our chicken yard dont trust them, But I let them in sometimes after I get the girls up to mark around. We also have a 6 ft. privacy fence and I will let them mark outsdie the fence too. So far have not has problems with preditors. I would love to have an Irish Wolfhound. Love the way they look but at this time I am maxed out on Doggies also I have a lab mix that believe it or not can be aggressive to other dogs, so I dont want to introduce another into the pack. He is fine with the ones we have but I worry he wouldnt accept another. As far as going after a preditor I would put my money on either my boxer/boston terrier mix or my doxie/ basset mix.

 

[Up-the-Creek]

We have coyotes all around us here and I have chickens and they free range all the time,..never have lost one to ANY predator. I have three dogs, one is a Lab Ret.,...and she is the one who is on guard at all times. The other two will follow her lead. We have NEVER had a coyote near our house. They will not come around if you have a dog that is just present. I did have a bobcat come in over the winter last year, but we had over 2 ft of snow (which is unusual for here)and he did make off with a duck. The bobcat was starving though and that was the reason why it showed up. That and the dogs wasn't outside at that time.

BUT,..wolfhounds are awesome! I would love to have one too!

 

[Caincando1]

Quote:
Even though it’s not done in my area, I personally know guys that do this in other states. I'm not sure if you are talking about the particular dogs that you've been exposed to or all of them. As for the dogs aren't any different than any other dog and can be great house dogs and great with kids. Sure if they aren't socialized they may not be good with people, but that can go for any dog. They however need some good socializing and training not to chase and kill pets like cats and small dogs. This along with the reasons mentioned in another post, sight hounds don’t make good watch dogs or live stock guarding dogs. They are more inclined to eat the chickens than protect them.

 

[gritsar]

My Charlie Girl, part wolfhound, was an insatiable coyote killer. As she got older we had to start keeping her in the house full-time, for fear she'd injure herself while hunting them.
Charlie picked up a chick, ONCE, but didn't hurt it. After I let her know under no uncertain terms that chickens were not to be harmed, she never touched another one. Once the chickens were grown, they could climb all over her and she didn't care.

 

[Inkheart]

Quote:
Totally agree with this - some working breeds such as Kuvasz and Anatolean Shepards are meant for this sort of things -

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Here is Ch. Davmoor Vision Keeper (aka Brodee)...my Borzoi:

We had to really work with him when we first got him to teach him to leave the cats & chickens/ducks/geese alone. He does just fine with all of the other pets, including small dogs. He's a BIG wuss...except when it comes to coyotes.

We also have had to really watch him around the deer...he LOVES to chase them.

Here's his breeder/handler's website page about him:

http://www.davmoorkennels.com/Brodee.html