Anyone have terriers and chickens?

[Henrietta23]

Now I've already got three dogs who get along just fine with my chickens and ducks. I've had three other dogs who also were fine with the birds. My 6 year old son is asking for a puppy which may happen this spring or summer. He specifically wants a puppy that will stay small. Going by pictures he's seen he would love a West Highland White Terrier. I worry that a small terrier type would not do well with birds no matter how well trained it was. The dogs we have now were all rescued as adults and I've been able to train them to leave the birds alone, or they just never had any interest in them. The dogs we have now, and have had in the past are pugs, lab mixes, a golden retriever and an Australian Shepherd. I've never owned a terrier or terrier mix. Since we still have lots of time before we are ready for a puppy I'm doing as much research as I can. I know very little about small breeds other than pugs. His other choice would be a poodle. A miniature poodle. Not a top choice for me, although I know they're smart dogs. I'd love to hear about anyone else's experiences with terriers or other small dogs and chickens. Thanks!

 

[Cassandra]

I have a rat terrier mix. Her adult weight it about 14-15 lbs. (and a 7 lb shih-tzu) I always keep my chickens in a run, safe from my dogs and neighbor dogs and strays. On a couple of occassions when small pullets (like two months old) would get away from me while being transported from one run to another, the rat terrier, Blue, would be after them.

Both times this happened, it actually turned out to be a help to me. Not that I am under any delusions that she was trying to help! I'm sure she would have killed them if she'd had the chance. But she did help me corner them so I could catch them and put them back where they belonged.

As the chickens have gotten grown, they are almost as big as Blue. She has completely lost interest in them as prey. It's really only the tiny darting things that trigger the chase instinct in her.

One time recently while we were making some renovations to the chicken yard, one of the grown chickens escaped and again, Blue was a big help to us in rounding the chicken up. But this time, I think she was TRYING to help. She chased the chicken into a corner and when the chicken would try to run out, Blue would cut her off, keeping her in the corner until John could catch her and put her back in the run. Blue never made any move to get too close to the chicken, she was just herding it.

Anyway, in my experience, like I said, it is tiny darting animals (like rats or baby chicks) that trigger the killer instinct. Big old hens clucking and scratching around are BORING. Not that I would use that as guaranteed safety for my chickens! I think with a puppy if you kept it out on a lead and jerked it around every time it showed interest in the chickens, in most cases, you could condition one to behave how you wanted.

Cassandra

 

[Henrietta23]

Thanks for your input! Our chickens and ducks currently have free run of our fenced in backyard, as do our dogs. We do have a pen for the chickens but usually just leave the door open so they can free range. We are set up so we could train a puppy that chickens are off limits. Any time I've had a new dog here I haven't given it a chance to harm a chicken. Who knows, by the time we are actually ready to look for a puppy he may have decided Golden Retrievers are his dog of choice. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway! I have nothing against terriers. I think they're very cute. I just don't know their personalities.

 

[FarmerChick]

any dog will kill critters
any dog can be trained not too.

it is a matter of working with the pup. when you get it just be sure to leave it with the chickens a bit also. that way they associate it as part of their pack...their family.

but you are right...terriers are hunters. they do their thing...but I think with your control and such you would be fine. You know what to do.

any new dog is a crapshoot on true personality...but it is truly what the owner lets them get away with. I tolerate 0 from my dogs when it comes to livestock. And they knew it..LOL

 

[Henrietta23]

any dog will kill critters
any dog can be trained not too.

it is a matter of working with the pup. when you get it just be sure to leave it with the chickens a bit also. that way they associate it as part of their pack...their family.

but you are right...terriers are hunters. they do their thing...but I think with your control and such you would be fine. You know what to do.

any new dog is a crapshoot on true personality...but it is truly what the owner lets them get away with. I tolerate 0 from my dogs when it comes to livestock. And they knew it..LOL

Thanks Farmer. I think between the two of you and your answers I feel more confident that if we do get a puppy and put in the time training it that I know we will need to, we can keep everyone safe and happy. We haven't lost a bird to any of the six dogs we've had while owning chickens. I think it is partly because we started off very carefully introducing them and partly because eventually the dogs got old and bored by the chickens! I have the summers off so it will be a good time to really be able to devote a lot of time to a new dog and training. My son will be happy to hear we don't need to rule out his favorite breed necessarily. I'm still hoping that when we're ready it won't be too difficult to find a small, mixed breed puppy that we can rescue.

 

[Jennyhaschicks]

We have 2 Boston Terriers. One of them we got because she was being abused and she wouldn't hurt a flea. The other one we call the "old bitty". She is a bit crabby and once when the chicks were young and being introduced outside she snapped at one. I corrected her and to this day she has never bothered them at all. She will go close to them and everything and just minds her own business. Don't get me wrong I know accidents happen so quickly, but I think it depends on how much time and guidance you can put into having these types of dogs around your chickens.