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Advice on dog breeds

Maxsmom

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Hi! I am condidering getting a dog that does not have a high prey drive for birds and likes long walks (3-5 miles) most days of the week. Does anyone recommend any breeds? Thanks so much
 

Maxsmom

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Hi! I am condidering getting a dog that does not have a high prey drive for birds and likes long walks (3-5 miles) most days of the week. Does anyone recommend any breeds? Thanks so much
So sorry for the typo...considering
 

aooratrix

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Sheltie, wheaten terrier, poodle, collie, Australian shepherd, border collie, cane corso, Doberman, German shepherd, Dalmatian, Airedale
 

Maxsmom

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All the breeds I like have high prey drive!
This has been what I am finding in my research!

I am researching dogs and consulting with my vet regarding the safety of my boys. If I can't figure out a dog I feel would not attack my Charlie and Maximus, then I simply will not be able to get one.

Thanks@!
 

Maxsmom

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Sheltie, wheaten terrier, poodle, collie, Australian shepherd, border collie, cane corso, Doberman, German shepherd, Dalmatian, Airedale
Thanks so much! I will research
 

melissasparrots

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I'd go with the basic herding breeds of sheltie, border collie or Australian shepherd. I'm on my second sheltie. We walk a few miles most nights and neither of my shelties have been leash pullers. My current sheltie gets a little excited when my cockatoo flaps her wings although we haven't had any close calls. My first sheltie had the occasional issue with food around the bird cages but was overall pretty good. My best dog has actually been my field bred springer spaniel. But, I went out of my way to choose a hunting dog with a softer temperament and made it extremely clear from day one that birds in the house are off limits. He wants to please so bad, he pretty much just accepts that what I say goes. The downside of my springer is that he's nose to the ground and leash pulling all the time. He's better off leash than on, but still not much fun trying to walk him in town. Hiking away from roads and other people though is great. A sheltie may well fit your requirements. I got one specifically because I like to take long walks at night and I wanted a dog that wasn't going to be predisposed to killing stuff.
 

dollfish

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Definitely shepard dogs for minimal prey drive. My cousin's massive Akbas [a Turkish shepard breed] growls at the Dogo Argentino when she goes near the chickens outside. Just an incredible dog seriously.. I have never seen anything like that gentle giant.
 

macawpower58

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IMO, you want a dog that is soft and biddable.
Most breeds have some degree of prey drive, it's the ability to control it you need.
Another thing is that the amount of drive will depend on individuality, it's not always breed specific.
Almost all well bred working dogs would need an owner dedicated to lifetime training.
Badly bred working dogs can be unmanageable.
Even your laidback companion dog will need trained.
There is no dog you can just stick in a house with birds and expect absolute safety.
Keeshond are one breed that IMO has little to no prey drive.
They were bred as companions to ride the barges.
Their heavy coats though can be a problem in hot climate.
 
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BirdWorld

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Hi! I am condidering getting a dog that does not have a high prey drive for birds and likes long walks (3-5 miles) most days of the week. Does anyone recommend any breeds? Thanks so much
Terriers and Hounds have very high prey drive, but lap dogs usually aren’t too active. My ideas would be a golden retriever, cavalier King Charles spaniel, Great Pyrenees, Chinese crested, and maybe border collies because they are so smart and trainable. Just remember there is no dog breed that you can actually 100% trust with a bird. Even the most trained dog can pounce on a bird at any time. You would do best with keeping whatever dog you get away from the birds, whether it chases them or not. :)
 

fashionfobie

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Herding behaviour stems from high prey drive. Working dogs like collies can be attentive to their handler with proper training, but they do have strong prey drive.

I think all dogs will have a level of prey drive that can be dangerous for birds. I personally have a chihuahua. He is not your stereotypical "barky" chihuahua. He is very sweet and easy to train. Though even he must be kept away from the birds.

Adding a dog to your home will change the dynamic. There is no way around that. One thing helpful with my dog is he has become accustomed to sleeping during the day. And we play and walk after the birdies are in bed. It works in my home.
 

Destiny

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As others have mentioned, any dog you get will require training and no breed is guaranteed to be "bird safe", even if they are known for having low prey drive and a soft mouth.

I live in the country and we have free-range chickens, ducks, turkeys, and peacocks. Our dogs must be able to recognize that the birds are "off limits", so I consider prey drive and trainability when selecting new dogs.

One of our earlier dogs was a dachshund/terrier mix with a very high prey drive and stubborn temperament. The only thing that would stop him from killing chickens was a sturdy fence, preferably electrified. We were never able to train him out of this behavior. At the time, we also had a corgi and a standard poodle.

The poodle was very willing to please and easy to train. Poodles were originally hunting dogs and they can have a decent amount of prey drive. Standard poodles (the big ones) still retain many of those instincts, but they are so people oriented and willing to learn, it is not hard to train them to do whatever you need them to do. As long as you don't mind the grooming requirements, a standard poodle is a great dog - just keep in mind that you will need to teach them what you want.

Our corgi had a naturally low prey drive and never showed the slightest interest in chasing chickens, but she was an odd dog so I can't say if this is typical for the breed.

Our current dogs are a doberman, labrador retriever, and an Anatolian shepherd.
20190317_122725.jpg

All of them have a decent amount of prey drive, which I have channeled towards rat-hunting. As puppies, they all had trouble with the chickens initially. It took time for the dogs to learn that I was not happy if they chased (or killed) our chickens. My doberman was the fastest learner, even though she has the highest prey drive of the three dogs.

The labrador is a pretty fast learner in general, but her prey drive is also quite high and she likes to chase. She eventually learned that I didn't want her to hurt the chickens, but she is not as obedient as the doberman or as reliable as the shepherd. She still enjoys running at the free range birds, but she will break off at the end instead of grabbing them. It is an annoying behavior, but at least none of the birds are harmed by her antics.

20200606_091701.jpg

She looks so innocent when she is sleeping. Don't be fooled! She is a chicken-chaser.

The shepherd is a livestock guardian breed. He has the lowest prey drive, but he is also the least biddable and hardest to train. They are very independent minded dogs and it took a while for him to reach a maturity level where I felt he could be trusted around the birds. He basically had to decide for himself that he should leave them alone. It was a very slow process. And this was despite starting with exposure training when he was a very young puppy.

20181112_160557.jpg

Personally, I suspect that the labrador was a bad influence on him. She taught him her "chase" game. And it took a while to get him back on the right path.

...

I wouldn't let any of my dogs into the aviary with my parrots. It might be possible to teach them to leave the birds alone, but the cost of failure would be too high. Regardless of what breed you end up getting, I would recommend relying on separation techniques more than low prey drive to keep your birds safe.

And keep in mind that that the personality of the individual dog as going to be just as important as the breed. Ideally, you will want a dog that is people-oriented and eager to please, like a poodle or doberman, as that desire to make you happy can help overcome the dog's natural instinct to kill.

But definitely avoid terriers. They are fluffy little murder machines. :)
 

finchly

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I have owned many of the breeds mentioned in this thread, and am surprised at some of the views of high and low prey drive! (I did foster dogs)

I agree, avoid terriers.

My maltese couldn't care less about the birds but she has bad knees and can't walk far either. I see other people walking theirs for miles.

My cocker spaniel is my walking companion. I thought I'd trained her to "down" when a bird approaches. She even did it when I was in the next room. But she had an opportunity to run at them when no one was around so she did. No more trusting you, Miss Cricket! She has a soft mouth and doesn't hurt them but the birds don't need the trauma.

Our last dog was a Corgi/golden mix and didn't care anything about the birds. Neither did our 2 Corgis.

Our next dog will be a boxer. Not until after these 2, as their vet bills are running us into the ground.
 

taxidermynerd

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I would suggest a rottweiler, however they are not for the faint of heart. They are very strong physically, with an impressive bite force. They are also very smart, which makes them easy learners, however they can be very stubborn. They destroy toys like nobody's business.

There is also the reputation they unfairly carry. People think they bite, that they are vicious killers with no heart. You will have a hard time finding somewhere to live, and you may find that people will stay away from you in public. We have had people call Roxie an awful mean dog for sitting in a perfect heel before.

But if you can get past all of that, you will find the sweetest dog you've ever met. They are big snuggle bugs. They love kisses, are very friendly, and love to play. They're great with everyone from babies to seniors. Very protective of their humans as well.

I've had rotts all 18 years of my life, I'm now on my 3rd (1st dog was 8, 2nd was 10, and now we have Roxie). Roxie is the sweetest one yet. She goes everywhere with us, she's constantly going on car rides. She loves long walks and hikes, and is very good with Jade (Roxie is actually very wary of her! She thinks Jade is a bit scary, so she stays away).

Obviously every dog is different, but this is my experience. Roxie has a pretty high prey drive but she doesn't act on it, because I don't give her an opportunity to. Rottweilers are herding and working dogs. With enough effort, you can train them to do pretty much anything though.
 

iamwhoiam

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I would recommend a poodle. Very intelligent and none of the ones I've had have ever bothered the birds. They seem to accept the birds as members of the family and never tried to harm them.
 

tka

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I would vote against a Cavalier King Charles. I've grown up with them and my family have had five in all. For a toy breed they do have a prey drive - most of ours have enjoyed chasing birds and squirrels, one semi-regularly caught mice, rats and birds and would bring us the bodies, a couple may or may not have caught birds. A friend of a friend used a Cav as a poaching companion because she was such a unlikely-looking but skilled hunter.
 

macawpower58

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I'm not sure if your in the US, but some breeds like Rotts, Akita, Pitbull, Chows, etc... will cancel your home insurance. :(
I had GSDs and had to check with each company to see if they were on the 'forbidden' breed list.
Some allowed them, others didn't.
 
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