Best short haired, medium sized, low-prey drive farm/kid dog?

[HungarianHippo]

Yeah, most of the breeds being promoted above were bred for hunting, so I don’t see how they’d fit the “low prey drive” criteria. Just about any dog will chase fun toys, whether that’s kittens or chickens or actual toys, so it’s more about your skills and diligence as a trainer to ensure the dog has excellent recall.

That said, our animals do seem to learn who’s part of the farm vs who’s prey. We have not lost a single baby chicken to the barn cats. We keep the new peeps protected but visible for 4-6 weeks and by then the cats just seem to get that those birds are not food (and it’s not a size issue-- they easily kill rabbits.)

[Frivian]

I have a medium sized female Lab (60 pounds soaking wet) that I got at age 1. She has always been lazy, from day 1, and a couch potato. She needs her daily walks but other than that is happy to just lay around. Perfect around the horses and doesn’t chase anything, including our cat. She is also the most patient animal I have ever seen (we have a 4 year old, VERY active and rambunctious daughter). She is submissive and was hilariously easy to train - only ever had one accident in the house. She is very people oriented and is always off leash around our house, and never even thinks about wandering. Once, we accidentally left her in our front yard (an urban neighborhood, we have a very small yard) due to a miscommunication between my husband and me, and after about 20 minutes inside I thought “Where’s the dog?” - opened the door and there she was, laying on my front step, just waiting for us to remember she was out there. She is food motivated enough to be very easy obedience wise - clicker training worked in a snap for her. But not so food motivated that we can’t leave anything out. We can grill a platter of steak, leave it to set on the counter for 10 minutes, and come back and she’s still laying on her bed. She has never once touched the trash.

I would NOT recommend a beagle or any other hound for a farm dog because a) they are ridiculous around food b) they bark wayyyyy too much and c) they WILL leave, and are really hard to train.

Viszlas also make wonderful farm and family dogs and I know several who have them. Similar qualities to the lab but more Velcro-type personality and a little higher energy. But they don’t destroy things in the house either, and are generally very clean and low shedding dogs.

ETA: My lab was a rescue. We adopted her out of a foster home that had 4 cats, so we knew from the beginning she’d be good with other animals. When we met her it was obvious that she had the perfect temperament for our needs. I am really happy we went that route instead of buying a puppy or adopting straight out of a shelter (hard to tell what the dog’s personality is in a shelter environment, and puppies were too much work for our stage in life).

[Simkie]

Every single one of my Ridgebacks has fit your requirements if you extend your weight limit just a little. I rarely recommend the breed to people, as they can be difficult puppies and require a hefty dose of consistency to turn into nice dogs, but if you can do a Cane Corso, you likely have the chops for a baby Ridgeback The girls are about 70 pounds, the boys heavier. A good breeder is VITAL, as they often tip into aggressive or fear bitey from a bad one, but they are really, really nice dogs when done well. The girl I have now spends all day outside with me, stays on the property, barks to alert when people come to the house but is friendly to a fault. Doesn’t chase horses at all, will run briefly after squirrels for fun but comes back to me after a few strides. Doesn’t follow her nose. She’s quiet and low key in the house and has her spots where she sacks out when we’re inside. Ridgebacks do want to be one person dogs–she’s mine–and will look to me before obeying a command from my husband. Not much hair (requires coats in the winter!) and sheds undercoat in the spring and fall…a quick bath in the barn usually takes care of the worst of it.

Here she is snoozing in the sun in the woods with me while I was clearing deadfall:

And in front of the fire:

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[luvmyhackney]

You might want to go check out the labs, many are quite lazy. Mine wasn’t, but my inlaws lab was a lazy old fart as a puppy. He just got lazier as he got older.

[btswass]

Look into an akita mix. They’re calm and laid back and don’t need a ton of exercise. Loyal and affectionate to their family and great around other animals. I have a kelpie/akita mix and he’s just the best. Even with the high energy kelpie in him he’s not a high energy dog. He can go all day if need be but he doesn’t need to be tired out every night. He excels at agility and rally and is not overly food motivated/aggressive/obsessive like so many labs. If someone drops food on the floor he’ll just look at it.

[BravAddict]

I think you’ve gotten great suggestions, and I agree that staying away from herding dogs and scent/sight hounds is important for your quality of life You will never be able to trust a scent or sight hound off-leash. I appreciate that labs, with their propensity to be good-natured but food-obsessed louts, may not be your cup of tea. You really want a companion animal. I’ll second those who said Doberman, pit, pit-mix, and also suggest an Airedale Terrier. They aren’t as tightly wound as most terriers, but they are wonderful family dogs and don’t shed. Rottweilers are wonderful dogs, though I do think they were originally drovers, so you might want to talk to breed enthusiasts about (a) lines with low droving “drive” and (b) how to determine a rescue Rottie’s tendency to approach large animals from behind. I think that if Dalmatians came in a low-key flavor, that’d be what you want, but alas…what you really want is a pit mix.

[Kodidog763]

@rideon2

not a fan of Labs because most of the ones I’ve know take forever to chill out and get out of the puppy stage (like 3-4 years old!) We prefer a lazy type dog (hence owning a Mastiff!), so terrier temperament likely won’t be a good fit.

We have British labs and they are calmer (all of mine are couch potatoes when not hunting) than American labs. Maybe check those out before ruling labs out completely.

[JWU98NC]

Jack Russel Terrier!! Best and smartest with lots of energy to play with the kids! You can find hyper ones or chill ones! I have a chill one and he is great!

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

I’m going to disagree a bit on the doberman as a suggestion, based on the OP criteria and my own dogs. I have had several dobermans, but YMMV. You CAN find a low drive one that is good with kids, but in general mine have been high drive dogs and extensive training was involved. Only one liked strange kids (family kids were fine). I would not have been comfortable with the dobermans around rough-housing friends because they were protective of their family members and may take something the wrong way. I also only had one that was indifferent with strangers coming to my house (he was a very low drive rescue, but also didn’t like kids or other dogs). I could take any of them anywhere and calmly meet strangers, hang out on a patio in public, that kind of thing, but there is something different with strangers coming on your property.

Also, the males can be pretty big. A medium dog is around 45-50 lbs in my book, Dobermans definitely don’t fit a medium crate anyway. I never had a doberman male under 70.

The breed standard is to be standoffish with strangers and a personal protection dog. Some lines have had that bred out of them (sadly) and are basically a lab in a dobe coat, but you will want to look at the individual carefully. Some lines went too far away from the strong dogs and are pretty nervy (which I can’t stand). Perhaps an adult rescue would be best, so you know what you are getting. They are very active and do best with obedience training and a job–particularly when they are a puppy. I have shown them in AKC obedience for example.

They also have significant health concerns. Cancer, DCM, wobblers, etc.

[cbv]

@BravAddict

I think you’ve gotten great suggestions, and I agree that staying away from herding dogs and scent/sight hounds is important for your quality of life You will never be able to trust a scent or sight hound off-leash. I appreciate that labs…

My experience is very different. Have had BC’s as farm dogs for years. Most have had zero interest in horses, and those that did were so biddable could be trained to stay out of pastures/paddocks. Energy level medium to high but couch potatoes in house.

Had one ACD that was the best dog ever. Had to teach some boundaries regarding cats and horses, but also smart and quick to learn.Now have ACD pup, 6 mos., so far he has 0 interest in horses. Have had to work with him on barn cats but most dogs need to learn those boundaries.

Had two Borzois. Also good farm dogs. Both were trustworthy off leash around horses and cats. Would chase a deer occasionally, hell on ground hogs, but regularly hiked and jogged with one off them regularly off leash and she was trustworthy hanging out unsupervised.

Inherited a lab, made my herding dogs and borzois look laid back.

[S1969]

This thread is fascinating.

It sounds like just about any breed could work, or might not work, depending on temperament, which is really hard to assess in a 6-8 week old puppy. Also, environment, training and tolerance of each owner are factors.

I would decide on the factors that matter most and work your way down from there. And think of backup plans if your plans don’t work out - my first Brittany was 100% reliable without a fence. 2nd was 98% and would stay with dog #1. Third said “haha seeya” and wanted to hunt all day, every day. If he got in with my horses he wanted to “hang out” with them and they didn’t really reciprocate those feelings. If I had chickens, I don’t think they would be safe. So, I have a fence now, and it is great.

But I still like the breed, and I am glad my breed was chosen as my “pet” first, and not as a farm dog.

PS though I forgot about Rhodesians. They might work for you aside from the size.

[danacat]

@Simkie

Every single one of my Ridgebacks has fit your requirements if you extend your weight limit just a little. I rarely recommend the breed to people, as they can be difficult puppies and require a hefty dose of consistency to turn into nice dogs, but if you can do a Cane Corso, you likely have the chops for a baby Ridgeback The girls are about 70 pounds, the boys heavier. A good breeder is VITAL, as they often tip into aggressive or fear bitey from a bad one, but they are really, really nice dogs when done well. The girl I have now spends all day outside with me, stays on the property, barks to alert when people come to the house but is friendly to a fault. Doesn’t chase horses at all, will run briefly after squirrels for fun but comes back to me after a few strides. Doesn’t follow her nose. She’s quiet and low key in the house and has her spots where she sacks out when we’re inside. Ridgebacks do want to be one person dogs–she’s mine–and will look to me before obeying a command from my husband. Not much hair (requires coats in the winter!) and sheds undercoat in the spring and fall…a quick bath in the barn usually takes care of the worst of it.
]

YES !!! My Ridgeback was a fantastic farm dog + couch potato + all around amazing dog. Female and an ‘any person’ dog once she REALLY got to know you. She was also very gentle and loving (after puppyhood) to my two most recent Italian Greyhounds – who also were fabulous dogs (I’ve had many) though they can be difficult to permanently house break and they HAVE to sleep under the covers with you – it’s a built in thing.

Years before I had the ^^ above crew ^^ I adopted a racing Greyhound – also an incredible dog. Sadly all of my beloved dogs are now across the bridge – and if it weren’t for the wonderful cats that have found their way into my life, I would go back to any of the breeds I just mentioned.

[Foxtrot_s]

Honestly, a good dog is a good dog and you get good and bad in all breeds…if you are lucky you get one true to its breed type.

I understand the short coat requirement, tho. And then there is single coated dogs - or like a lab, with that thick undercoat, and you’ll get lab hairballs all over the place. Our house had a permanent golden sheen from our lab.

[frisky]

I have had several coonhounds which are cousins to the beagle and the foxhound. You really need to search high and low to find a hunting dog that is not inclined to wander too far. My current walker is rather inclined to hunting coyote and running in the woods and the other had a huge prey drive. (I just returned from the park where my dog was hunting mice and I just put his leash on when a coyote trotted by. My dog went nuts. I narrowly missed being at the park all night.) I had a bluetick who was a fabulous barn dog and great with kids. My black and tan and bloodhound were also fantastic-- no prey drive and they wandered locally, just around the barn, but not far. Bloodhounds are great, but maybe bigger than you are looking for.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Get one of the German Shorthair pointer bitches on laurierace’s thread on off topic after the puppies are weaned and have her spayed. Or adopt both of the females. . German Shorthair pointers are wonderful dogs.

[mmeqcenter]

Pit bull