My yard is welcome to many stray animals. I love having the extra guests but if my dog is outside she goes deaf and chases them away. She does not hurt them, but she makes sure the yard is cleaned out.Is it possible to encourage her to ignore the strays? Or must I just keep her restrained / in the house, when they come around?Oh yeah, and I know it is natural for a dog to protect it's territory, but I am just wanting to go against nature I guess?

Well usually it takes time for the dog to get used to the stray animals. My dog used to hate stray cats, but I kept puting her out in the yard and sooner or later she knew that she could not keep them away so she just stopped chasing them and there, my problem was fixed. If that does not work then you will have to keep your dog in the house until they leave or take him/her in the front if she needs to go to the bathroom.

I think after time goes by your dog will see that you accept them as part of your pack and he will to . It just takes time and dogs always love to chase eventually the stray animals will learn also that your dog wont hurt them. I have five dogs and we feed a few strays and they all get along they dont hang out but they accept each other. Putting your dog in the house will only make your dog feel left out but may also create unwanted behavior.