Of course they're not big and scary, but the way my dog reacted you would have thought so.
We moved the chicks out to their outdoor brooder in the barn this weekend. I kept the dog away from them for a couple days just to let them settle in. But the dog can hear them and has been barking day and night! So I took her in there to introduce them and the dog was so scared of them. She laid down outside the brooder with her tail between her legs. I sat down next to her and she huddled up next to me and was just trembling!
Now, I have to put in here that when we got her last summer she was 10 months old and had almost no socialization. She had been raised on a working farm and was well socialized with other animals, but not with new people or situations. She is seriously the most skittish dog I've ever met. For months the only time I could get her to really be calm and relaxed was when I brushed her and trimmed her nails. (Yes, she is a girly-girl dog!) She's come a long, long way.
I'm hoping now that she's seen the chicks she'll calm down and stop barking. I'm sure she thought there was an intruder in the barn that she needed to chase out. Do you think her carrying on will bother or stress the chicks any? I don't want to put any undue stress on the chicks, but I also want to get my dog used to them being around.
We moved the chicks out to their outdoor brooder in the barn this weekend. I kept the dog away from them for a couple days just to let them settle in. But the dog can hear them and has been barking day and night! So I took her in there to introduce them and the dog was so scared of them. She laid down outside the brooder with her tail between her legs. I sat down next to her and she huddled up next to me and was just trembling!
Now, I have to put in here that when we got her last summer she was 10 months old and had almost no socialization. She had been raised on a working farm and was well socialized with other animals, but not with new people or situations. She is seriously the most skittish dog I've ever met. For months the only time I could get her to really be calm and relaxed was when I brushed her and trimmed her nails. (Yes, she is a girly-girl dog!) She's come a long, long way.
I'm hoping now that she's seen the chicks she'll calm down and stop barking. I'm sure she thought there was an intruder in the barn that she needed to chase out. Do you think her carrying on will bother or stress the chicks any? I don't want to put any undue stress on the chicks, but I also want to get my dog used to them being around.
