Help! Her head was chewed on by a fisher cat!

[ozark hen]

Spydrworks, a question for you...when raising a pup with the chicks won't they attack the chicks out of playfullness? I have heard of keeping them in the same pen??? I am wanting to get a large outside dog that will stay home..we live in the middle of 82 acres...to tend to the chickens but don't know how to go about it?

 

[Spydrworks]

Quote:
I can give you some pointers, but certainly look up trainers in your area for assistance.

It is best to get a very young puppy...just weened. If you can deal with two, then get two. They can have each other as playmates rather than resort to the chickens for amusement.

Make sure any chew toys DO NOT resemble an animal of any kind or bear any feathers or animal fur or skin. This will help avoid any associations with chewing up little animals as toys.

Expect a couple of weeks to having the puppies away from the other animals until they are fully vaccinated. During that time you can start training the puppies basic commands right away (sit, stay, come, housebreaking, etc.). This is also a good time to teach the puppies the tolerance levels of play around little delicate things. You can used stuffed animals and teach the puppies how to be around little things without harming little things. Hand puppets are great for this because you can feel what's going on.

At such a young age, the puppy should be fairly easy to train. Pick a mix breed...preferrably of breeds with gentle traits. Avoid dalamations, pinchers, and other breeds with similar nervous traits. Stick with labs, shepards, and other working dog breeds. Mix breeds are preferrable in long term health and maintenance of the dog.

Avoid puppies that are mouthy. Some breeds are mouthier than others. What I mean by mouthy is they use their mouths a lot for exploration. When my X and I had our son, we went to the pound to look at puppies. There were two. One a boxer and the other an akita mix. The boxer was very excited and mouthed our hands a lot...something we wanted to avoid around an infant. The akita mix was happy and playful, didn't get mouthy at all and was gentle and laid back. She still is

even after 13 years.

Once the puppies are fully vaccinated, should be introduced to the chickens...keeping eye on the chickens so they don't get too feisty with the puppies (or vice versa, but most likely the chickens would be doing the picking) and be available to separate them if and when needed. Have a pen nearby the chicken coop for this and for the times they cannot be supervised. Eventually the puppies will be trusting and you and/or whoever does the training can ensure that.

Time and patience is key. Always reward good behavior and use something annoying or somewhat fearful rather than harmful for any negative reinforcement...like a loud noise to distract the puppy when he or she is doing something unfavorable. A can of pennies can be effective and always follow up with a stern "no".

Also...try to avoid food treat reinforcement. Dogs are social and follow an order and are always wanting to please the alpha. You are alpha over them. Verbal praise and body language is what dogs understand without you needing a crutch to reinforce what you want out of them.

One more pointer...Males are more likely to try to challenge a male person for the alpha position, unless they are neutered prior to maturity. Not that they may become violent at it...good dogs generally just act like typical teenagers...lol...but it's easier to keep the dog paying attention to you rather than you having to pay attention to the dog and get your alpha position back.

HTH.

BTW...I was just checking out a video on an AOL blogg showing a full grown pitbull dog gently playing with day old chicks. Very cute. So, it IS possible with good loving care, time, patience and good training.

Good luck

 

[ozark hen]

thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to give a pretty thorough explanation. again, thanks