Mixed feelings.. 1st night in outdoor pen.

[WildThang]

It's good things are getting better, they will grow on you and you'll grow on them in time~ D

 

[enriquec]

Ducks are great

I'm not sure if you want to do this, but it might be a good idea to introduce dog to ducks. Maybe not.

The neighbor's dogs keep running over and I'd grab it. Eventually I decided to get them involved to introduce and I feel better now. They don't eat them.

 

[raincrystalskye]

We've tried several times to introduce our dog to the ducks. The first time he actually attempted to bite the tiny ducks head off. But didn't really bite down because the duck was in my hands. So we tried introducing through a baby gate and he snapped at the gate. We've tried keeping him on a leash when they are in thier pool and he shakes and bites at the air we've made no progress. He wants to eat them. Now that they are in a gated area he stalks and acts like he's hunting them.

 

[WildThang]

We've tried several times to introduce our dog to the ducks. The first time he actually attempted to bite the tiny ducks head off. But didn't really bite down because the duck was in my hands. So we tried introducing through a baby gate and he snapped at the gate. We've tried keeping him on a leash when they are in thier pool and he shakes and bites at the air we've made no progress. He wants to eat them. Now that they are in a gated area he stalks and acts like he's hunting them.

Dogs have a natural prey, Predator instinct. They were to domesticated from wild Animals. Yes centuries ago but it is still in their blood. They are typically pack animals. You have to introduce yourself as the Alpha. Whenever you are walking him by the babygate/Fence. Make sure you are calm. But any time he looks/jolts towards the fence to snap at them. Tug on the leash, or use three fingers jab (Not hard use your hand like another dog would when biting/correcting.) him in the neck. If he continues, past your corrections. Force him to lay down on his side. You standing between him and the birds, make sure you are not getting aggravated, you getting mad will just make him mad. Depending on his size this can take forever, or a few minutes. If he is already a submissive dog. When he tries to get up make a Correction noise, not "No" Not his name. Make sure he fully submits before you let him back up, meaning he lays his head down. Stops looking in your eyes. Doesn't look at the birds. If he is looking into your eyes he is still testing your dominance. Once he submits you reward that with letting him up. Not "Good boy" It will be just like correcting two dogs that got into it with each other. If your not sure your doing it right, i would watch a few episodes of little ceaser. Yeah he might not be working with dogs/ducks. But ducks are a flock animal packs are similar to flocks. You have to integrate the ducks in with the dog as a pack. Once he starts to calm down it may take some time. And not stalk the fence repetitively. And you feel like taking him closer to the ducks, i would say to muzzle him and keep him on a leash that way he cant "Bite" and you can still correct him easily. So he cant jump on them or injure them that way. It will still take some time, he has to stop seeing them as food or prey and start seeing them as pack members or as we call it "Little people" Our Collies see the birds as puppies, because we have a small breed of dogs. They feel the need to protect the birds, just like the little doggies.

 

[enriquec]

Dog whisperer. Absolutely works

 

[raincrystalskye]

Our dog was a rescue from the shelter. Listed as a black mouth cur mix about 60lbs. Looks just like a dingo. He has some behavior/ dominance issues. Can not be trusted around any child but mine who he is very protective of. He has never bitten but he has sought out and taken his snout and "punched" and bloodied the lip of 4 different children. From what I've read that is considered aggressive behavior so we take NO chances. We've tried working with him around kids and just when we think weve made progress it would happen again. I will definetly take the advice and work with him. Fingers crossed

 

[WildThang]

He needs to understand Any CHILD is his alpha as well. Make sure when you take him around kids he is muzzled and if you have to lay him down like that. That The child he did that to Will stand next to you point at him. The child should do this as well. So he will see that you both are his Alpha's. Otherwise he will not see children as his Dominant. And will continue to do this. Im guessing he was a hunter dog, or was harmed by kids in the past. Or just not a good breed for children. Terriors are notorious for this. I do not know what breed he is never herd of it. But working with him will do a lot. Don't give up or agrivated.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Our dog was a rescue from the shelter. Listed as a black mouth cur mix about 60lbs. Looks just like a dingo. He has some behavior/ dominance issues. Can not be trusted around any child but mine who he is very protective of. He has never bitten but he has sought out and taken his snout and "punched" and bloodied the lip of 4 different children. From what I've read that is considered aggressive behavior so we take NO chances. We've tried working with him around kids and just when we think weve made progress it would happen again. I will definetly take the advice and work with him. Fingers crossed

I would definitely keep that dog separated from the ducks at least until they're grown, even if you're around. It's fine to let him look at them and sniff at them as long as there's a barrier between them like their pen, but if he's pacing and growling outside the pen, I wouldn't even allow that. That kind of environment could make your ducks so skittish because they feel like they're always been stalked that it could have a long-term affect on their behavior.

I would continue to work with the dog as others have suggested, but you probably have an uphill battle ahead of you. Many shelter animals are abused before they're surrendered, and it can be very difficult to get them out of the defensive mindset that many of them take on. If the dog is agressive even with children, who are much larger than ducks, you can pretty safely assume he's going to see something as small as a duck as easy prey. It doesn't take actually biting the head off. A large, aggressive dog can snap a duck's neck almost as fast as you can blink, even if you're standing right there.

I really hope all this works out for you and everyone can live peacefully together.

 

[raincrystalskye]

I appreciate everyone's imput so much thank you! I

 

[Onlyducks]

While you can train the dog to be submissive when you are in the area, I still would not trust the dog if you are not around. We had a dachshund/terrier mix when I was young. He was a very well behaved dog—or so we thought. One of our ducks went missing and we chalked it up to a weasel or mink. Later, our dog was caught attacking the neighbor's chickens, killing them just for "fun". While in every other way, he was very submissive, when no one was around, the behaviour changed dramatically. Yes, dogs protecting ducks looks so sweet—up to the point where the dog changes the story line. Maybe it never happens, but if it does, are you willing to risk that?

I agree with the training ideas here and am in no way saying not to train the dog. I've just known too many people who trusted the dog to behave like a person and ended up with dead chickens or other animals, or the dog dying after breaking training and running into traffic or attacking someone or another dog. A trained dog can still break training under the right circumstances. A trained dog is a much better pet and a more content one, definately. Training is worth it.