Saw something today that made me very proud of our dogs. Our dog Molly was outside on the deck, laying on her bed, eating a very prized treat, a cabbage core (its a treat, trust me). The other dogs know better than to mess with her when she has a prize; she can snap at you with blinding speed. Even the alpha dog avoids a direct seizure of the treat.
So, up on the deck hops one of our youngest but, boldest chickens and she is eyeing the cabbage. The chicken walks right up to Molly and tries to take the cabbage (I mean really, she just has it between her paws). Molly growls, snarls and barks at the chicken. But, never made contact with the bird. At one point, she actually got up and took the cabbage away but, the chicken pursued her. Eventually, she just gave up and left the cabbage.
So, then the alpha female snatched the unguarded cabbage and walked over to a different part of the deck to eat the cabbage. Weighing 120 lbs, Fluffy was about to make quick work of this little cabbage core. The chicken followed Fluffy trying to get whatever fell on the deck. A good size chuck dropped and the chicken was so bold that she snatched the piece from under the mouth of this huge dog.
So, to those that say that dogs cant be trusted with chickens, I submit this observation. It appears to me to all come down to training such that the dogs learn to accept the chickens as part of the pack. We have one dog that will leave his food if the chickens show an interest in his food and start to extract kibbles from his dish while hes eating.
Jim
So, up on the deck hops one of our youngest but, boldest chickens and she is eyeing the cabbage. The chicken walks right up to Molly and tries to take the cabbage (I mean really, she just has it between her paws). Molly growls, snarls and barks at the chicken. But, never made contact with the bird. At one point, she actually got up and took the cabbage away but, the chicken pursued her. Eventually, she just gave up and left the cabbage.
So, then the alpha female snatched the unguarded cabbage and walked over to a different part of the deck to eat the cabbage. Weighing 120 lbs, Fluffy was about to make quick work of this little cabbage core. The chicken followed Fluffy trying to get whatever fell on the deck. A good size chuck dropped and the chicken was so bold that she snatched the piece from under the mouth of this huge dog.
So, to those that say that dogs cant be trusted with chickens, I submit this observation. It appears to me to all come down to training such that the dogs learn to accept the chickens as part of the pack. We have one dog that will leave his food if the chickens show an interest in his food and start to extract kibbles from his dish while hes eating.
Jim