Should I worry about my dogs following my chickens?

[Konra]

My chicks are around 10-12 weeks old and I'm having trouble convincing them to come out of the coop. I have two barred rock roosters who do like to come outside. I think they're being frightened by my dogs (2 shih tzus and a lab/german shepherd cross who is 8 months old). My dogs don't "chase" the chickens, but they follow them around and I think it freaks them out. I'm not sure whether to correct this or not, as the dogs aren't harming the chickens, and I assume when they get older and those rooster hormones kick in that they will stand their ground to the dogs. So my question is, is a dog following a chicken ok? It actually seems to be one of the shih tzus who starts it, and then the other two join in. The lab/shepherd puppy doesn't seem to care about the chickens unless my shih tzu is following them. And I don't want them to avoid the chickens altogether, as my dogs are very useful for helping me find stray chickens who haven't come inside at night!

 

[Sparrow]

I'm sorry to say, but the more you allow/encourage your dogs to follow/find chickens, the more you encourage them acting like a predator toward them. Really bad idea, and one major reason why there are so many "OMG my dog killed my chickens" topics in the emergencies/predators forum here. Whether or not they help you find chickens that have gotten out, you need to teach them avoidance for the safety of your birds.

 

[centrarchid]

Konra,

The 8 month old pup is going to cause problems. Stop using the dogs to find birds. Relax and allow birds to control their comings and goings from coop.

 

[cntrywmnkw]

I'm sorry to say, but the more you allow/encourage your dogs to follow/find chickens, the more you encourage them acting like a predator toward them. Really bad idea, and one major reason why there are so many "OMG my dog killed my chickens" topics in the emergencies/predators forum here. Whether or not they help you find chickens that have gotten out, you need to teach them avoidance for the safety of your birds.

X2, You need to STOP letting your dogs follow your chickens IMMEDIATELY, you're just asking for problems by allowing your dogs access to the chickens.

 

[Konra]

Ok thanks all. I thought that was probably the case. The 8 month old is actually the easiest to correct, and I have been correcting them from following the chickens. It was only at night (like midnight and there were chickens still outside) that I had them helping me to find them, but I will stop doing that. It's mostly my one shih tzu who starts it all. I hate to blame the breed, but they sure are stubborn! I was making myself feel better by telling myself the chickens will be bigger than her soon, and she has no teeth so is unlikely to cause any damage (more likely to be the one getting damaged!)

 

[HenHouse13]

Konra,

My french mastiff was VERY curious when it came to the chicks...She has a VERY HIGH prey drive so we honestly expected her to eat one or two! well, she got too close and got pecked in the face. But now she keeps her distance and the chickens are now 6 months and keep their distance too So they like to be around each other but always stay a few inches/feet away...Personally, for six months now we have had no problems and I think its fine to let them socialize together as long as there have been no signs of aggression

 

[dainerra]

Konra, the problem is, even though they will soon be bigger and she has no teeth, if SHE starts chasing the other dogs will join in. And, in my experience, most chickens are killed by dogs who are playing than ones who actually want to cause harm.

 

[welshchicks]

Hiya, just to say I have 3 terriers who live happily amongst our 8 hens, 1 cockerel, 4 drakes and 8 ducks - all animals are respectful of eachother although sometimes the dogs join in eating the hens food!!!!! Strangely a puppy from up the lane escaped and came into our yard and chased the hens & ducks and even after that they are still relaxed around our dogs. When the drakes get a bit frisky with the females and they have had enough they often run to to dogs to hide behind them...

 

[Sjisty]

My 16-year-old Aussie follows the chickens. We have a few girls who lay their eggs in the yard. Ruby will find a hen in her favorite laying spot and lay there watching until the egg is laid. The chicken then walks away and its "snack time." Many times I have caught Ruby "sneaking" away and when I call, she has an egg in her mouth. Otherwise, she pretty much leaves the chickens alone. Years ago she was attacked by a broody and learned not to get too close, although often I see her lying on the front porch with a young chicken on her back.

 

[Konra]

My lab/shepherd cross, after some training, now leaves the chickens entirely alone. He is an outdoor dog, and I completely trust him with the chickens. He no longer follows them around. Might have something to do with my attempt to teach avoidance. I held a rooster, he came up to sniff and got a good peck on the nose. Shook it off and tried again. Another good peck. After the third peck, he wanted nothing to do with them anymore. My older shih tzu had previously been around my parent's chickens. She doesn't bother them, but seems to feel the need to supervise. She likes to sit about 20 feet away and just watch them.

I'm still working on Dori, the shih tzu who starts it all. She doesn't chase the chickens who are close to her size anymore, mostly just sees them eating and wants to get her share (she is the most food motivated dog I've ever seen!). They ignore her for the most part. The only chickens she still bothers are my 4 bantam cochins, who love to run around loudly "peep peep peep peeping". Like so many squeaky toys. I've been correcting her though, and she is improving. The shih tzus are also never outside with the chickens unattended, so I'm still working on it but I think they'll all be okay