Topic of the Week - Dogs and Chickens

[Uwish]

Certain breeds protect livestock, though even proponents of those breeds mostly agree they don't actually bond with nor protect a flock of chickens, and some breeds protect territory. So all you need to do is train a pup on leaving the chickens alone, he will guard a certain territory from predators as it's just in his nature...if the chickens are in that territory, they benefit from that territorial guarding.

I train a pup by exposure to the chickens, not exclusion. I think most people make the mistake of keeping them separate but in visual with one another, which just creates a dog that is allowed to get excited by the birds with no one there to correct him on it. Then, finally, the human thinks the dog is old enough to train on chickens but he has already set a pattern in his formative months of being able to pace the fence, lunge and bark at them if they get excited, etc. Suddenly a person wants him to stop all those behaviors and he's then confused.

First day a pup is here, he is trained on chickens. You are fortunate that you have an older dog to help you...that's priceless and will be your second set of eyes on the flock in regards to a pup.

I work on obedience training at the same time I work on chickens...."leave it" is an important command for any dog, so you can combine leave it with chickens and get good results. I usually truss up a bird and lay it on the ground, where it usually flaps and tries to move a good bit...this attracts the pup's attention, which gets him an immediate correction. The bird will continue to move and possibly squawk, but the pup is not allowed to show any excitement or even any overt staring in that direction. That will get a correction. You have to give corrections in a timely manner, be quick. When he consistently gives the right response, which is to not even look at the bird when it moves and makes noise, you give cheery positive reinforcements of pets, good boys, etc.

Then go inside the house but leave the bird and the pup out there, watch from an open window....any glance he may give in the direction of the bird gets a correction, loud and strong. The desired response to that correction is a ducking of the head and movement away from the chicken. When that happens, you know he has connected the chicken with "leave it" corrections. Then you can go out and release your bird and continue to reinforce that training as time goes along, but I've barely needed another lesson of that type. After that, they know that they are not to grow excited when the chickens do.

The older dog's example will reinforce that training, with the older dog showing further example of how to react when the chickens make noise and run, squawk and flap.

That is exactly how it’s done!! Well done My personal only difference is my dogs are allowed to interact snuggle etc with them

 

[Owntalin]

View attachment 2950363
Picture by @Minidinochickens​

Most chicken owners have a dog or two in addition to their flock. Some keep and train their dogs as livestock guardians or flock watchers, while others find they can't trust their dogs with their birds. Keeping these two species together can be done very successfully though. I would like to hear from all you dog and chicken owners what advice you have and what your experiences were when it comes to keeping dogs and chickens together, or at least in harmony. Specifically:

- How do you/did you train your dog(s) not to kill or mess with your chickens?
- What is the best/most effective way to deal with/retrain a dog that killed birds already? (No cruel or inappropriate suggestions, please… Let's keep this thread friendly and informative)
- Tell me about livestock guardian dogs (LGD's)
- Are some dog breeds more or less prone to be a problem around the flock?

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

We have always trained our dogs to leave and be gentle with small animals. Hamsters, gerbils, ferrets...which was a worry as our dogs are jack russell X daschy and Jack Russell X beagle....snakes, ghekos, guinea pigs, chickens and now our quails. We held them while they wandered around the floor etc, we would lay the dogs down and let them walk over them so they knew they were part of the pack. Never ever hurt them. In fact the beagle protects them from foxes and rats xx

 

[-Flash-]

Our dog, Harvey, attacked and killed our chickens for 3ish years. He is a border collie cross wirehaired (Wire head?) vizsla. In... maybe 2019, our hen, Buddy, decided to turn the tables and attack him. And then, of course, the rooster had to join in. He hasn't eaten a chicken since.

 

[Dawnhaschickens]

View attachment 2950363
Picture by @Minidinochickens​

Most chicken owners have a dog or two in addition to their flock. Some keep and train their dogs as livestock guardians or flock watchers, while others find they can't trust their dogs with their birds. Keeping these two species together can be done very successfully though. I would like to hear from all you dog and chicken owners what advice you have and what your experiences were when it comes to keeping dogs and chickens together, or at least in harmony. Specifically:

- How do you/did you train your dog(s) not to kill or mess with your chickens?
- What is the best/most effective way to deal with/retrain a dog that killed birds already? (No cruel or inappropriate suggestions, please… Let's keep this thread friendly and informative)
- Tell me about livestock guardian dogs (LGD's)
- Are some dog breeds more or less prone to be a problem around the flock?

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

I have a mini Austrian Sheppard who helps beard the chickens. As a pup she wanted to play but never tried to hurt them. Now they all free range together but if she tries anything funny and chickens don’t want her in their space they chase her and she runs from them. I have my Hen in charge likes to come up porch and Cherokee my dog won’t even try to get up stairs if Clamity Jane doesn’t want her to. But have to say I share a treat with the both of them sometimes and they take turns getting there nibble of fruit .

 

[Rancho Pollo]

We have a 14mo old golden retriever. She has been with our chickens since we brought them home as chicks. She never really seemed too interested in them. A few times I had to reprimand her, and she minded well. What we now know is we cannot allow her to be in the yard while the chickens are free ranging and we are away. A few weeks ago we had left her outside with the chickens. We came home and one of the girls was dead in her hutch. We weren't sure it was the dog. None the less, we decided we would put the girls away if we had to leave the dog alone outside. Last week we failed to do that and came home to another dead chicken. I guess this is the dog's way of acting out when we leave her alone? When we're home she's fine. Could care less about the chickens.

 

[Nksg75]

We have 2 15 year old aussies that are wonderful with the chickens. I can’t really remember how we trained them, or if we really had to do much. They are more territory guarding vs really guarding the chickens. They are great as far as chicks, chickens go, they even allow them to perch on their backs. Our chickens free range sun up to dusk and only one complaint as far as the dogs go! (I wish they didn’t have the taste for chicken poop!)
One of our horses also tolerates the chickens perching on him.
here is a pic of just that!

 

[Kramsey2021]

I have a 9yr old Staffordshire bull terrier I adopted from the shelter at 5 months old. He's always lived with cats but did not have any experience with children or chickens until last year. He's killed some small wildlife (armadillo and mole) and has attacked a skunk and a horse so I was not very optimistic. The dog trainer I had been using said he could never be trusted around my baby because of his high prey drive. It's been over a year with both child & chickens and I have no concerns. He does great with both and I never did keep up with the training. I wouldn't stay he's a good protector but his presence is enough to keep away the neighborhood cats away when the birds are free ranging. Every dog is an individual despite their breed...

 

[gypsylady32]

Our lab is 2yrs old. When I got chicks, I had them in my home office in a large dog crate. I let London, our lab, sniff them and hang out with us when I was in my office. When the girls were old enough to go outside to live, I let London go around the run which is fenced in. He got pecked on the nose once getting a bit too close. Now, whenever I let the girls out to free-range a bit (only supervised because we have a lot of hawks), London is right there with them. I've not had to worry about him hurting them at all.

 

[Memaw57]

View attachment 2950363
Picture by @Minidinochickens​

Most chicken owners have a dog or two in addition to their flock. Some keep and train their dogs as livestock guardians or flock watchers, while others find they can't trust their dogs with their birds. Keeping these two species together can be done very successfully though. I would like to hear from all you dog and chicken owners what advice you have and what your experiences were when it comes to keeping dogs and chickens together, or at least in harmony. Specifically:

- How do you/did you train your dog(s) not to kill or mess with your chickens?
- What is the best/most effective way to deal with/retrain a dog that killed birds already? (No cruel or inappropriate suggestions, please… Let's keep this thread friendly and informative)
- Tell me about livestock guardian dogs (LGD's)
- Are some dog breeds more or less prone to be a problem around the flock?

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

I have a tiny Yorkie, a 6 lb poodle and a French bulldog. Bulldog had obedience as a pup and is the best dog with every animal or person! Chickens follow her around! Anything I don’t want her to touch a “Leave it” command stops her cold. The 15 year old Yorkie (no teeth) chased them until she discovered the prizes they drop! Yuck! Little poodle seems to not care but I watch her closely! She’s the youngest at 4 years old! Don’t trust her yet!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

We have a 14mo old golden retriever. She has been with our chickens since we brought them home as chicks. She never really seemed too interested in them. A few times I had to reprimand her, and she minded well. What we now know is we cannot allow her to be in the yard while the chickens are free ranging and we are away. A few weeks ago we had left her outside with the chickens. We came home and one of the girls was dead in her hutch. We weren't sure it was the dog. None the less, we decided we would put the girls away if we had to leave the dog alone outside. Last week we failed to do that and came home to another dead chicken. I guess this is the dog's way of acting out when we leave her alone? When we're home she's fine. Could care less about the chickens.

We have a 10 MO golden retriver and we taught her gentle and we say that around the chickens and she is great. She wouldnt harm them we dont leave her alone with them and she tries to lick them.