Visiting dog and staying in coop

[Chicklette]

So today and tommorrow we are dog sitting a lovely little boston terrier fellow. He has of course not been raised around chickens, and ours free range around our property usually. We do not have a run. The dogs have a fenced off yard in the back, but he is so small that I'm not entirely certain that he couldn't get through. I have no idea how prey motivated he would be - so far he seems just interested in my other dogs, who are great and completely ignore the chickens. However once they are out they are out, and I would have difficulty catching them to put them back if the little guy goes ballistic.

Do you think it would be wise to leave them in the coop today - perhaps only letting them out later on when I can bring the dogs inside completely? They have 4sq foot each and I imagine they'll be fine, but they've just been let out every day since they were little.

They have just started laying eggs so I don't want to disrupt their habits, but the last thing I want is is anything to happen to my girls.

 

[alagary]

I had two of the best behaved dogs kill my chickens. I would leave the girls locked up for today . If you feel guilty about it ,toss in some extra treats .

 

[jwchicklady]

i wouldn't trust any terrier unless he was trained to stay away from chickens.

 

[elmo]

Our Boston Terrier is fine around the chickens just as he was when we let our rabbit out of its pen. However, I still wouldn't leave him alone with them.

Since this isn't your dog you don't know its temperament; I wouldn't risk it. And this is also for the safety of the dog; it could easily get pecked or scratched in the eye by a chicken.

 

[SallyF]

It won't kill the chickens to stay inside for a day. They won't be happy but tell them to go lay eggs and think about something else.

 

[fuzidragonbunnie]

I believe that Terrier is the key word. Terriers were bred to hunt prey. If the dog isn't use to being around chickens, I wouldn't let the chickens loose. Ours are use to being around chickens, but when one of the neighbor's hens hopped the fence, they accidently killed it playing tug-of-war.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Hee! No one told our Boston this. He thinks he was bred to sleep on our laps.

 

[HEChicken]

I'd go the other way and keep the dog confined. If you are worried about him getting out of the dog run, perhaps there is a room in the house he can stay in? Once the chickens go to bed tonight, he can get out and run around all he likes.

 

[Chicklette]

Thanks guys, I agree that separation is probably the best plan since we don't know what could happen and the downside is so bad. Despite my best efforts, one of my hens played escape artist when I went to make sure they had food and water, so I let the rest out and the dog will be on a leash and extra supervised outside today. He's snoring beside me so I think that's ok. But because the hens are used to dogs and not afraid and we don't know how this guy will behave, better safe than sorry