5 week old puppy and ducklings

[new2ducks]

There is an organic farm out here and there are chickens,ducks,pigs,cats and dogs and they all are just roaming around and get along perfectly! I'm amazed at how wonderful they all do. I don't know what the magic is in all of it but it sure is working out. I think it's just s special thing and I sure do hope it works for you.

 

[zooweemama]

We got a pup at 8 weeks old. She is 12 weeks now. Leashed I take her daily with me to let the chickens out and lock them up at night. She is being taught that she is not allowed to lunge or bark at them. I briefly 'tie' her to a tree stump right next to the coop - she is a couple feet away from the coop door. She watches me open the door, the chickens fly out cackling and when they are all done- I untie her and we walk amongst the chickens with her leash very short (she has to walk directly beside me, no lunging, no barking). It's not perfect- she is a pup. But she is barking no longer and lunging a lot less than she was 4 weeks ago. I do not know yet how she will as a grown dog. If she will move among them freely with what we are trying to train her or she will have a high prey drive. I am prepared for both. What I will not expect her to do is protect my chickens or ducks or geese. She is not that kind of breed, not that kind of dog...if I can have her with me and she will not lunge, bark, bite or eat the livestock- I'm golden. I would never do this with a 5 week old pup though. We got a pup at 5 weeks years ago (rescue) and the poor thing was way way too young to be from it's mama. Needs mama's milk and more proection- it's just a baby. <3

 

[animalz11]

I would have to agree with beardiemom, I had a puppy that we raised from 6 weeks old, thinking it would protect the chickens and the ducks, he shown absolutely no interest in the ducks or chickens but would bark if another dog came over, and the bark would scare the flock back into their cage where I could lock them up (because I don't like leaving them out of site when they were free roaming).
One afternoon when I went inside to make Dinner, the dog decided he was board and attacked the smallest duck (Daffy), she started calling to the other duck who came to her aid (they had been together their whole lives), then the dog turned on him (Donald), and I came out a few hours to find a plucked duck hanging on for his life with ants crawling everywhere, he was too damaged to be saved.
R.I.P Donald.

I still have Daffy but everytime she sees a dog, she freaks out and starts calling to me.

So please, please think twice before you put the 2 together, they may look fine, (in fact, my dog was happy for the ducks to walk on top of him), but dogs are preditors, and in the wild they would happily munch up a poor duck.

Hope I helped,

 

[poultryparade]

We have a 4 year old pointer, retriever, lab mix. We introduced her to the chickens and ducks when we got her at the age of 3 months. If there is an issue in the chicken coop or the duck run, she will come barking and alert us to the problem. She enjoys watching the birds from a distant and always seems interested in what they are doing. The biggest problem we have..........she is TERRIFIED of the birds!!!!! A couple weeks ago, Pearl, the dog, was napping in the yard when the 9 ducks quietly circled her and then started quacking up a storm. Needless to say, Pearl jumped up and ran off crying. The ducks just stood there and 'laughed' at her. I think someone needs to tell her she is supposed to be a bird dog.........better yet, maybe not, she will probably be afraid of herself.

 

[bluejeans]

perhaps there is more knoweldge now days about dogs .. yet some of the best lion bear and coon hound dogs this world has ever known were weaned from their mamas at 5 and 6 weeks old and their training started at that early age .after 5 and 6 weeks hound dogs that have raise several litters dont have much patientce for liitle needle toothed pups