Adopting a beagle / Dotson puppy and concerned about interaction with my chickens

[thegyrlie]

I'm in the process of adopting a beagle/ Dotson mix puppy, she's 10 weeks old. Can anyone tell me if this is a good idea? Most dog people tell me that sine the puppy is so young it will be fine, but of course, they don't have chickens. So can I train her to live with my chickens and everyone get along ? I have five Hens (2 silkies, a sea bright and 2 polish) and two roosters(1 sultan and 1 silkie). Their ages range between 4 months and 2 years. They are mostly in their run but I do like to let them roam the yard on pretty days. I would appreciate your input. Thanks!:yiipchick

 

[Pyxis]

Do you mean a beagle/dachshund mix? If so you might have your work cut out for you. Those are both breeds that were bred to hunt and have high prey drives. Additionally, beagles have a reputation as being hard to train. They don't have the motivation to please you like other breeds do. They are food motivated, so you could try to put that to work. They are also not great at recall, so if it does start chasing your birds, well, don't expect that it will immediately come back to you if you try to call it off. An older couple that I know bought a 'pocket' beagle and are having a really hard time with him because they didn't do their research before getting one and didn't know what to expect.

Dachshunds don't have a great reputation as far as chickens go.

All that said, could you train it to leave the chickens alone? It's possible. Once you have had the puppy for awhile and trained it then you can make the judgement call on whether or not you trust it with your birds. If you choose to go ahead with it, I'd have a plan in place to keep them separate at all times if that becomes necessary.

 

[littlesmos]

I have three beagles and have never a problem with them. A good disciplining as pups and they have left them all alone. I let my chickens out almost everyday in the summer and I have ducks and turkeys that are always running loose. Putting time into training a pup is very rewarding and makes the dogs much more enjoyable when they are grown.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I love, love, love pound pups!

It's true, weenies are born hunters. But proper training is key. Learn how to communicate with the dog in a way that is effective for it. All 3 of my dogs are rescues. And all though I can see they are tempted, they have self control and do what's expected of them.

People told me I couldn't have domestic dogs (non LGD) with goats.... not true, we are doing great after training.... which did take a couple months of persistence before I could trust my dogs.

When it comes to chicks, all running around and peeping... that's a different story for my dogs. They can't be trusted until the chicks are close to 8-10 weeks old.

I tried a young pup (not yet weened) with a bunny once, thinking the killer instincts hadn't set in yet. Instantly the pup tried to chomp the bunny once the bunny hopped. So when you start, make sure you have the pup on a leash. And it's best to introduce after a good tiring play session so some of their energy is tapered off. Young dogs are sponges. I would start with basic command first... come, sit, stay, down. When you do go around the chickens at first, leash on, practice walking around in the same area but don't let the dog FOCUS on the chickens. Keep dog on leash with you as you do chicken chores. But pay attention for the focus factor and break it quickly, the focus usually is a good indicator, eyes locked, ears forward... quick correction then redirection. You can't just tell a dog what not to do. You have to show them what they can do as well. One of my dogs who would jump on us and nibble fingers out of excitement, we taught her to grab a toy which occupies her mouth and she looks around for something to grab instead of jumping. Now that doesn't stop her skinny tail form whipping us and actually gave my MIL a whelp on her leg through light pants.

I hope things go well for y'all!

Congrats on your new family member!

 

[TeeMom]

While those breeds are not ideal for chicken friendliness, you are at a huge advantage getting her as a puppy. Start immediately by introducing her to the flock on leash and watch her behavior. Distract her if she gets real fixated on them and reward her when she is calm and relaxed among them. My dogs were both adults, a 6 year old greyhound/shepherd mix and 3 year old boxer/terrier mix at the time, when we decided to get chickens and it took a lot of time, especially for the boxer mix. But, with consistency and daily calm interactions, we did it. Our dogs now roam all day with our free range flock and we have not had one casualty. It was a tedious process, so be prepared to stick with it and it is possible to desensitize her to their presence. Good luck!

 

[thegyrlie]

Yes it's a dachshund beagle mix and I've never trained a puppy and all these comments are making me rethink this adoption.

I am still waiting to see if I'll get her. I really am looking forward to getting her! This is hard!

 

[thegyrlie]

I so hope this will be my experience but now am really concerned.

 

[thegyrlie]

I would like to hang out in the backyard with all my pets as well as not have to be scared to bring of my chickens inside if they are sick or whatever

 

[Yoako]

Just putting this out there...
Once a friend of a friend got a puppy and wanted him to leave the chickens alone, so the owner held the puppy in a way that made sure it didn't bite. The chickens came up to it and pecked it on its nose. It never came near the chickens again.

Again, I can see some major flaws in this plan and can not guarantee success but just an idea.

Good luck keep us updated!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

It may take some training, but there is a good chance you can teach the puppy to respect your birds.

I will say I have a beagle mix and she is rather good with the birds. It took a bit of training and even though she has a high prey drive, she seems to understand the difference between my chickens and squirrels.