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I read your post earlier but didn't have good enough wifi to reply. I'm sorry about what happened, I know you feel bad, but the puppy probably didn't mean to kill the duckling. Puppies are like toddlers, they can get out of control when they're playing and just like a little kid breaks its toy by accident, a puppy can kill something without meaning to do so. If you wanted to keep the puppy, you could likely train it to leave your birds alone, but not until it was at least a year old. Puppies aren't exactly trustworthy until they've grown up somewhat. But I would probably rehome the dog too, because I'd probably think of the duckling every time I looked at the dog. I hope you can find another duck to keep your remaining duckling company, and don't beat yourself up too much about what happened. I know how badly you feel, we've all made mistakes with our birds and as long as we learn and do better, we'll be on the right track.
I read your post earlier but didn't have good enough wifi to reply. I'm sorry about what happened, I know you feel bad, but the puppy probably didn't mean to kill the duckling. Puppies are like toddlers, they can get out of control when they're playing and just like a little kid breaks its toy by accident, a puppy can kill something without meaning to do so. If you wanted to keep the puppy, you could likely train it to leave your birds alone, but not until it was at least a year old. Puppies aren't exactly trustworthy until they've grown up somewhat. But I would probably rehome the dog too, because I'd probably think of the duckling every time I looked at the dog. I hope you can find another duck to keep your remaining duckling company, and don't beat yourself up too much about what happened. I know how badly you feel, we've all made mistakes with our birds and as long as we learn and do better, we'll be on the right track.
That really is a sad story...I do think you made a good decision in rehoming the dog. I don't know that you ever would have been able to totally trust her after that. Best of luck in finding your remaining duckling a new friend, and please don't beat yourself up too much. I know I did, after I lost my favorite chicken, I felt like it was my fault and felt guilty for so long. It's hard not to I guess.
Sorry for your loss. I used to tell folks that dogs and chickens should NEVER meet. But they were not happy with that. It's just that you never hear of a chicken killing a dog.
But, even a very friendly dog can kill them just by accident and their sheer size alone. Lots of people introduce a new pup/dog to a chicken by holding the chick out to the dog so it can smell it. The dog think's he's being offered a treat and chick is dead. Many different scenarios but most end badly for the chick or duckling or whatever.
I like to err on the side of caution.
You may be able to get a dog in the future, since you like them so much, and have it work out. I have an Australian shepherd/blue heeler cross and a Lab who had never been around livestock until they were 10 and 9 years old, and we got our first chickens. I wasn't sure if we could ever trust the Lab around the birds, mainly the ducks because she had hunted ducks in the past. They are both completely trustworthy now and it wasn't too hard to train them. One thing they had going for them, though, was years of discipline. Both of them are very good with "no" and "leave it".
I think a lot of people make the mistake of wanting their dogs to interact with their chickens and be friends with them, because it's cute to see dogs and birds together. If that works for people, fine; but I taught my dogs to ignore the chickens. Don't go sniff them, don't show any interest, don't even look at them. The dogs literally now walk through the birds as they're free ranging and never even turn their heads to acknowledge them. Like drumstick diva said, the potential for accidents is too great so I don't want my dogs interacting with the birds whatsoever.
Your new duckies are super cute! I'm glad Emma has some friends now. I have a bossy female who runs the flock and likes picking on the drake too.