Are Dogs a good "Bodyguard" against Racoons?

[nzpouter]

dogs work better as a pack... as long as you can teach them what they can/ can not kill, you'll have a good guard for your animals against smaller predators.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
"As long as you can teach them..." and therein hangs the balance.

 

[nzpouter]

Quote:
"As long as you can teach them..." and therein hangs the balance.

takes time, common sense and consistency.... most people have 2 out of 3..

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
"As long as you can teach them..." and therein hangs the balance.

takes time, common sense and consistency.... most people have 2 out of 3..

All good reasons to have a back up plan.

The minor bit of technology available to us in the chicken yard has the benefit of helping you over a couple of those hurdles. It saves time, for example.

A few hours running an electric fence goes a long way when compared to weeks or months of "training" a pack of dogs. Besides, in my experience there is always one among the pack who seems to resist to some degree. I suspect it has something to do with the group dynamic.

Indeed, it's no secret that I am hardly enamored of mans best friend where chickens are concerned. We enter a slippery slope when we thrust them together, IMHO, and there is far too much trust placed in the canine for anybody's good.

Train them 'til you feel they've gotten it, if that is your desire. They can do their part to be sure, and should, to earn their keep.

But have a back up plan.

 

[Prester John]

My dog wants to eat the chickens. I'm sure he'd love to eat a raccoon, too!

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
I'm a bit conflicted on the electric fence thing.

I've got a pack of dobermans. I've also got chickens in pens. So far, the dobermans have access to all sides of the pens, and I have had no trouble with raccoons. They did kill one that was on the property last winter, though.

BUT -- I've just set up a paddock which will be shared by ducks and goats. The dogs do NOT have access to the back side of this paddock, and I'm concerned. I know I *should* set up electric wire at least on the back side, but: 1. I don't want to have the added chore of keeping the weeds down at the base of it; and 2. I don't want to have to deal with the wire when I go through the gates.

Lazy of me, I know. We'll see if I end up on the lazy side or the smart side!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
1. One word for weeds: defoliate.
There are commercial herbicides you can use, or you can spray a mix of 50:50 kerosene and used motor oil.
The latter also is said to deter predators.

You can sink about $150 into a nice weed whacker, too, which does a good job of weed abatement. It serves several useful functions around the home/farm, and minimizes the usual outcries of eco-disaster from the Green Mob, when the above methods are employed.

2. The gates? Use gate connectors. Available at any place that sells electric fence fixtures and supplies.

See? There's a solution for eveything!

 

[amazondoc]

I can promise you I won't be using kerosene or motor oil (see "Green Mob" ). But I do have an old weed whacker, which I might break out. But refer back to "lazy".

I *know* it would be smarter to add the electric wire back there. We just have to see whether intelligence wins out over the inertia of laziness.....

 

[Davaroo]

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Intelligence without action is near to useless. Lets hope activity beats back inertia, at least for one more season.

 

[OCChicken]

Wow this thread really took off! I was wanting to know more about what you've experienced from the behavior of the racoon, meaning if the dog is in the same area will the Racoon avoid it, or not, based on the dog being a much larger animal. I wont be spending time training it to chase off racoons, or running an electric fence. I'm just curious what those you that have experience with the presence of a dog have found.

Thanks