Best way to introduce dog with high chase drive to flock

[krthaymp]

This Saturday will make two weeks I've had my 4 adult chickens. They are used to dogs, but my dogs are not used to chickens.
Especially the standard poodle, who is extremely excited about them and rushes to the coop every time the chickens move too fast. I don't think he's being aggressive, but rather seeing them like large squeaky toys.
I started off with him leashed, progressivly closer to the coop until he could get a good look and smell, and he's now off leash and able to be called away from the coop without too much trouble, but I still don't trust him at ALL.
The chickens will be allowed to free range this weekend for the first time, now that they are settled.
What's the best way to train the dog to leave them alone?
He will NOT be outside unattended with them at any point ever, but I also don't want to leash him in the fenced back yard indefinatly.
I have an eCollar that I've largely never used, but not sure if that's going to be the route to take or not.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Personally I would keep the dog inside when the hens are free ranging and make sure any other people in the house know not to let him out. If he needs to be outside while the hens are out he should be on a leash. I'm looking at the same kind of situation with my dogs and if the chickens are out of the fenced run the dogs will not be allowed in the yard. Ever. It's just not worth the risk.

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

Our husky stopped attacking our chickens every time we yelled "NO!" at her when she chased them, our guard dogs for the chickens also chime in sometimes, and then she realized she can't chase them, so she sometimes sits outside. acting like a guard dog so she can fit in with our other 2 dogs, but then she gets bored and goes back inside.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Poodles tend to have a high prey drive since they were originally used as hunting dogs, specifically retrievers for waterfowl. They are highly intelligent and can be trained. But yes, you better train your dog.

Mine were mixes from the pound. I started by introducing them to the chicks while they were in my outside brooder. They were on leash and I let them see and sniff the chicks safely in their brooder. Then I kept the chicks safely in a run for a while.

The dogs were trained to know what "sit" and "come" mean. You might try "stop". Just have some confidence you can control the dog with your voice. So I'd stay out with them when the chickens were out until I gained confidence they would leave them alone. One of the dogs was especially hardheaded and took some work. Eventually she seemed OK but I never did fully trust her.

I kept the dogs in an underground fence with shock collars. The chickens would occasionally wander into their area. I had a few exciting moments at first. I never used a shock collar to train them. That shock collar should make it fairly easy for you to train the poodle as intelligent as it is. I'd make sure it worked and go that way.

Dogs can be "conditional" learners. If you are around they know to leave the chickens alone but if you are gone then that is a different condition. That can make it challenging. But many of us have dogs that can mix with the chickens and even protect them. It can take work.

Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

A lot depends on the age of your dog, and how trainable the dog was in other matters. Some dogs are smarter than others, and some are not real trainable.

If the dog is not real trainable, then do not put them out together, instincts will take over and the chance of a dead chicken is pretty high.

I am hoping you have a coop & a run set up that is sufficient space for the birds to be in 24/7. Free range is a nice option, but they should have space enough outside available all daylight hours.

Mrs K

 

[SandyRiverChick]

It's a great idea to keep him on leash for a while, for introductions. Make him sit, stay and watch the chickens. Like you've noticed already It's not necessarily chickens scratching and foraging that makes prey drive kick in, it's chickens running (which is hilarious to us humans, but signals go get it to a dog.) So he needs "be nice to chickens," and needs to be corrected when he tries to take off after them. Has he had any previous obedience or field training? I find that shortens my chicken training window but some dogs take a very long time. Patience on your part is key and also fences within fences. Do you have any temporary fencing like just a roll of wire. It wouldn't stop a large dog, it's just a training tool. To take a chance doesn't always mean a massacre, just the chase and being pinned by a dog can make a chicken go into shock. But if I'm right there, I can grab his collar and correct him (I'm chicken training a Leonberger right now and he will still chase 2 hens in particular, when they run.) You'll be successful with such a smart, highly trainable breed.

 

[Loving my girls]

Reading all your messages makes me feel very lucky. I have a golden retriever and a havanaise and neither chase the hens.
Ben (the Golden) ploughs through them when chasing his ball and they move, fast.
Alfie (the havanaise) gets terrorised by them. Especially when doing his “necessaries” they attack him (poor soul ). He gives them a very wide berth.
Our cats just see them as having a pointy end so keep away.
So sorry you are find it hard to integrate your family and I hope you manage it soon,
Hugz

 

[NatJ]

The chickens will be allowed to free range this weekend for the first time, now that they are settled.
What's the best way to train the dog to leave them alone?
He will NOT be outside unattended with them at any point ever, but I also don't want to leash him in the fenced back yard indefinatly.

You may not want to keep him leashed indefinitely, but I certainly would have him on a leash the first time you let the chickens out to free range. And the second time, third time, and so forth. I would keep him on the leash until he is reliably obeying your commands and leaving the chickens alone, even when the chickens are loose in the yard. Then, maybe try letting go of the leash and letting him drag it along behind him. If he still behaves properly that is good, but if he gets out of control you have a chance of catching him by the dragging leash even if you can't grab him directly (stepping on the leash seems to work better than trying to bend down and grab it.)

Or if you don't want to hold the leash all the time, you can tether him to something. Sometims that works well, because the chickens can wander close if they feel safe, but can get out of his reach if he scares them, and you can reprimand the dog while the chickens run safely away.

I have an eCollar that I've largely never used, but not sure if that's going to be the route to take or not.

If you want to use the eCollar, I would work with it first when there are no chickens around, making sure the dog understands all the commands you wan to use and obeys them promptly. Then work with the dog in the yard, and the chickens in their run. When you have perfect results in those situations (dog always does what you say, first time), that is when you can try it with the dog and the chickens loose in the yard at the same time. By them, hopefully he will not even consider disobeying, because he is so used to following commands-- but it is much nicer to have an anticlimax like that, rather than having a bad situation you are not prepared to deal with.

I don't know whether the eCollar would be a good choice in your situation or not. It might be, or might not be.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Reading all your messages makes me feel very lucky. I have a golden retriever and a havanaise and neither chase the hens.
Ben (the Golden) ploughs through them when chasing his ball and they move, fast.
Alfie (the havanaise) gets terrorised by them. Especially when doing his “necessaries” they attack him (poor soul ). He gives them a very wide berth.
Our cats just see them as having a pointy end so keep away.
So sorry you are find it hard to integrate your family and I hope you manage it soon,
Hugz

I've trained my son's Golden faster than any of my dogs! He's so good with chickens. Even my daughter's Corgi is good with them. My cat's can't be trusted around baby chickens but I've seen my hens gang up and charge my poor feral kitty! No worries there!

 

[McChooky]

I had both my 'inside' hounds a couple years before I decided to raise chickens so I had to spend a couple years training them to protect my chickens. They'd still rather be inside than out but they've never hurt them. I never let my dogs around my chickens off leash until they were fully trained but everyone has their own way of training them