Birds and dogs?!?!

[Goldenpheasantlover]

I am getting golden pheasant chicks and i have a 3 year old labrador lurcher cross puppy and im wondering if he will be alright with them. he is quite big but is scared of most things (including brooms and guinea pigs) just a question

 

[jeaucamom]

NEVER, EVER trust a dog with chicks/chickens until you have observed them a LONG, LONG time (months to years) together. I do trust all my dogs with mine because they have never showed any interest at all in them. It is like they don't even exist. But all you have to do is use the search function and read about all the dog attacks that happen all the time before you realize how dangerous it is. Please be very careful.

 

[chickbea]

Never leave even the most trustworthy dog alone with chicks, as they are just so fragile. One of my old dogs loved chickens, but she also thought she was a mother hen, and loved carrying the babies around in her mouth! Those poor chicks were always wet from being licked and mothered by that big German Shepherd! Happily none of them were inadvertently injured, but it is possible.
Also, with pups, it is easy for a little flapping ball of feathers to look like a toy, and once a young dog gets a kill, you are looking at a rough road of retraining ahead.
With most dogs, as they watch the birds grow and see you taking care of them, they identify the birds as YOURS, and they leave them alone. If a dog doesn't get to that point, there are probably other training issues that aren't being met either, but that's a different story...

 

[SueNH]

I can be done but it takes patience and lots of paying attention.

 

[chickbea]

Awww - the resigned look on your dog's face is too cute! What a sweetie!

 

[Goldenpheasantlover]

thnx, ill take your advice and wait, to be honest i think he'll be scared of them cos when he was younger he got a nasty peck of a wild ringneck, hopefully ill be able to put pics of my dog with them

 

[DuckyBoys]

The only bird my dogs ever respected was the cockatoo - and personally I think it was because they thought a talking bird was just wrong.

 

[fullhouse]

Two of my dogs are good, don't even notice them. The one though, if he thinks I am not watching it's attack time. He's good when I give him the "back off" look. Just waiting for his chance to get a chicken dinner