Bold Drake

[Colley12]

My drake Gerald is becoming quite bold with my golden retriever....he waits until Scout walks away and then goes for him. Yesterday he started getting closer and my dog was a little more paranoid when he went out to go to the bathroom. So this morning I watched closely and sure enough after I let my dog out the door, Gerald followed behind and nipped at Scout's "pants", that's what we call the fluffy hair on the back of his legs. Gerald walked away with a very small tuft of dog hair hanging out of his mouth. Scout didn't even respond. As Scout came back towards the house after going potty, I watched Gerald begin to follow him toward the door. I hid just inside so Gerald couldn't see me. As Scout stepped into the house Gerald went for his pants again. I ran interference and pushed him away from the dog with my hand. He was quite surprised. He doesn't get anywhere near me and I've only seen him do this sneaky behavior to me once a few weeks ago. Never nipped but was right behind me as I stepped into the house.

My golden is super good with the ducks and leaves them alone, doesn't chase or anything like that. I would like to keep it that way. I already know the drake needs to go, most likely his agression towards the dog is only going to get worse this spring and summer.

I guess my main question is, before he is gone, how do I go about putting him in drake jail or holding him down for submission when he does these things if I can't even hold him or usually touch him? The ladies I can pet with treats and I picked one up this morning okay. But Gerald won't let me get near him. That's why I had to hide to try and catch him getting Scout coming through the door.

Suggestions would be appreciated, besides the obvious of cornering him and trying to catch him, I don't mind doing that, but the ladies panic when we start doing that. I've done that on occasion to check feet and whatnot. And if I did some of this drake jail type stuff would it help the situation. The ducks hang right by the back door and Scout doesn't hang out in the backyard much during the day since it's usually rainy and muddy this time of year. So I'm sure Gerald thinks that Scout is intruding on his territory...so just hoping we can fix this problem....

 

[sourland]

Sounds as if it is time for 'Gerald' to go into solitary confinement.

 

[Colley12]

Sounds as if it is time for 'Gerald' to go into solitary confinement.

Thank you! That's what I was thinking.

How long? I have a duck house they usually don't use during the day. At night I can shut half of it to keep him away from the girls.

I have an extra large dog crate I could use also, but it is the black wire ones all around with a solid floor.

Edit: I was able to get him into a corner where I could catch him. Had to hold him down until he settled enough to gather him and carry him. He is now in the sectioned off in the back half of the duck house with food and water. Girls can still use the other half if needed.

 

[Colley12]

If the solitary confinement works and checks his attitude then maybe I wouldn't have to get rid of him?

We love him, but I also won't tolerate this kind of attitude he is showing...so if it doesn't work I understand he shouldn't stay.

 

[Ridgeback825]

The best thing is to get them to trust you. This is best started when they are as tiny as possible. We raise black soldier flies and the ducks LOVE them. They know that they only get hand fed those and are more than willing to suffer through the interaction to get the treats. This works into being able to pet them then hold. Our pekins are almost a year, and our drake is just coming into his form, so we will see. There is a neat thing you can do with bossy roosters by swinging them on their back but I'm not sure how that would go with a duck. I encourage to fix the problem so it doesn't reoccur with a new one, but some animals refuse to domesticate. I sympathize.

 

[ruthhope]

If the solitary confinement works and checks his attitude then maybe I wouldn't have to get rid of him?

We love him, but I also won't tolerate this kind of attitude he is showing...so if it doesn't work I understand he shouldn't stay.

Drakes instincts are to protect their flocks. My son has one drake and hens. The drake will chase any dog that comes into the back yard -- while the females dash into their duck house. My son had a room mate for 6 months last year who had a large dog of mixed gene background. The dog was placid despite being pecked from behind on his scrotum. But I was always worried the dog would have enough of it and retaliate. Fortunately the room mate and his pooch moved on. However, I now have a puppy who would love to play with the ducks but is far too rambunctious. I don't let my puppy out off leash in my son's back garden [and don't let her into my back garden where my ducks free range.] But my son lets my puppy off leash in his back garden when my puppy is with him. My puppy runs up to the ducks [playfully but rambunctiously] and the females run to the safety of the duck house, where my puppy doesn't go. But the drake quickly starts chasing the puppy and snapping at him. This continues awhile and then they retire to different corners of the yard and get on with their own ducky or doggy business.

I think letting dogs in with ducks that were not brought up together from very early in life is risky. I don't think that drake jail will work as the drake is instinctively protecting the females. Good boy!!

I think there should be a change in the potty arrangements for the dog. Or the ducks should be confine to a different part of the garden than the dog goes out in.

 

[Colley12]

The best thing is to get them to trust you. This is best started when they are as tiny as possible. We raise black soldier flies and the ducks LOVE them. They know that they only get hand fed those and are more than willing to suffer through the interaction to get the treats. This works into being able to pet them then hold. Our pekins are almost a year, and our drake is just coming into his form, so we will see. There is a neat thing you can do with bossy roosters by swinging them on their back but I'm not sure how that would go with a duck. I encourage to fix the problem so it doesn't reoccur with a new one, but some animals refuse to domesticate. I sympathize.

I agree! The ladies know treats come from the people, so they are way more willing to come eat out of our hands and be pet. Our drake just stands in the back and refuses to take any treats from us. He let's the girls get it all, then picks at the leftovers after I walk away. The drake jail I think will be a blessing for him and I. I took my time getting him into a corner and catching him. Usually my husband helps so we have him better cornered. But today it was just me. And if I have to do it more and more, he will just get used to be held or at least that I'm the one with control, hopefully . But the ladies seem unfazed by the morning shenanigans and that he is locked up, so that's good!

 

[ruthhope]

I agree! The ladies know treats come from the people, so they are way more willing to come eat out of our hands and be pet. Our drake just stands in the back and refuses to take any treats from us. He let's the girls get it all, then picks at the leftovers after I walk away. The drake jail I think will be a blessing for him and I. I took my time getting him into a corner and catching him. Usually my husband helps so we have him better cornered. But today it was just me. And if I have to do it more and more, he will just get used to be held or at least that I'm the one with control, hopefully . But the ladies seem unfazed by the morning shenanigans and that he is locked up, so that's good!

Its also drake instinct to stand back and let the females eat first -- while standing guard. Your drake seems to me to be a perfect gentleman drake and he is being blamed and potentially penalized for it. That saddens me

 

[Colley12]

I think letting dogs in with ducks that were not brought up together from very early in life is risky. I don't think that drake jail will work as the drake is instinctively protecting the females. Good boy!!

I think there should be a change in the potty arrangements for the dog. Or the ducks should be confine to a different part of the garden than the dog goes out in.

Scout has been around them from the beginning as ducklings, I think that is why he is tolerating Geralds nipping so well We've also been just watching up until today, because he is being a good drake and taking care of his girls. He does a good job of rounding them up too. So it's been drake behavior that I'm ok with, until recently.

As soon as we get through this cold spurt we are having at the moment we will be adding some fencing to section the ducks off as we do some major work in the backyard to get the grass back and contain the ducks into their own specific space with supervised frolics into the backyard and garden. I think that will solve the problem, they will have their own space and the dog will have his own. And we will reclaim the backdoor. I will miss seeing them napping right outside the door though.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I agree with @ruthhope . This is not attitude that you are seeing, but natural protection instincts. Your Drake is protecting his hens in his area. A Drake will protect his hens much like a hen will protect her nest. A dog is a natural predator to ducks. Your Drake does not understand good vs bad dogs, but sees a potential predator. If you look through this forum you will find lots and lots of good dogs who one day decided to kill a bird or two out of nowhere. Your Drake has every reason to see your dog as a potential threat. We as humans wouldn't be okay with someone we barely know deciding that they are going to go walking around our lawn or peeking in our windows. Without a doubt if someone decided to start walking around my house I would be outside getting them off of my property. Drake is doing just that. He sees a potential predator (your dog) who is wandering around his home and is telling your dog to leave. We as humans think we deserve our own territory and guard it, but when it comes to animals we for whatever reason see them protecting their territory as threatening behavior. Animals need their own spaces just like we do.