Can dogs and chickens EVER mix????

[Akane]

They make several types of non-shock training collars that have a remote control. One uses a citronella spray, the other uses compressed water. They are designed to give a startling effect / distraction to "snap" them out of focusing on the bad behavior, in this case, the lure of chickens.

Actually that's all an electronic collar is meant to do if used properly. The zap is equivalent to no more than a strong static electricity shock. No lasting pain or effects. Just startling. Really they have no more lasting effect or discomfort than the citronella sprays. They are just a little more surprising to the dog so tend to get a greater effect. 99% of the time when Zami has the electronic collar on I don't even have to use more than the warning beep. I've mentioned to people about just getting a beeper with a remote and putting it on her collar because all she needs is a reminder that I can still enforce commands even if she's not in immediate reach.​

 

[O.C.Chick]

I like the idea of having a "warning" beep...Didn't know that existed. I only mentioned the NON-shock collars because many people are adverse to using the shock, and don't know that the non-shock option exists.

My friend up the street was having a recurrent problem with the neighbor dog jumping over the fence and over a period of several weeks killed three of her chickens for fun. Horrible. She was ready to have some outrageously expensive glass-partition fence built between the properties (this IS the O.C., after all!), so I mentioned that I had an extra "fido-shock" fence in storage, used if for my koi pond years ago after a raccoon attack.

She hadn't even considered that option, and was so surprised there was such an easy fix! So, I installed it for her in about 1/2 an hour...The neighbor dog touched the fence only ONCE, and now won't come near the property line!

So, I've seen the effectiveness of shock training, although I've never had to use it on any of my dogs! Just the raccoons, who never came back, by the way!

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

We have a cockatiel that we leave sitting out on a perch all day long unsupervised with two dogs and four cats. The bird gets annoyed when the cats take naps next to him but that's the worst thing that ever happens to him.

I'm not even sure how we "trained" them all - it just seems that they're capable of understanding what belongs to us and is off-limits to them. Both my dogs intermingle with our 9-week-old chickens, but still only under supervision. I just don't have the feeling that my Golden Retriever is totally ready for prime time, but I know she will be.

I've found that it helps to praise and reward (food) the dog lavishly when it leaves the bird alone. Be very clear and immediate that the dog may NOT chase the bird EVER.

 

[Freebie]

Yes, Dodge comes over and is the only dog allowed out when the chickens are free ranging. I truely believe he would never hurt them. I do not even allow my own dogs to be around my chickens without a leash unless they are in the run locked up. That being said, I have had a dog get out of the pen and attack and injure my hens before. (that darn jrt of my dd) I still love them and reinforced the fence where he got out. My dogs don't run loose without supervision ever. and they are much better alone than with other dogs. Unless that dog is Dodge, as he will not play their games. I have to say, he is a very good little mutt dog.

 

[hotchickmama]

I can vouch for the miracle of shock collars. We've always had Dobermans + cats, and our last beloved Dobie died about 2 years ago.
We got a new boy dobie, about a year old from a rescue. We brought him home, and despite being great with the 4 yo human child and the obnoxious wiener dog, he wanted to KILL the cats. I do mean KILL- even while he was on a leash, with us sitting right there.
My cats are too fat and old and dumb to run away.

After two days of constant supervision and crating him, I was ready to take him back to the rescue. I did not have time for disemboweled cat all over my carpet. As a last resort, my DH brought home a shock collar.

It only took one strong zap. He lunged at the cat once, he got a zap. He turned and ran from that cat faster than any dog I've seen. The next morning (collar back on), he perked up at the cat again. He started to go toward her, then turned around as if he remembered the superpowers that cat had, and lay down in the corner to watch from a distance.

He still enjoyed harassing the cats in a benign way for a while but never again did he display any aggression. Now he barely gives them a glance. Squirrels, raccoons, and foreign cats are still fair game, however.

I recently introduced the dogs to our week old chicks. They were stressed at first, shaking and alerting on them.. the stress comes from the fact that their prey drive is telling them that this is something to go after, while their pack leader is telling them it's not okay. Conflicting messages.

After a few days, they have calmed down about it and can watch the chicks without perking up. I hold the chicks, let them sniff , but make it clear that the chick is MINE. I plan to progress very slowly and will dust off the shock collar if need be. I would never introduce chickens to a dog that I did not feel was completely obedient to me.

I don't think the proper use of a shock collar in these situations is cruel in any way, considering that the alternative is usually the dog being out of a home or the other animal being dead. In a typical "training situation" that is purely for obedience, I don't think they should ever be used. I would only ever use one for situations where the dog needs very strong negative reinforcement for safety issues.

Another benefit is that the correction does not obviously come from the owner, so the collar will not cause the dog to mistrust you or be "sneaky" about behaviors.
Our doberman was very convinced that our cat had the power to shock him and avoided her even when we were not around.

Cesar Milan (the dog whisperer, and my personal dog training hero!) did an episode with a chicken-killing dog. It's on YouTube- just search "Cesar Milan chicken"

Just my .02...

Becky in So. CA

 

[Judy]

Quote:
It's not so much that these things are painful, in my mind. It's a matter of using negative rather than positive reinforcement for desired behaviors. I won't claim that negative reinforcement does not work. But I won't use it for an animal, and I did not use it in raising my son (who turned out great, by the way.)

I have had dogs and cats for over 40 years. I have never read a book about dog training, or taken a dog to a trainer. I don't use treats to train. My animals do not enter competitions or do tricks. But when I say no, they know what I mean, and they obey. They know who the pack leader is.

I don't pretend to have a magic formula, and I'm certainly not going to write a book. It just never seemed that complicated to me.

And, yes, my 4 dogs run free with my chickens.

 

[catfish/okie]

Until just a few years ago alot of people in Oklahoma kept lots of game chickens. Most of these people kept dogs to protect their chickens. And these dogs did an oustanding job. One breed was a commador which looked like a great big poodle. If anybody would like I could ask some of these old timers about the breeds they kept. WE have more than our fair share of coyotes and bobcats here and I can remember people that had these dogs almost never had problems with predators.

 

[ChooksChick]

My dogs both run out with the birds all day- and the lab has leaped up to try to get the hawk that was coming in for a chicken dinner. "Henry's chickens!" I swear I heard him say it!

Daisy, the 10# dog, thinks the chicks are her pups, and if you get too close, she wants to eat your arm when chicks are brooding in the house. At least, should you distress them.

It's a hard one- I can't imagine anyone else's dogs being like ours are with our chicks.

 

[Akane]

Even with positive based training methods you have to express when the animal is doing something wrong. We use all treat, toy, and positive motivation training at the dog class I go to. We still say no when a dog does something wrong. We still stop them, put them in time out, etc... when they are wrong. We still say "off" when they jump on someone and possibly pull them back to our sides to tell them to sit until they calm down. Training collars are the "NO" or "stop" before the redirection and reinforcement on positive behavior. Some dogs just don't respond well enough to voice. High prey driven breeds often won't even hear you when they see something they could chase. Whistles can work for some dogs but not all. Training collars break through their focus for sure. Setting off the warning beep on Zami's collar is the equivalent of me making a negative sound in warning except it gets a response even if she's zoned in on something. Actually using it is the same as me yelling "NO" but far more effective since it will immediately stop her even if she's about to kill something. Then I can tell her what she should be doing and praise her when she does that. The training still comes out mostly positive with the collar as a backup since not every dog responds well to voice commands yet you still want to work these dogs from a distance instead of putting them on leash all the time.

 

[scooter147]

A broody hen can put a puppy in it's place real quick.
I have used broodies to train puppies that chickens are mean and crazy.