Chickens and dogs...

[BekahBear]

its all about knowing their place. my dog knows that we make the rules, not him. he knows that the chickens are not toys and are to be respected. i worked with him from a very young age to be kind and gentle around all animals and people...especially ones that are smaller than him. i trust him with my life as well as the life of my flock. he loves to hang out in the coop/run with them. i think he thinks its a dog house lol. ive even gone to lock up in the evening and found chickens roosting on him..i'll have to get pics of that sometime lol.

if your dog is not used to being around small animals you will probably have to introduce him slowly to the idea that chickens are not chew toys. he may catch on or he may not. if not you will need to make sure that he has no access to the chickens and that he can't break into the coop. good luck. i really hope he can learn to live peacefully with them.

here is my boy with some of his flock when they were younger

here he is with one of his bunny friends

and here he is with one of his kitties

if you start dogs early on it becomes second nature to be gentle with the small animals. some have an easier time at it than others. hopefully your pup can learn to coexist with your chickens.

 

[LauraG]

Quote:
oh my those are some PRICELESS photos you have there.......he is just precious.......

 

[HBuehler]

Our Jack Russell came before the chickens..they are killing machine's on 4 legs to put it nicely...that said Tink is fine with my chickens-her best friend is our cat ..she knows they are not hers to touch and she actually helps "protect" them.When they get wandering too far she herds them back home.We recently got a shelter pup-5 month old Lab cross and took a chicken with me when I went to get her..she lets the chickens roost on her if they would like to...no respect for the dog

 

[Hillsvale]

I have a sherphed, border collie and american cocker....

the american cocker wants to lick everything with feathers, barks at the lambs, goat and pigs.

the shepherd wants to eat the laying chickens/roosters in their run, but completely ignores the meat chickens, geese and turkeys roaming around... he will ignore one of the lambs if its out in general population but wants to eat both lambs and the goat when they are behind their pasture fencing, he doesn't care about the pigs... but lets not start on the cat... we suspect he is more afraid of the ones he wants to eat the anything.

border collie doesn't care about any of the critters except barks insanely at the pigs and wants to herd the lambs/goat... we have one african goose that will have its tail feathers licked/sucked on if its laying down (its got a sore leg and can't keep running constantly)... the border collie (he's 2) will also suck on Simons thumb when he crawls up in Simons lap in the evenings... but no one elses!

animals are strange! lol

 

[crj]

I have 3 dogs and they don't really bother my chickens. I would have to say 2 of them like to startle or give a small chase just for the fun of it. I took a chicken and introduced it to all the dogs. Let them sniff, touch, lick and whatever else. They were pretty good after that. I did have to keep an eye on one dog but that was for a short time. My dogs will sleep under the deck with the chickens.

I do have one problem. The dog that I did have to watch feels that any baby chicks....... chickens or ducks....... are hers. She wants to mother them big time. She is still trying to figure out how to pick them up and carry them.

I guess the chirping sounds like puppies........ who knows...... crazy dog

 

[crj]

BekahBear your pictures are priceless........LOL.

 

[noodleroo]

My collie thinks that they are her babies and the SLWs (I believe) think she is a big SLW momma hen!:

 

[Mandy1296]

If the dog already likes to spook the chickens - I cant' see that new chickens will change the scenario. I think it's just the temperament of the dog and thats gonna be how he is. Out of my 3 dogs, my cocker/pekingese could care less, my youngest Pitbull could care less, my girl Pitbull - VERY INTERESTED in the babies, ( as well as anything else that's smaller than a weenie dog and moves quickly) and wants to sniff bottoms of the older ones. I think it may be all the chirping that makes her so interested in the babies....

 

[kjmatson]

It is very possible for your dog and chickens to peacefully coexist, but it takes a little work sometimes. I have 2 black lab sisters from the same litter; I think they were stunt doubles for "Marley and Me," but they are fine with the chickens. Above all, first and foremost, your dog must clearly understand that you are the Alpha Male / Female at every and all times PERIOD. This can take some time, but once that is established than you can introduce them to other animals with little to no problems at all.

To make a long story short. I only had one incident with my chickens and my labs. When I first got the chickens our labs could care less about them until they started chasing bugs, and that is when they would go after the chickens. I found one of the chickens they went after hiding in the bushes (missing feathers but she still lays good eggs) and knew that this situation was ending right then and there. I brought the chicken inside the house and put her up to one of the labs and she started pecking the hell right out of her. I put the chicken up to the other lab and she didn't peck her at all....now we know who the guilty one is. So I put the chicken back up to the perp and she proceeded in teaching that dog a lesson. From that moment on the dogs lay with the chickens outside and have no desire at all to chase or hurt them.

 

[speakup4kids]

My lab is a protector which can be a problem if I want the chicks to free range because it really stresses her out. I think she honestly believes that all the chickens have escaped from their coop when they are out free ranging and she paces and cries if she's out there with them and I'm out there too. If for some reason she's alone with them and we're somewhere else in the yard she tends to try to "bring" them to us. I'm thinking maybe doggy xanax for her...