Conditioning a puppy to chickens

[EverythingDucks]

I'm to lazy to write this from scratch again so I found where I've said the same things

Pictures!!!!

I really recommend Zak George's Dog Training Revolution. He has tons of videos and a great book for puppy training, fixing behavioral issues, and tons if fun tricks. Though I don't think he has a video about this he covers a lot if other very useful things.

Be sure to teach her leave it. This is one if the most important thing to teach a puppy. To do this, set a treat on the ground. Keep your foot near. If course she is going to go for the treat, so when she does just put your foot over it and say "leave it". Then reward her with a (different) high value treat. Boiled chicken works great.
Do this a couple times a day. Keep it short and fun. Start with 5 minute training sessions. You could do three a day.

Never ever use leave it in something you instead for her to have afterwards. Some people tell their dog to leave their food while they put it down. Do not do this. This will teach her that she is supposed to eat what you tell her to leave. Imagine you drop a pill on the floor and tell her leave it. It is very important for her own safety that she does not eat that. Or with chickens.
When you are training her do it in a voice that you would use in those situations. While I recommend using a happy voice for most other things to make it more fun, in this case you want her to be used to the voice that you would use in real situations.

The best way to fix issues is by preventing them. Always keep her on a leash when outside by the chickens. If you notice her looking at them a lot redirect her. It's normal for puppies to be curious about new things but if they become too interested they may chase after them. Tell her to leave it and teach her to look at you (Zak George has a video on this). Use this whenever you see her staring at the chickens. And reward her a bunch. Use high value treats for this. If she is toy motivated, use her favorite toy instead of treats.

You want her to ignore them completely. Reward her when she does so and redirect her when she doesn't.

Some people use clickers to signal that they like what their dig is doing then reward them, but IMO carrying around a clicker all the time isn't very practical. Instead say "yes" . I prefer "yes" over "good girl" because often times people will say good girl or boy when meeting or petting a dog. And usually the dog will he excited and probably jump up and bark a lot. That is not something you really want to reward them for. Then they'll think you want them to jump and bark. So instead, "yes" is a much better option.

Sorry for such a long post but I hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[Gallinarium]

I'm to lazy to write this from scratch again so I found where I've said the same things

This is excellent, thank you!

 

[Abriana]

I was lucky that both my collies (father and son, 2 years apart) seemed to never care about the chickens. Beau the older one would herd the mama hen and her chicks (they flipped out but he had good intentions). I trust Charlie around adult birds but since he attempted to eat one of our hamsters (I saved it in the nick of time, she’s still alive and well) I don’t trust him around chicks (similar size, the hamsters are dwarfs).

I would socialize the dog in the same way as you would integrate chicks. See but don’t touch, allow them to get used to each other. Start as soon as possible—young puppies learn quickly and this is a concept you want cemented in her mind. Then supervised “together time”, put her on a leash and let her sniff the chickens and check them out. To see how they react when left alone together, tie her up to something and watch out the window to see what happens—but don’t leave her for too long as tying dogs up isn't recommended, and don’t leave her unsupervised whilst tied up, always be watching!

Teach her commands like “no” and “leave it”. To teach them, have a high-value treat that you will never give her (maybe something like a piece of steak), and a treat that she will get. Place the steak in front of her and tell her “leave it”, when she doesn’t go for it and looks back at you, give her the treat she is allowed to have! We taught Beau this with a colored pencil, he loves them for some strange reason. This is a beyond useful command, we use it all the time. The more you practice the better she will be and the more quickly she will listen. “Sit” and “stay” are also really helpful. All of these commands can be a lifesaver in a pinch, whether she is in danger or she IS the danger (to the birds).

German shepherds are very smart! And very cute good luck with her!

 

[Gallinarium]

I was lucky that both my collies (father and son, 2 years apart) seemed to never care about the chickens. Beau the older one would herd the mama hen and her chicks (they flipped out but he had good intentions). I trust Charlie around adult birds but since he attempted to eat one of our hamsters (I saved it in the nick of time, she’s still alive and well) I don’t trust him around chicks (similar size, the hamsters are dwarfs).

I would socialize the dog in the same way as you would integrate chicks. See but don’t touch, allow them to get used to each other. Start as soon as possible—young puppies learn quickly and this is a concept you want cemented in her mind. Then supervised “together time”, put her on a leash and let her sniff the chickens and check them out. To see how they react when left alone together, tie her up to something and watch out the window to see what happens—but don’t leave her for too long as tying dogs up isn't recommended, and don’t leave her unsupervised whilst tied up, always be watching!

Teach her commands like “no” and “leave it”. To teach them, have a high-value treat that you will never give her (maybe something like a piece of steak), and a treat that she will get. Place the steak in front of her and tell her “leave it”, when she doesn’t go for it and looks back at you, give her the treat she is allowed to have! We taught Beau this with a colored pencil, he loves them for some strange reason. This is a beyond useful command, we use it all the time. The more you practice the better she will be and the more quickly she will listen. “Sit” and “stay” are also really helpful. All of these commands can be a lifesaver in a pinch, whether she is in danger or she IS the danger (to the birds).

German shepherds are very smart! And very cute good luck with her!

Thanks, this is helpful!
I'm working on showing them to each other through the safety of the run daily now, starting about a week ago. The chickens don't really care for some reason, they halfheartedly sound the alarm but seem a lot more curious/wary than panicked. Maybe because they've seen the pupper playing with me outside regularly?
In any case, Chloe's a lot more interested in chewing on the dead leaves near the run than watching the chickens, though the first few times she was much more afraid of them than they were of her.
I'm not going to start celebrating yet, though.
Chloe has started learning commands about one week after we got her. I'm introducing them one at a time until she grasps the concept, then doing plenty of review. So far she understands what Sit, Watch Me, Come, and Leave It mean. She'll do them wonderfully in the garage with no distractions, but is not consistent when outside. (Instead of using a 'Stay' command, I'm working on her sitting until let up by 'Okay'.) I'm also trying to do Down, but I'm having a hard time luring her into the down position.
I have an order of Guinea Keets to be shipped the 23, so we'll see what she thinks of these new aliens.
I really hope I can train her to leave all of the chickens, the guineas, and the cat alone.

 

[Abriana]

Thanks, this is helpful!
I'm working on showing them to each other through the safety of the run daily now, starting about a week ago. The chickens don't really care for some reason, they halfheartedly sound the alarm but seem a lot more curious/wary than panicked. Maybe because they've seen the pupper playing with me outside regularly?
In any case, Chloe's a lot more interested in chewing on the dead leaves near the run than watching the chickens, though the first few times she was much more afraid of them than they were of her.
I'm not going to start celebrating yet, though.
Chloe has started learning commands about one week after we got her. I'm introducing them one at a time until she grasps the concept, then doing plenty of review. So far she understands what Sit, Watch Me, Come, and Leave It mean. She'll do them wonderfully in the garage with no distractions, but is not consistent when outside. (Instead of using a 'Stay' command, I'm working on her sitting until let up by 'Okay'.) I'm also trying to do Down, but I'm having a hard time luring her into the down position.
I have an order of Guinea Keets to be shipped the 23, so we'll see what she thinks of these new aliens.
I really hope I can train her to leave all of the chickens, the guineas, and the cat alone.

They are getting used to her, my chickens are not afraid of my collies, but are scared of other dogs. They will learn that she is safe and eventually not be wary at all.

Thats great! Sounds like she is catching on. Yes, it can be hard for little puppies to focus outdoors! So many things to see! As you keep practicing and as she gets older she’ll become more focused.

To help with the down position, tell her down and then push gently on her back until she lies down, then immediately reward her. Eventually she’ll learn what “down” means. All commands have to be slightly forced in the beginning because the puppy doesn’t know what they mean (push on the rump for “sit”, grab the paw for “shake”, etc). It’s so cute to see them learning!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We got a 15-mo old Sheltie pup last year that had no prior exposure to chickens and a lot of bad manners. He wouldn't come when called, didn't know "leave it," or "no," etc. Here's what we did. We had an unoccupied bachelor pad/ grow-out pen next to the very large run. We use this grow-out pen for integrating chicks, as it allows a "see-no-touch" opportunity for the new chicks. So every day I put Sammy in the pen and left him out there for at least an hour a day. At first he would stand and watch the chickens with great interest and sometimes bark at them, as if he wanted to play with them. Over time, however, he lost interest, as he came to realize he could not get to them. Finally he would just hang out in the pen and sleep, completely ignoring them. Then I went out, put him on leash, and released the chickens, letting them pretty much run over him. He moved back but otherwise did not react. Next day I took him into their run with him on leash and chased the chickens a bit. I wanted to see if he would chase if they fluttered. Nope, not at all. Finally, I let them free range as usual and let him drag a 15-ft long line around them while I walked around casually. If he chased I could stop him by stepping on the line, but he didn't. I now trusted him off leash around the chickens and have not had any problems with him. Good dog, Sammy!