Chickentrain's Dog Q&A

[chickentrains]

put her on a tight schedule

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

How do I get a dog who's never been around chickens calm around them?

And on a side note, vice versa. My chickens had a bad experience with a dog once, and they have been high-strung around them ever since.

 

[NatJ]

So... I posted on this a while ago. My puppy wasn't peeing on her potty mat, and I was advised to take he out.
I've been taking her out a lot, sometimes to play, but sometimes on a leash to just potty.
She wont do it outside, so I bring her in and she almost immediately goes right in the middle of the floor. Any advise on how to not have her pee on the floor? Either to train her to use the mat or go outside?

Dogs (or puppies) like to pee on the same surface they are used to peeing on. So you'll need to change her habits.

Now that the weather is getting longer, maybe you can arrange to spend a few days completely outside. At some point, that puppy will get so desperate she has to pee on the ground, and then you can praise her and tell her what a good puppy she is.

Then, when she has just peed, it's probably fine to take her inside for a bit (by that time you probably need to get a snack for yourself, or something.) But have yourself and the puppy outside well before the next time she needs to go. Again, lots of praise when she does.

I'm guessing that it would not take very many days for her to get the point.

I'm sure there are other methods, and I recognize that devoting several whole days to this may not be possible. So this is just one possibility, not the only way.

Or, if you want her to pee on the mat, and she does sometimes pee in the crate, you could put a mat in the crate with her. It would have a similar effect--when she has no choice about where to go, she pees on a surface you have chosen, and gets used to peeing on it. After some amount of time, she would probably use a mat by choice, and you could later take a mat outside to help transition her to going outdoors.

Edit to add: the kind of surface is not the only thing that matters to a dog, but it does seem to be part of it. And what I suggest about outside should work no matter WHAT cues the dog uses to decide where.

 

[Fluffs_flock]

You may have to start taking her out at night, if she does it often.

I take her out of her crate every two hours to pee, including at night.

put her on a tight schedule

View attachment 2560964

Nice.

Dogs (or puppies) like to pee on the same surface they are used to peeing on. So you'll need to change her habits.

Now that the weather is getting longer, maybe you can arrange to spend a few days completely outside. At some point, that puppy will get so desperate she has to pee on the ground, and then you can praise her and tell her what a good puppy she is.

Then, when she has just peed, it's probably fine to take her inside for a bit (by that time you probably need to get a snack for yourself, or something.) But have yourself and the puppy outside well before the next time she needs to go. Again, lots of praise when she does.

I'm guessing that it would not take very many days for her to get the point.

I'm sure there are other methods, and I recognize that devoting several whole days to this may not be possible. So this is just one possibility, not the only way.

Or, if you want her to pee on the mat, and she does sometimes pee in the crate, you could put a mat in the crate with her. It would have a similar effect--when she has no choice about where to go, she pees on a surface you have chosen, and gets used to peeing on it. After some amount of time, she would probably use a mat by choice, and you could later take a mat outside to help transition her to going outdoors.

Edit to add: the kind of surface is not the only thing that matters to a dog, but it does seem to be part of it. And what I suggest about outside should work no matter WHAT cues the dog uses to decide where.

Alright! I already got advice kind of similar, where I should take her out immediately after peeing so she associates peeing with outside.

 

[black_cat]

How do I get a dog who's never been around chickens calm around them?

Same question, but for a new puppy.

 

[NatJ]

How do I get a dog who's never been around chickens calm around them?

And on a side note, vice versa. My chickens had a bad experience with a dog once, and they have been high-strung around them ever since.

It helps if you have one person to hold the dog, and another to hold the chicken.
That way you can let the dog sniff the chicken, but not bite or be rough, which helps with training the dog and with desensitizing the chicken.

Also, do things with the dog near the chicken pen, but not in it. Keep the dog on a leash until you know there will be no problems--and then consider keeping the dog on the leash a while longer.

For things to have the dog do, I suggest heel or sit/stay or down/stay or anything else that is calm and forces the dog to pay attention to what you've told them to do.

That's an idea for where to start, but what you do next will depend on how your dog is reacting--which you won't know until after you start.

I don't think you will have to do much about the chickens, other than working with the dog in a place the chickens can see from their pen. By the time the dog has learned to be calm, the chickens will probably have learned that THIS dog is not a threat.

Same question, but for a new puppy.

For the puppy, regularly take it outdoors near the chicken pen, and gently stop it when it barks, runs crazy, or tries to dig at the pen. Since you're getting a Golden Retriever, and you already have chickens, that may be all you have to do as it grows up. Of course it will depend on the particular puppy, but you won't know that until after you have the puppy.

 

[black_cat]

It helps if you have one person to hold the dog, and another to hold the chicken.
That way you can let the dog sniff the chicken, but not bite or be rough, which helps with training the dog and with desensitizing the chicken.

Also, do things with the dog near the chicken pen, but not in it. Keep the dog on a leash until you know there will be no problems--and then consider keeping the dog on the leash a while longer.

For things to have the dog do, I suggest heel or sit/stay or down/stay or anything else that is calm and forces the dog to pay attention to what you've told them to do.

That's an idea for where to start, but what you do next will depend on how your dog is reacting--which you won't know until after you start.

I don't think you will have to do much about the chickens, other than working with the dog in a place the chickens can see from their pen. By the time the dog has learned to be calm, the chickens will probably have learned that THIS dog is not a threat.



For the puppy, regularly take it outdoors near the chicken pen, and gently stop it when it barks, runs crazy, or tries to dig at the pen. Since you're getting a Golden Retriever, and you already have chickens, that may be all you have to do as it grows up. Of course it will depend on the particular puppy, but you won't know that until after you have the puppy.

I think that the best spot for regular potty breaks is the spot in view of the chicken coop (the other good spot requires a dog to walk up some stone steps that a small puppy couldn't manage) so the dog would be able to see them a lot of the time. What should I do when the dog barks, etc? "No", quickly walking away, pick it up and bring it elsewhere? this is the aspect of training that I'll be mainly in charge of, because the chickens are mine.

 

[black_cat]

Also- not even a formal heel, but getting a puppy to walk pleasantly on a leash? I feel awful when I walk my neighbor's puppy, because I don't want to let her pull me, but she puts so much pressure on her neck.

 

[NatJ]

What should I do when the dog barks, etc? "No", quickly walking away, pick it up and bring it elsewhere? this is the aspect of training that I'll be mainly in charge of, because the chickens are mine.

In the first few days, probably pick up the puppy and walk away, or distract the puppy with something else. Within a week or so, you should have a better sense of what works for you and your puppy.

 

[Nero70002]

So I know dock distance, and dock high retrieve, would the dock diving just be a tossed toy and a free jump?

Idk but I'm also thinking of "adopting” 2 CLD's in the game so they won't be that good quality. I messaged someone on the game and they said that they were thinking of breeding their CLD's when they were around 100 days/months old. Their dogs were pretty good and I thought that I would try and see how far I could get with my dogs. Their dogs are around 50. I think I might name them Indigo and Indy.