do you think my dog will be OK?

[DiVon80]

Mojo Chick'n :

My dog Toby (the best dog in the world

) was great with the chickens, but he thought that ducks sounded like his Squeaky Toys (perhaps why your dog gets excited?

) We got ducks long after chickens, so they were new to his territory. He killed two of them one day.

I had to teach him that the ducks were MINE! and then he's been fine with them ever since.

Just introduce the ducks tot he dog and let him know they are your ducks, not his chew toys, and he might catch on pretty quickly (hopefully).

meri

We use that word too! MINE!! My house cats know what that means also.​

 

[TarzantheChickenMan]

My brother had a lab that he hunted with she was great with the the birds but if you brought out a gun she would start retreving chickens most of the time she was good about it she had lots of training on gentle retrieves as not to harm the dead duck she only once injured a chicken she poked a hole in is thigh, needless to say i didn't catch the injury until it was way to late and had in kill the bird it had gone gangrenous

 

[newchickmom09]

Start working on a "leave it" command right now with him. Start with one piece of dog food and once he understands what leave it means with the dog food move on the something bigger and more enticing like a piece of lunch meat or cheese. Do this with his toys also before you play fetch put the toy on the ground and tell him leave it do this until he understands that leave it means to not go near them. If you start this before your ducks hatch then when they are running around you can tell him leave it and he should know what that command means. Work on his basic manners also, the more you are bonded the happier he will be. Once the ducks come keep him right next to you and I always told my dogs no they are family. It worked. Like others said the noise that they make is alot like there squeeky toys so watch your dogs ears when he hears that noise and you will beable to tell what he is thinking.

 

[688peterl]

Quote:
i already sort of have a leave it command, sometimes i dont even need one like if there is food at the table and he jumps up to get it i just gasp like oh no you di'int and he knows then not to touch it, i really hope this works, is there anything i can do to stop him from getting jealous? because the duck brooder is gonna be in my bedroom (its a huge cage which the dog cant get into), and thats where he sleeps, so if he doesnt calm and get used to them i will have to make him sleep outside which i think will make him really jealous

 

[newchickmom09]

I don't know if your dog will be ok with this but anytime I took my chicks out of the brooder inside I had him sit right next to me. That way he knew that they were mine and not his food. I would pet him and talk to the chicks at the same time. When my ducks were 1 and 3 weeks old I would take him in the coop with me and have him sit while I changed there food, water, and cleaned there pool everyday. I just involved my dog as much as I could. If you know that your dog can't get in the cage then just let him sit and watch them. My brooder was a wire dog kennel. So all of our animals could watch the chicks but not get to them. Sounds like what you have set up. Anytime you take out the ducks you can put a leash on your dog just incase he goes after a duck you can stop him. Oh forgot to add when I would have my chicks or ducks in my lap I would hold onto my dogs collar, not tight so he felt like he was in trouble or something but hand my hand there incase I needed to pull back.

Once you have them in your room and let your dog check them out give him a treat everytime he is good around them. I really think the key to a dogs mind and heart is treats.

Anytime you are giving the ducks attention and he is calm tell him "good boy" and give him a treat. Making him not feel left out or bad will let him except the ducks faster.

Keep in mind that those little noises they make can really excite some dogs. Mine didn't care about there noises but my friends german shepherd goes nuts over it no matter how many times he came over.

You just really are going to have to watch your dogs body language.

 

[688peterl]

Quote:
i know he isnt too keen on the sounds i keep showing him vids of baby ducks on youtube but he doesnt bark he sort of makes a crying noise and he never normally does that

 

[newchickmom09]

Normaly when dogs do that little wine cry noise that is there "I really want to get that" noise.

My lab does that when we are out hunting and she sees birds or smells deer around.

I don't know if I would be playing him those noises anymore since it is making him get excited. You don't really want his retriever side coming out and think he is in hunting mode.

Just when you get your ducks be calm around both of the. You don't want your dog sencing you are nervous or it can make the nervous.