Dog issues. Please read on.

[shuizar209]

So last year I had a couple of chickens for pets and my dog was totally fine with them. We eventually moved and gave to to a lovely friend. Now a year later here we are with 3 more dogs. I dont know if this matters but I have 2 pit bulls (1 is mixed), and an annoying cocker spaniel. (The mix is my pit bull from before.) Now I have now started to get my chickens back with a nice coop and 1 silkie about 2 months old. My problem is my dogs are really interested in this chick. One already chased it and one is trying to get into the coop. We did the right thing and introduced the dogs one at a time and of course we introduced bosco who already is aquainted with them and of course he just looked sniffed and then ignored. How can I get the others to follow suit? Is it possible? What are some things I can do? Thanks for reading!!!

 

[DawnM]

I worked with dogs for nearly ten years and the best advice i can give you is to teach the command "come". Work on it until they listen to you 100% of the time. When they are reliable, introduce them around the chickens. Every time they show too much interest, make them come to you. Reward them if you see them ignoring the birds as well. Eventually they will learn how to behave and know what actions are ok and what's not. Pit Bulls are smart dogs so they will figure it out quickly and Spaniels were bred to follow orders so you shouldn't have too much of a problem with any of the dogs.

 

[shuizar209]

Thank you for your advice. I will for sure be trying that. About the cockerspaniel. She is my father inlaws and its almost like talking to a brick wall. SERIOUSLY sometimes I think she is deaf and blind. (No offense to anyone as Im hard of hearing).

 

[nzpouter]

concentrate on the worst offender.... if he trigger a chase, this can become a pack chase... something you'll try to avoid.

A stern leave it comment is a handy tools... just make sure your dogs know it.

 

[mboreham1]

I have a beagle, talk about tough dogs to train, i am not sure there is a more stubborn breed out there, it took me 3 1/2 hours to train him to roll over, anyways, i am 2 chicks lighter because he just loves to play and chicks dont stand up to much beagle play. I have taught him to sit, under all circumstances, if i say sit, he sits, if you know anything about hounds, they are ruled by their nose, so he gets a chicken scent and just goes nuts! so excited to tell me where exactly in the yard the chickens have been, if he finds one and wants to play and starts the chase, i shout "sit" and he stops, dead, same thing when i am running him by the river off leash, if he is trailing a scent and i want him to stop - "sit" its very tough, very trying on the patience, however, very worth it, if it weren't for the "sit" command i would be 10 chicks lighter!

 

[BorderKelpie]

Little hint: Remember NEVER call your dog to come to you to discipline him/her (or do anything s/he finds unpleasant ie bath, toenail trim, etc). They should ALWAYS associate 'Come' with great things. Treats, praise, whatever their most favorite thing (excluding chickens lol) is. If you must discipline, go get your dog - don't chase, just matter of fact get him/her. The best thing is to leash your dog until the Come command is firmly established. Get a drag line and leave it on him/her if needed. (A drag line is just a long leash without a loop handle on the end, so it doesn't hang up on anything).
Good luck.

 

[DawnM]

What BorderKelpie said is dead on. Even if you have to chase the dog 3 miles you just grit your teeth and tell him/her what a good dog they are for finally being caught. As for the Cocker, the dumber dogs can be a little frustrating but once they learn a command they are usually so proud of themselves they never forget it. I have a poodle like that at home, dumb as a brick. She never fails with come, leave it, or kennel up (to get in a kennel, car, or other enclosed area.) Just keep working on it. when I train dogs to come I usually put them on a long lead like a rope or several leashes tied together. Tell them to come once then reel them in. Every time they get to you reward them. Cocker Spaniels love food so a small treat every time should speed it up. When they get fairly reliable toss out a treat while they are still on the rope. Reel them back in and treat them when they get to you. This helps to show that coming to you is just as important as whatever they want somewhere else. After a while you can phase out the treats or other reward. Different dogs do better with different rewards like treats, toys, hugs, etc. With a Cocker it will probably be food. The Pit mixes may be ok with just a verbal reward and a pet. Once they know this command (or sit as another poster said) they will be so tired of having to obey it every time they chase the chickens they will probably just learn to leave them alone.

 

[dataman]

Ok, so now I'm getting confused. I had read other threads and learned that keeping dogs separate from chickens would be best. We will be moving into a farmhouse that already has a coop and run in the backyard, so I planned on constructing a dog run/area to keep my 2 dachshunds away from the chickens. Now I read that they can be trained to live peacefully together. Obviously my preference would be to fence in the entire back yard and let everyone free range together, but I wouldn't want my sweet wiener dogs to turn into vicious killers.

 

[nnbreeder]

To avoid problems totally the birds and dogs should lead seperate lives.

But if you have the time and patience to commit to training the dogs they can usually be taught to leave the birds alone. Remember your sweet little weiners were bred to hunt Badgers in days of yore.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/dachshund/history.cfm

 

[sourland]

Dataman, dachshunds are a case by themselves. Very high drive, they have been bred to catch and kill. There are even field trials where they go to ground to locate and attempt to get at a caged rat. I would be very careful with them around chickens. Neat dogs but not poultry or small animal friendly in most cases.