Dog or no dog?

[cmom]

All of the other posters have given you good advice. Is your property fenced in? Is there another family member that has more space that can take him. That will be an adjustment for the dog too to go from being able to wonder around on 50 acres to a lot. Good luck and have fun...

 

[aart]

Regardless, I'm still worried that he simply wouldn't be happy in our much different home

He might not...and I would guess it's up to your parents whether to bring him along or not. Hard decision, best of luck resolving it.

 

[chickengirl778]

Thanks so much guys!
I really REALLY want a dog but I know that more problems will arise if he's not happy in our lives. Our yard is fenced in, to answer the former question.
Please keep the advice coming, I could definitely use it!

 

[snow5164]

I’d try to leave him with the new owners on the farm . A dog that’s had free run in the country will get in trouble in town. I’ve seen it again and again, not worth the work in my opinion.

He’ll be bored which equals him getting into trouble with your creatures .

Good luck

 

[chickengirl778]

That was my concern!

 

[sannabelle]

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice on this thread- basic obedience really needs to come first. You need to have (at the very least) established some leash manners, a strong “leave it”, and a que word to get the dogs attention. Lots of work converting a country dog to a city dog. I would start working with him and establish a relationship on the property he is currently on and see what progress you can make there before even seriously considering transitioning to your families home.

Good luck feel free to PM me if you want, my schedule is a little crazy but I’m more than happy to help if I can.

 

[cmom]

I have a daughter that had a dog and moved to a place where she couldn't have a dog so she brought her over to us. Luckily we have several acres. Where she had lived previously she had to keep it tied up on a line so the dog had space to run somewhat but it still had to be tied up because the place she was living didn't belong to her and she couldn't put up a fence.

 

[aart]

Funny, reminds me of when......

I had a dog when I lived in town, she was inside most the time while I was at work(which she was used to when I got her at 3yo) and had a buried collar fence in yard(which kinda worked). There were a couple other dogs around who spent part of their lives in fenced yards nearby they would all sit and look at each other. That, along with the usual 'city bustle', kept her stimulated.
When I brought this dog to the country, she was 'bored' and would lay around in her new fenced yard looking rather forlorn. So I got another dog, a companion animal for my companion animal(haha!), and they clicked really well, kept each other stimulated and played together.

Just relay that story to illustrate that a change in environment and companions can have a big effect.

 

[chickengirl778]

If anyone has had trained their dog with their chickens, I would be interested to learn your tips.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

You gotta show her that you are the new alpha even though in reality you are meek and will probably be blown over by a 10 mph wind gust. My point is, you should establish your dominant position first in a new area he isn't familiar with so that you can set boundaries and then slowly introduce her to the chickens (while being leashed the first few times)..... keep doing it until he's comfortable with his new surroundings and with the chickens, soon enough he will get bored of the chickens and pay no attention to them and you can leave him off leash. But it really depends on the dog though, with mine she still sometimes will turn on her 'switch' if the chickens decide to act crazy when she gets a little too close to them and will chase them, but when the chickens are a good distance away....... she usually just leaves them alone. Just hope your boxer doesn't have a high prey drive, but if so, maybe with a lot of training you can subdue his natural instinct to chase if that is the case with him.

I'd say go for it, having a dog around is another good layer of protection for your flock if everything works out OK. But being a teenager as you said you are, there's also a lot of responsibilities associated with them, so that's something you have to take into account.