Dog trys to bite chicks

[mmiller98]

The day i brought my chicks home and showed them to my dog he tried to bite or eat one of them i told him to leav it. A couple days later i was holding one of my chicks and let my dog sniff it to see if he still wanted to eat them. He sniffed it and then it churped at him. He got excied and bit the chick, its whole head was in his mouth but he didnt hurt it. I let my dog outside during the day at hours at a time and when my chicks get old enough i plan to let them free range durring the day. Is there any way i can train him not to eat my chicks or will i just have to keep my dog and chickens apart? Please help thank you

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

When they get older he'll learn his lesson, one quick peck to the nose and hes an educated dog LOL

thats all i know off

 

[WI FarmChick]

The day i brought my chicks home and showed them to my dog he tried to bite or eat one of them i told him to leave it. A couple days later i was holding one of my chicks and let my dog sniff it to see if he still wanted to eat them. He sniffed it and then it churped at him. He got excied and bit the chick, its whole head was in his mouth but he didnt hurt it. I let my dog outside during the day at hours at a time and when my chicks get old enough i plan to let them free range durring the day. Is there any way i can train him not to eat my chicks or will i just have to keep my dog and chickens apart? Please help thank you

I had the same problem with my dog. He has killed a couple of my full grown hens at the time.
His name is hunter lol. That's how he got his name.
when I went outside the dog came also. and only when i was out side too. I watched my dog like a hawk. every time when i thought he was going after my hens,
I would let him know that was not OK. He finely got the message. Now any animal i bring home he is tail wagging friends with or else MOM has a say about it.

 

[dainerra]

training training training.

not a big fan of dogs being left outside unattended, though. Too many cases of them getting into trouble, being stolen, poisoned, shot, teased, the list goes on and on.

I would start by only letting him near them supervised and under control. In the beginning that will mean that he will always have to be on leash. Then you can work with a long line and supervise closely. It's not uncommon to never be able to trust them 100%. They are animals after all and, like kids, sometimes the temptation to misbehave is just too great!

work on teaching a "leave it" command.

 

[Ole rooster]

I think you need to talk to someone that's done what you want to do. Someone to show you, not just tell ya. Morgan, my dog, stays out with the chickens and never causes a problem. I seen him go get some that have strayed, he thinks, to far away from the "pack" . He's never messed with the chicks, even a day old. You just gotta work with um constantly and let them mature. When they grow up then you'll know what you have.

 

[slimpys]

My dog gets very excited around the chicks and has also tried to bite them. I make sure he is in a sit and will let him sniff them. If he starts getting to excited, I firmly tell him to leave it. I try to expose him frequently. When they get a little bigger, I let a few chi Keon the grass, but make sure he is lying down.

He's pretty good with my older hens and I think frequent exposure as chicks helps. It's his nature to want to go after small creatures, so it takes training and patience. I only do positive training and give him lots of rewards for good behavior. Make it worth it to the dog to ignore the chicks.

 

[Roark]

We started with an Aussie Shepherd female pup about 7 years ago , and soon added a male from the Aussie Rescue who is probably about 10 now (people years) - Maddie and Bart respectively. Maddie is a beast for an Aussie, about 85 lbs., and Bart the Dart is a little agility nut at about 45 lbs. Bart had been through several years alone in the woods, as well as several foster homes before we got him, and he has adapted very quickly to every new critter to come in the door... and there have been a few. Most recently we took in a stray teenager who left us with a stray kitten, and Bart has been totally nonplussed from day one (although the UPS man still makes him want to dive through the front window),

Maddie on the other hand is a different story. She was getting better with the kitten, but if kitty decided to move away too quickly, the big dog would want to herd her and contain her (their instinct). Unfortunately when 85 lb. dog gets excited by 2 lb. kitty the physics are inescapable. Since we had also just picked up our first six chicks and three ducklings, we were also worried about how we could get everyone acclimated to a comfortable co-existence. Through a link somewhere in these forums I came across a video that sounded promising. The video is by a fellow named Bryan Pulliam, who lives somewhere out in the Midwest. Here's the link:

http://canterlc.com/StopChickenKillerDogs/site/pages/home/

The video was something like thirty bucks, and I have to say that it was the best thirty dollars I've ever spent. Not only have we had great success using his methods to acclimate dog and kitty, but now even the yammering birds are not a problem. We've yet to let the birds loose to run around the yard with the dogs, but they sleep in an open pen right next to the dogs every night without issue.and holding them while sitting with the dogs gets no real response at all. The dogs are completely at ease. The best part of all is that the whole process was pretty quick and painless. Maddie was a bit of a challenge getting to allow us to lie her on her back, but once we got there, the rest was just a few days, and it has stuck. No electric collars, beatings or dead chickens hung around necks. Just gentle but firm practice getting our dogs to better trust us - something that we thought that we already had but really didn't.

Not only has this made the other animals safe, but our dogs are now even better companions than before. Our Aussie's are VERY protective, and they live to herd everything that moves, be that cows or children. Being able to involve them in daily chores with the other critters has enhanced their lives as well as our own.

I would also say that I am a total fanboy of Bryan. He had a lot of other great information that he shared, and helped me adapt his cattle panel run design to my own needs - which has worked brilliantly. Great guy, great program. Never ceases to amaze me - the quality of people that keep chickens. I just wonder what came first - are they great people 'cuz they keep chickens, or is this the effect that chickens have on everybody - and why is it that chickens are always at the root of these types of circular questions?