Dogs and Chickens

[fowl farm]

We got a 10 month old Blue Heeler/ Aussie mix about a week ago. She chased chickens, so we tried the lunge rope thing and got a shock collar, and she started ignoring them... I thought. It ends up she ignores them while I'm there, but this afternoon my brother was playing with the ducks (feeding them from his hand), I was watching from the window to see what she would do, and she went for them. I shocked her as soon as she started forward for them, but she ignored it. Her teeth snapped closed a hair-width away from my drakes neck, and she ALMOST became a chicken(err, duck) killer. I'm wondering how to train this out of her, or if is even possible? She is incredibly people oriented, and is an outdoor dog, so that make it even harder to train her, I don't know. And she's never off leash when the poultry are out, and I'm thinking that's why we still have poultry. Also, she had never seen chickens (or poultry) until we got her. I want to do what's best for all the animals, so please be honest. And an indoor dog is out of the question, so please, if you have problems with outdoor dog, it won't do any good. Thanks everyone!

 

[PoultryPower]

Training a dog out of it's natural instinct can be extremely difficult. I think your best bet would be to continue working with her around them after she has had some strenuous exercise. If she has not been mentally and physically exercised. it's like asking a person whose been without water for 2 days not touch the water you place in front of them. Find her a different outlet, something that uses her heeler/aussie instincts. One of my dogs (whom I believe to be part border collie) used to try to kill my chickens. Using a shock collar (CORRECTLY) I helped him channel his herding instinct and taught him to coop the chickens for me. It's not an easy fix, but if you stick with it and firm but fair with her, I think you will be able to find a way to make your animals live together in harmony. Best of luck.

 

[HEChicken]

IMHO, it is not possible to truly train a dog NOT to want to chase them - you just have to find one that doesn't want to. Is it too late to return her and try again with another dog? It *is* possible to find a dog who will not go after the chickens. I know because I've had several of them, all of them mutts or I would advise as to breed. We had two dogs when we got the chickens and in retrospect were just fortunate that neither of them showed any interest in chasing the chooks. When they both passed we decided to get another dog and made it a condition that whatever dog we got would have to be good around the birds. With that in mind we adopted from a rescue and found a Border Collie/Lab X who from the first meeting was totally uninterested in the flock. They soon relaxed around her and from day-old up, they are safe with her. Just this evening I had some 5-day old chicks outside and she approached. At first they freaked but it took only minutes before they realized she wasn't a threat and within a few more minutes they were happily running under her and perching on her forearms when she lay down. On her part, she seems to be particularly gentle around the little ones, moving slowly and carefully so as not to accidentally step on them, and giving them gentle little licks - and she's not even two years old. We subsequently adopted a second dog who is equally good around the flock. So good that at night we lock the dogs in the chicken run so as to provide an added layer of defense against any would-be predators. We have an auto door that opens in the morning and the chickens come filing out but I never worry about waking up to dead chickens. Once we're up, the dogs are let out for the day but if I were the slightest bit worried, I would do things differently.

In any case, I don't think you are ever going to get to that point with this particular dog, but knowing it *is* possible, you might see if he or she can go back to the original owners and allow you to seek a dog who will be okay with your flock?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Hello!

I posted this in another thread recently so sorry if this is repeat info but here is the method I use to train my dogs:

I have a pit-bull mix and three pugs. The pit and two of the pugs are rescues from urban shelters with mixed histories of abuse. All four dogs are out in the yard with my 5 chickens everyday without any problems. In fact I once had a chicken attack a dog but never the opposite. Everyone guaranteed me that the pit would kill my chickens but she has never been a problem.

Here is what I personally recommend: The most important thing to focus on overall is controlling your dogs impulse control. Especially with a new puppy. Good basic training makes teaching them anything else so much easier. Make sure that you can snap your dogs attention back to you even when they see something they want. (I can't snap so I use an "aht." noise - this means sit and pay attention to me) One of the best ways to work on this without a live animal present is during feeding. Do you free feed your dogs or do they eat at regular times? I would recommend taking them off of free feeding if you are doing that. Focus on training your dogs so they they will not eat anything unless you give a specific command. I set down all four bowls of food and make the dogs wait. They do not eat until they hear their own name and see a hand gesture. Also work on them stopping eating at a command and willing stepping away from their food. I say "Name, wait." and they stop and sit until told to continue. These skills help with impulse control in many areas of training. It may seem unrelated but to a dog, the one who controls the food is the ruler of them all.

I would introduce the dog to the chickens on a leash and just sit and be calm. As soon as she starts to fixate on the chickens in any way other than simple curiosity or barks or is excited (even happy excited) I would scold her with the same word every time (you only need to say it once, firmly) and immediately take her inside. With my dogs I brought them back when they were calm and started all over again. and again and again. lol. I allowed them to glance at them or sniff them but anything else was a no. It took a bit of patience but within a few days all of the dogs ignored the chickens and now find very little interest in them at all other than a sniff here or there. I never yelled or hit them or used a choke or a shock. I just said no and took them away immediately at any sign of fixation or barking. Patience is the key and consistency. It sucks because sometimes you are busy and don't want to deal with it but starting and stopping will just make it worse. I leave them all together unsupervised regularly.

It takes more time and energy then using something like a shock collar but I firmly believe that a dog that behaves out of confidence will have more long term and consistent success than a dog that behaves out of fear.

Here is my pit, Lou, with a silkie chick who fell in love with her.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

She is incredibly people oriented, and is an outdoor dog.

The fact that she wants to be with you so bad can really work in your favor. Even if you don't bring her in the house, if you have a barn or a crate or anywhere that can be her time out. If her behavior is not acceptable then she doesn't get to be out with you and really that is all she wants so she will modify her behavior quickly. By not allowing her to show interest in or be excited about the chickens you are teaching her that they are not interesting and she will stop caring about them at all. I would recommend not saying no over and over again because it will lose meaning to her. One firm no and away she goes until it is right.

Please give her a chance. I really believe that with the right tools any dog can be a good dog - some just need more tools.

 

[fowl farm]

Thank you for your help. We did decide to get rid of her because she attacked our cat. That may sound silly, but due to the way they behaved around each other during the week, I was incredibly surprised it happened, but I'm positive she started it, and the cat ended up with an injury. Nothing serious, and due to placement it didn't really bleed, but still. And she never did this while I was looking (duck attack I was watching behind a door, cat attack I was walking away). I think we are going to try a Border Collie. We had one before and she ignored the chickens(unless commanded not to and get them off the porch)but she loved the ducks and guineas and was a great help. But thanks for the tips, and I will keep them in mind when I get a different dog. (Also, she went to a great home)

 

[mstricer]

Healers are NOT good with cats. Almost all ads in humane society's will almost always say no cats. Heelers are cattle dogs. Used due to their strong bit. I would suggest you look for a pitbull mix. Most loving dog I've ever owned, our border collie mix does well also, he's dog aggressive though. I just got a pyr, and she is just learning. As with the shock collar, if you were only shocking her, without a command she would not know what happened and probably thought it was the chicken. We are using e-collar with our border collie and use the command leave it with a nick to stop him from paying to much attention to other dogs or bunnies.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Unfortunately there is no right breed of dog that is going to be perfectly cat and bird friendly. All dogs have a prey drive, even tiny fru fru ones. I am madly in love with my pit-mix and she is a really good dog who is a good listener, good with kids, and great with all of my other pets (and even though she is sweet and bubbly, people are afraid of her look and bark, which I like). She is affectionate and loyal and I plan on getting another someday. But, she did not arrive at my home this way. It took a lot of time and training and it was frustrating at times. Pit-bulls, like many many dog breeds have problems with impulse control if not properly and consistently trained.

 

[fowl farm]

Yes, we used the command "leave it" with the shock. But the puppies we are looking at have grown up around chickens, so that will be helpful.

 

[dainerra]

Yes, we used the command "leave it" with the shock. But the puppies we are looking at have grown up around chickens, so that will be helpful.

it's a good start. However, don't assume that, just because they are fine with the chickens at the current place automatically means that they will be alright with yours. It can take a while for them to 1) realize that the "no touch" rule applies to these new chickens or 2) to realize that you are family and that your chickens are as well. Keep them on leash or at least closely supervised for the first few days at least.

I see posts (not only here) that someone brought home a dog that was "good with cats" and it chased/attacked their cat. Just because a dog knows that 1 cat (or house of cats) is a friend doesn't = dog loves all cats. Same goes for introducing a dog to anything - other dogs, livestock, even kids. Shoot, this even goes for housebreaking!

Just give them a couple days to settle in with the family and then expose them to your birds while on leash. Treat them like a new puppy and be patient. They already know, they just have to realize that these chickens are part of the new family.