Dogs and Ducks

[casportpony]

I have a heeler that I have to keep an eye on when out with the horses. She's perfect around the birds and cats, but there's something about the horses that she can't resist.

-Kathy

 

[Kaessa]

It's not being cruel to "generalize" but rather to recognize what breeds may be better or worse, in general, around small animals. Shepherds, non-terrier toy dogs, or other non-hunting/prey oriented dogs are just going to be better because they are not disadvantaged by instinct. It don't mean that all shepherds or non-terrier toy dogs will be fine or that a hound would wreak havoc...its just a guideline about how these animals have been changed by humans to react to their environment.

Definitely! I have three border collies that come from VERY strong herding lines, and I won't let them be around my ducks. My youngest dog charges the fence to try to get them to lift. Of course, they just look at her like, "Really? Not impressed." I definitely wouldn't let them be around ducks that weren't raised around dogs.

When my new babies come in I'm going to try really hard to get them to see the dogs as "friendly" so they don't run and set off the prey/herding drive when they see the dogs.

 

[wafflesandmoe]

It's not about generalizing breeds, it's about what the breeds were instinctively created to do. A hound has been bread to smell and hunt. A retriever needs no training retrieve objects--unless it's poorly bread it will just retrieve. Dogs will the word "bull" have been bread for their muscles and bulk in order to stand their ground. Boarder collies are a hearing dog, but their playfulness would give me pause especially since they've been know to heard kids. They won't necessarily kill animals but they've been know to heard them to death. While dogs can be trained to act outside their primal breeding instinct, it is what it is. We can teach dogs to harness their instincts for us, but we can't change their primal call.

It's not being cruel to "generalize" but rather to recognize what breeds may be better or worse, in general, around small animals. Shepherds, non-terrier toy dogs, or other non-hunting/prey oriented dogs are just going to be better because they are not disadvantaged by instinct. It don't mean that all shepherds or non-terrier toy dogs will be fine or that a hound would wreak havoc...its just a guideline about how these animals have been changed by humans to react to their environment.

I agree, and i know that if i fight with instinct, instinct will win, so i know i never will trust my dog alone with the ducks. However, i'm just hoping to get to the point where he leaves the coop alone and understands that the ducks are staying and are friends, not food. Luckily he has never been duck hunting, so he has no experience with that, its just tough because its obviously not the dog's fault.

 

[seashoreduck]

I agree, and i know that if i fight with instinct, instinct will win, so i know i never will trust my dog alone with the ducks. However, i'm just hoping to get to the point where he leaves the coop alone and understands that the ducks are staying and are friends, not food. Luckily he has never been duck hunting, so he has no experience with that, its just tough because its obviously not the dog's fault.

Yep. Then again, I am more nervous that the ducks will bully my dog even though she's a 45lbs shepard. She was attacked by a blue herron once, and has been picked on by my friends cockateal, and very much was afraid of my other ducks.

It's sad when animals have the instinct bread out of them...even though it's "nice" on some levels.