Dogs, ducks, and a guardian goose?

[sourland]

Your dog is just following her hard wired instincts. Realistically it is not her fault. Hotwire around the birds pen is a great educator and also protects against most other mammalian predators.

 

[Everose]

Yeah I know I'd have to train the puppy but shepard LGD type dogs are bred for this type of job and I would feel very comfortable with training one since we've already been successful with Anatolian Pyrenees sisters that live with our goats.

I love my dog and she's getting up there in years (gonna be 10 come October) so a new dog would also help cushion the blow of losing her in the next few years.

I'm gonna do my best to acclimate her with some ducklings and with our adult pekin but she also got shot up like swiss cheese in summer of 2020 and she's been a little different since then, not bad but just kinda weird

 

[Everose]

I've just never worked with her type and personality of dog and I really don't know of any methods that will get through to her

 

[indianaducks]

If there's something that has a higher value to your dog than the ducks, slowly work with the dog and whatever she values higher than the ducks (toys, treats, etc). If she has a one-track mind with ducks then this suggestion obviously wouldn't work.

For example, once my ducks move outside to their pen/house, my labradors will learn to co-exist so that hopefully at some point the ducks can free-range a bit. I know that fetch will be of far higher priority to at least one of my dogs than a zillion ducks running around. (I don't have a zillion. LOL).

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Don't let the dog with in a five feet area around your ducks, and give it time.

 

[DukesDucks]

I have a young (20 month old) German Shepherd that I adopted 4 months ago. We are under lots of snow and my ducks have not been free ranging for several months. I have been slowly introducing dog to ducks. Started by walking past the run, not stopping, and gradually decreased the distance. Now I am at the point where my dog will sit by the door to the run and the ducks will come over to investigate. The dog quickly seems bored and wants to do something else.
Once the ducks are out free ranging again. I'm going to repeat the process always with the dog on a leash. He is really going to have to show no interest before also being loose.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

We had my dog 3 years prior to getting chickens. She is a chiweenie (chihuahua dachshund mix) She was very interested in the chickens when we first got them. I had her on a leash near the run for a few weeks. Then, we worked on her not being leashed near the run. She wants the chickens to engage her more than anything. When they ignore her, she gets mad and barks a bit and jumps around but several feet away from the run. It's like she is curious but also afraid of them at the same time. There have been times when the chickens pecked her on the nose and she didn't like it so she steers clear. Now, we have a perimeter fence around the entire sheep/chicken area so she can only get near the chickens if they free range in there, which they haven't done in months. (She does the same "tough guy/scaredy cat" actions with the sheep and they look at her like she's crazy.) Once it isn't winter and hawks aren't as prevalent, I'd like to free range the chickens again and I'm sure she'll be surprised to see them out and about but she never goes after them. We had some fly over the fence last summer and she sort of chased them but not really because she was scared at the same time. She's a nutcase. She's a very small, nervous dog though so her personality isn't one that I'd expect to be aggressive. She's afraid of her own shadow most days. We are getting runner ducklings this spring so it will be interesting to see how she does with them since they will be bigger than her when full-grown.

 

[Pollo Blanco]

So all three of my beautiful welsh harlequin ducks met their maker about two weeks ago thanks to my australian shepherd

Since I'll be starting over I want to train my dog with our one and only pekin. I would love input and tried and true methods of getting her to act like he doesn't exist. She has gotten over her love of chicken chasing but ducks are new thing to her. She is nine years old and really doesn't give a crap about how we feel when she kills chickens or ducks, so people pleasing dog methods won't work

Since I'm starting over I want to get a mean guardian to go with my ducks. Which breed of goose would be easy to tame, behave well with my ducks and should I get two?

I'm doing my very best to keep my dog from killing again and would love to know what has worked for other duck keepers and dog owners.

BAT; Behavior Aversion Training
Basically clicker treat training.

Stim collar can be good, much harder to do properly and your best to hire a professional to get you started.

Has your dog completed Control off Leash training?

How long will your dog do a Drop Stay?

You can train your dog to do anything, but it takes time and consistency.

Here's my Aussie with the ducklings. He is also an agility champion, but I have not yet trained him to herd. Both of our dogs are trained to not harass the ducks.

 

[Pollo Blanco]

She wants the chickens to engage her more than anything. When they ignore her, she gets mad and barks a bit and jumps around but several feet away from the run. It's like she is curious but also afraid of them at the same time.

The clinical term for that behavior is 'Frustrated greeter'.

Went through a lot of that with my dog when he was a puppy.

Keeping them on the leash as you approach the thing that is triggering them and click/treat before they go over threshold, walk away, repeat. Soon you will be able to make a full approach without the dog going over threshold.

 

[Jmiller89]

Only get one goose as two will bond and hang out together. As some have mentioned before geese are not the best guards and will often times run away just as much as the birds they are guarding. That being said when we got a new puppy our oldest goose did go after it (which was hilarious). Now that said puppy is 60 to 70lbs the goose just avoids. I have Chinese geese which aren’t too terribly big but maybe if you get a larger goose like and African goose then the sheer size might make the dog think twice. Also you have to brood the goose with the ducks otherwise it will pick on them. Side note, personally I would avoid introducing the dog until the goose is mature and a sizable threat. Otherwise you run the risk of the dog and the goose being desensitized or the goose just being afraid and avoiding the dog altogether.