Dogs? Good or bad?

[Spookwriter]

Big stinky dog in Spooks house? .....No.

And I'm almost ashamed to say this....in a thunderstorm, I go
sit in the garage with the silly dog. He's my buddy. Even in the
night, if it comes a hard rain, I'll get get up, go to the garage.

I don't know if I would do that for any other dog on earth. But
like I say...he's my buddy.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

There are many ways to handle this, but here are some options:

-He gets a dog, cares for the dog, and trains the dog in obedience, socialization, and to leave birds alone using methods that harm nether chicken nor dog. The dog still needs to be trained to mind you, which you need to particiate in heavily and often, or trouble can result from that. You have a separate area for chickens/dog unless dog is being supervised.

-Dog and chickens are kept in separate areas via a fence, etc. and not allowed together.

-He gets an older shelter dog/rehome dog who is proven to be already good with chickens and you both put in the time to keep that training solid.

That said, I am not sure having a dog is a good idea when one partner is very opposed and neither partner seems to have tried training with the first dog to solve any issues. And that was when no chickens were harmed. The situation was unfair to the first dog and needs to be changed before considering a second.

 

[Bunnylady]

I am a bird and cat kind of person but my boyfriend is a dog man. The last dog we tried I had to make him give away because it was aggressive to my birds and I was scared he would hurt them. We are getting a new place and my boyfriend wants another dog. I am against anything that is going to hurt my babies so I don't really want one. If it kills my birds it is a dead dog and then he'll never for give me. How do I go about solving this so we are both happy?

I see so many red flags in this post. Like others have hinted, this doesn't look like the makings of domestic tranquility.

The simplest solution is, you get rid of the chickens. He doesn't have a dog, you don't have chickens - nothing to fight about, right?

Getting along with people involves negotiation. Power plays may be funny in comedies, but they tend to build resentment, not trust, IRL. Unless you both can get behind the dog idea, the dog is just going to be a pawn between you, and the dog is going to feel and respond to the tension. That adds up to two unhappy people plus one unhappy dog - an equation that usually ends up with a lot of minuses in the long run.

Several people have given good advice about training, separate areas of confinement, etc. If BF is a good dog owner, he'll want a dog that is a good canine citizen, and do what's necessary to make sure that the dog isn't a problem. An awful lot of people want a dog, but don't want to invest the time that it takes to make a good dog. Is BF the kind to commit himself to this kind of effort, and then follow through? Or is he the sort to do something on impulse and pay for it (and pay for it, and pay for it) later?

What kind of dog is he interested in? Not all dogs have high prey drives; even within some breeds, you can have one dog that wants to kill everything in sight, and another that embodies "live and let live."

It sounds like you are trying to be fair about this, even though you have serious reservations. Obviously, this is a situation that needs careful handling. Good luck!

 

[jjsasfai]

We have had problems with our dogs getting in the coop. We now have the coop in a separate area of the yard that the dogs CAN'T get to. divided by the same chain link that the rest of our fence is. We still let the chickens free range in the yard but only when we can supervise!

 

[cassie]

I laughed when you talked about the dogs getting in the coop. Years ago I had a friend who gave me about a dozen nice hens because they weren't laying. They laid plenty of nice big eggs for me. My friend couldn't figure it out. Anyway, my friend raised up another batch of chickens. These hens didn't lay either and she was getting ready to give them all to me, also. Unfortunately for me just before she did, my friend's husband happened to look out the kitchen window just in time to see their doberman come sneaking out of the hen house licking her chops. Mystery solved.

 

[Bunnylady]

I laughed when you talked about the dogs getting in the coop. Years ago I had a friend who gave me about a dozen nice hens because they weren't laying. They laid plenty of nice big eggs for me. My friend couldn't figure it out. Anyway, my friend raised up another batch of chickens. These hens didn't lay either and she was getting ready to give them all to me, also. Unfortunately for me just before she did, my friend's husband happened to look out the kitchen window just in time to see their doberman come sneaking out of the hen house licking her chops. Mystery solved.

I had some free-ranging chickens that had decided that one corner of a horse's stall was the place to lay their eggs. Abruptly, the number of eggs I was finding in the stall dropped, and I couldn't find any alternate nest sites. I suspected egg-eating among the chickens, but was shocked when I found out what was really going on - I had an egg-eating horse!

 

[obeloinkment]

Johnny Cash - Dirty Old Egg Suckin Dog. I was just looking for any version of the song for y'all and I found this gem on YouTube.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I am a bird and cat kind of person but my boyfriend is a dog man. The last dog we tried I had to make him give away because it was aggressive to my birds and I was scared he would hurt them. We are getting a new place and my boyfriend wants another dog. I am against anything that is going to hurt my babies so I don't really want one. If it kills my birds it is a dead dog and then he'll never for give me. How do I go about solving this so we are both happy?

He could get a teacup Chihuahua. It would still need training, socialization, and worked with, but at least the odds in dog to bird death possibility ratio is greatly reduced as opposed to getting a larger dog. King Charles Spaniels have wonderful personalities as well.

 

[Stacykins]

He could get a teacup Chihuahua. It would still need training, socialization, and worked with, but at least the odds in dog to bird death possibility ratio is greatly reduced as opposed to getting a larger dog. King Charles Spaniels have wonderful personalities as well.

Yea. nobody in their right mind should ever recommend a teacup ANYTHING as a pet. They are runty, sicky dogs bred purely for profit and not the wellbeing of the dog. No responsible person breeds teacup animals. It is a fad and a horrible one at that. The vet bills alone from a teacup animals, because of all the health problems they often have, will send a new owner into debt.

 

[cassie]

Gee. I had a tiny teacup chihuahua for many years. He was one of the best dogs I ever owned. He was smart, healthy, active, funny, and he thought he was a BIG dog. I don't remember now how I ended up with him. I know I didn't buy him. The only problem we had with him was that he was sensitive to cold. He would bury himself under the knitted afghan on the sofa, and since he was so small it was hard to know he was there. He didn't make a very noticeable lump under the blanket and he almost got sat on a few times.