Dogs "I want chicken" faces

[mandelyn]

With all the rain it didn't take the dogs long to turn the whole yard into a mud pit. So we threw up a fence to keep them off most of it, and this also allows for chicken free range in the back area with the dogs out! (supervised, I'm paranoid)

The chickens got brave and decided to check out this new fence line. Check out the doggy "I WANT!" faces...

(they know better than to jump at the fence or bark and in any way shape or form get too excited)

Ricca's face when she's thinking about taking action... (she would be my chicken killer if she ever had a chance alone with them)

Ricca's face after deciding it's a bad idea cause I'm watching her....

Logan-Bear, he loves watching critters. He's never offered to go after anything, but, you never know. Ricca influences him.

He could really just care less.

Even with deer at our old house...

 

[off-grid hen]

I love Shepherds. Makes me miss my Jack.

 

[storminstaffs]

Great pix i've got 2 dogs that bother my chickens and 1 that doesn't

 

[Sassafras]

That's a well trained dog not to jump over the fence at the deer. Kudos to you.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I could almost see your dogs drooling!

~ Aspen

 

[mandelyn]

Quote:
Yeah, that's one of the first things I teach, respect "my" barriers. Yard fence, crate, baby gates, car doors with the window open, ect. Next is "come" to make sure if they just can't resist, I can call them back or off readily. Stay where I put you, and come back when I call, the first time. Ricca was the hardest, specially with "come"... I had to run from her and hide behind trees and stuff to get it through her head to pay attention to where I was and that she only had one chance for me to tell her my intentions before I "left" her.

With the chickens, there's always some bite sized critter around, kittens, baby chicks and ducks, I let them see and meet them all so long as they stay calm. If they stare longer than 5 seconds, I break the stare. Ricca will kiss the bunnies and will let kittens eat from her bowl. But she knows those chickens will flutter around in excitement/fear if she jumps at them, and it's just too much for her to bear. She thinks it's the coolest game ever to startle them, so I'm always keeping an eye for that. We built a secondary fence around the coop 4 ft out, so that she couldn't get a rise from them any longer.

But Logan is about the coolest dog ever. He's so calm and relaxed, and just goes with life. Whatever I bring in he wants to protect. Kittens will sleep curled in his belly and he'll lick them and baby them. He alerts me to the basement door when the baby ducks/chicks are having a crying fit. I reward that behavior by taking him with me to check on them. With the deer, I had to stand on the fence line with Ricca and get it through her head to ignore it and not run the fence barking like a lunatic. Took about 4 days since we already had key commands down. Logan, just watched.

We have a fairly "weak" picket fence between the house and garage, a determined or untrained dog could leave quite readily from there or the porch. Or jump on the wood pile and sail over the fence. But these guys, I always check if I hear certain barks, like if a stray dog is trying to visit. I just check everything and either reward, ignore, or discipline. They learn what to bark about, what to ignore, and what I don't care about. I don't sit in front of the TV hoping they shut up soon.

It's funny watching Ricca with the chickens, but I do have to watch her faces. She's very expressive, with her being 5 years old, I know her every thought now. If we only had Logan he would likely sit out there around the birds and lay in the sun with them. But I can't favor the good dog over the "bad" dog. She has totally different drives than he does. She totally drools over birds and squirrels.

Once I let her outside without looking first, and some baby squirrels had come down from their tree. She bolted towards them, and they didn't even flinch. She slammed on the brakes and sat down and stared at them, willing them to dart off. She barked and they went up the tree, but she had already lost a lot of focus when they didn't startle immediately. Hilarious. She couldn't understand why they wouldn't run, she looked so disappointed! I thought for sure she would snatch one and I'd have to pry her off it, but she really just wanted them to run. Thrill of the chase I guess.

 

[pepperkorn67]

ADORABLE! My parents are German Shepherd folk. Summer - their current dog woudl want to eat the chicken... Lili Marlene their last girl -- OMG she'd out mother hen a mother hen. Thinking on it kind of makes me ponder -- I coudl free range my chickens with a Sheppy like Lili - she just longed for a SERIOUS job. Chicken herding would have been ideal

except she'd have never left their sides. Ever.

 

[therowdydog]

Beautiful dogs! I know my two will definitely be interested when we get our first chickens. I have a mutt who is actually very gentle with small critters, as long as they don't ask to be chased ...

We have a new dog though, and while she is older, we have no idea whether she will want to nibble on the chickens or not. She has not quite grasped the idea of country life yet-- she barks at EVERYTHING that wanders through the field (while my dog says, oh, deer, what's new?).