Dogs vs. chickens

[Suellyn]

I responded to this question on your other post.

Welcome to BYC, good luck!

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Quote:
Herding dogs dont PROTECT. The "herding " instinct is an offshoot of PREY DRIVE
LGD's (Livestock Guardian Dogs) are the breeds that instinctively protect.

http://www.lgd.org/

Ive had several Herding dogs, Aussies, and Heelers, that do protect livestock. And i know someone who got a Greart Pyr. as a pup raised it with the chickens and geese, and one day he takes a notion to kill some birds.

 

[Foxhound lady]

It mostly depends on the handler instead of the dog. A compentant handler/owner, had control of their dog at all times. they are the pack leader and the dogs are the betas, they follow their leader rules.

Mine adjusted just fine and are more fancistated by chicken feed then the chickens themselves

 

[Akane]

I would never trust any dog unsupervised with anything it can kill unless you can afford to lose it. However it is entirely possible to train dogs with even a high prey drive. I know I've posted pics of my akita before with my bantams:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/chickens/SANY0743.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/chickens/coop/SANY1010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/chickens/coop/SANY1036.jpg

She'll hunt her own food out in the fields and bring back rabbits but the most she'll try to do to my chickens is pin them down with a paw and then let them back up. They come out upset and she does get yelled at for that game but they are always unharmed. She hasn't got the slightest bit of herding instinct whatsoever so she's not really useful for moving chickens around. She does make a great wall though. I'll tell her to down somewhere and then I'll herd the chickens while she blocks them from getting past.

I have lots of pets in a little house and they all have to get along at some point. I don't expect them to get along when I'm not home and that's why all the small pets are in a seperate room with a locking door and not even the cats and dog are left together while I'm not home. When I am home to supervise though they should all be able to mix or I don't keep that pet because it won't live long.

Where you start really depends on your dog. If they have no experience with smaller animals or have shown to be a danger around other animals in the past start with the chicken, small pet, cat, etc... in a cage. Let the dog see the pet and keep the dog under control. Make them sit or down and not jump at or run around the cage. Start introducing a command that means they are being too rough or wild. You can use "gentle", "be nice", "easy", or whatever you want. I use "easy" and it's actually come in handy before. Some one let their little pug off leash and my akita has killed rabbits bigger than that thing before. She saw it running and went into rabbit chase mode. I yelled "NO! Eaaasy!" and she pulled right up realizing this thing was not food. She treated it like she does the cats after that. A very useful command to teach your dog.

When you have the dog under control and not jumping about you can move to holding the animal. It may take days or weeks to get to that point. It's usually not a 1 time training session unless the dog is used to other animals. You may want 2 people if you have a very exciteable dog so one can hold the dog and the other can hold the small pet. At this point I let the dog sniff the animal so long as I'm confident they won't try a sudden lunge or nip. Whenever they get too rough or try to put their mouth on the animal (unless I were to say "take" nothing living goes in the mouth no matter what!) use your command not to be so rough and make them back off if you have to. It's better to put the dog in a sit or down than to pull the pet out of their reach. The former puts you back in control and calms the dog down. The latter sets off their prey drive to lunge for the moving animal or to play if they aren't a prey driven dog. If I have to I start out with one hand resting on the top of the dogs muzzle so I can push down or even wrap my fingers around their mouth should they try something.

Some people train their dog to never go near the other animal instead of introducing them. Either way works but I think letting them actually interact with the animal reinforces not harming it better than just obeying a command to never go near it. If an accident happens I think it's less likely the dog will kill the animal while your not around if they've actually interacted safely with it. It depends on the dog though.

Finally I move on to letting the animal loose in a confined area with the dog. I keep the dog leashed and when I first got my akita I had her tied to me 24/7 while she got used to the cats. I looped the leash over my arm, leg, or tied around my waist while sitting on the computer, watching tv, making dinner... Where I went she went and she was always within reach until she learned how to behave. Same thing in the coop or when I first started bringing chicks out of the brooders. She was tied to me while I filled feeders and waterers, when I collect eggs, clean bedding out of brooders... Hopefully you just keep progressing to the point the dog can be trusted to act off verbal commands without a leash while the animal is running around the yard or house.

Some don't get to that point. It's going to depend on the dog, the time you have to train, and how good of trainer you are. If you hit that wall sooner than you'd like and stop making progress I would suggest some obedience classes to further your skills and your dog's training before going back to working with living creatures. Your body language really makes a difference. My mom's dog will pick up on our body language around any animal and treat it accordingly. Sometimes we unconsciously signal him to something being good or bad. One time a possum stepped out of the field surprising me and this dog that would help raise baby guinea pigs smaller than his muzzle and bring orphaned kittens and cottontails to the house for us to help killed the possum in one lunge. Same thing happened when we had rats in the barn. Our sweet dog that never harmed a single pet in the house or barn cat turned into a ruthless killer that snapped rat necks in one bite as soon as he realized we weren't happy with them. No matter how you raise them the instinct is still there.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Very well said Akane

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
See what I mean? There will be many responses to this issue of dog vs. chicken, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some will be very long. Others will be short and to the point. Some will sing the praises of the well trained canine and others, like mine, will not. Tempers will be invariably tested at some point, as one person disagrees with another.

But this quoted response from CARS sums it up nicely.
Terms like "IF they fly over the fence...." and "Jewel is an angel otherwise" give it all away.

Do what you like with the Dog, but there is always the element of risk. And that's just with YOUR dog(s). Nevermind the stray that wanders over to your chicken buffet, over whom you have no control whatsoever.

There is just something about that begaaawking, flapping ball of feather and excitment that a dog cannot resist.

 

[Oblio13]

We work hard to train our dogs well. Here are some of ours:

Find the quail chick:

This is Caesar, a rescue dog. I knew we had a winner when I forgot to close the coop door shortly after bringing him home. I found him in there, just watching:

Ajax, our new pup. He also spends hours just watching:

 

[everyonesmomtwo]

I agree it depends on the dog and the owner.
I have two dogs, labs. And when ever we have chicks I have to introduce them to the dogs right away and tell them "these are our chickens you have to take care of them". I know it sounds funny, but the one time I didn't do it my oldest lab, 15, ate one of the chicks in one bite. Didn't even think any thing of it. I scolded him and told him those were our chicks and he couldn't do that and he never touched another.
He checks on them if they peep to much and will lay down with them and both dogs even go out in the yard and eats with them when I feed the chickens as they are free ranged. (they all love yogurt)
They are really smart it was just that one time and it was MY fault.
So it like every one says you have to introduce the bird to the dog and just watch the behavior.
Ruth

 

[lichick28]

When my chicks were still in the house, I introduced them to our poodle April. I repeated that they were NICE BABIES. Every time they were near each other I would repeat NICE BABIES. She would lay on the floor and the chicks would snuggle with her. The girls live outside now & when the dog comes out they just smell each other & walk away. Sometimes the dog will be in the coop eating with the chickens. When I had a stubborn girl that wouldnt go in at night, I would tell the dog to help me get the BABIES. She would herd the bird into the coop & I would praise her for doing a good job. We had an old blind poodle Honey. April would help him walk in the back yard. When the older dog was walking alone in the back I would tell April to get Honey. She would find him, give him a little tap & they would walk side by side together to the door. If April would come back without him, I would send her back to get the blind poodle. I now do the same thing with her when our chihuahua ROCCO doesnt come back to the door. She is the GREATEST DOG. I tried teaching Rocco the same way with the chickens that they were NICE BABIES but he wants nothing to do with that. He chases them until they are over a 6 ft fence. So EVERY DOG is different & I cant trust him with the girls. I'm not giving up

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

my border collie was super interested in my chicks last summer, and liked to jump the fence (5'), and chew on them a little... she eventually popped one, and it was all dead, and I lost it... screamed and yelled at her... she hasn't touched one since.