Dogs

[frostbite]

I'm not too flighty, no wings.

The pups are fairly good already at sit, down, stay, and Attention Deficit Disorder.
The cat has the pups totally cowed, and they'll chase away neighbor dogs that think they want the cat.

So I guess they ought to be trainable.

 

[drumstick diva]

zazouse Love the pictures and hearing about your dogs, they are beautiful. I think someday Abbi will find a job, maybe modeling baseball caps.

 

[drumstick diva]

New chicken mama when a dog lifts his leg on something he is leaving his mark. This can be a warning to predators that he is around. Marking territory shows the chickens are part of it. Not a bad thing. I had a male dog who also went up to my friends and family and hoisted his leg. They were not amused. But they still are my friends. dog people are great.

 

[teach1rusl]

Both of my golden retrievers were easily trained with the birds. I'm not sure that either would be especially protective of the birds though, although my female would growl and bark at, and chase after low flying hawks along the fenceline. Retrievers are bred to have soft mouths, so as not to damage what they retrieve. Plus most are people pleasers - so easy to train. My great dane has been very easy to train around the birds too - very soft mouthed. He snatched up a field mouse my cats were chasing and carried it around in his jowls...when I retrieved it from him (guess I was the retriever in that case...lol) it was unharmed, and scurried away. Although my GD is very intimidating looking and sounding, I doubt he would attempt to protect my birds against a predator.

 

[Ole rooster]

forstbite......you're well on you way. You have what I've found is needed most. Calm authority. Most folks don't understand when they get upset the dog does too.

Best of luck. You'll do fine.

 

[frostbite]

Why thanks, Ole Rooster, you speak kindly.

 

[mrpekinduck]

My neighbors dog LOVES my ducks and decided to protect them day and night. She lays down in front of the coop and paces around the perimmeter every 10min. She is great and refuses to go in the house when told to and has to be carried and she weighs 80 pounds. Guess I'm just lucky!

 

[Ole rooster]

Morgan, my dog, was cute yesterday. One of the hens went in the coop yesterday going to a nest. Morgan walked around to the glass door I have on the coop, peeked in and walk back around to inside the run, layed down by the pop door and just stared at the door. Then he got up walked around to the nest boxes and smelled each one from the bottom. Found the one the hen was in and lay down again. He stayed there till the hen came out. He thinks he daddy to all of um.

He then came with me and we were back to what we do.