Found my dog in the coop.....

[newchik715]

and not a feather on any bird was harmed! The dog is a blue heeler that has killed chickens before. The other day my husband told me he forgot to put the chickens up while he ran to the store and he put the dogs in the yard so they were alone together in a acre sized backyard for over an hour. Everyone survived........still am I wrong to think I should still be cautious. Hubs thinks I am overly paranoid and that the dog is clearly fine with the birds but I don't know. Today one flew over his head and he followed her with his nose but otherwise no reaction. No aggression or anything but he did snap at a bird once when they were younger. What do you all think? And no, he did not break into the coop, once again hubs left them all out together and it started to rain so the dog and the chickens fled to the coop together.

 

[bturbo87]

I would still be cautious even though the dog did not show any aggression the dog could possible think it could play with the chicken and do some kind of harm and not mean to. So I do not believe you can be to cautious when it deals with dogs and chickens regardless on how the dog many act in front of you.

 

[redhen]

I would not trust the dog.. but thats just me.

 

[sourland]

I would not trust them together unsupervised. If you choose to leave them unsupervised, do not blame the dog if something goes wrong.

 

[eekgads]

Sorry, but I've got a 7lb maltese & I don't trust HIM w/ the chickens. I wouldn't chance it!

 

[poultryhaven]

I thought I could trust my dog. He's an older dog and today he got left outside with 12 birds and I came home and he had one in his mouth

He killed my two favorite hens. He's always been a good dog but I dont trust him anymore. lesson learned

 

[Cetawin]

I would not trust the dog if it has shown aggression once...not to mention that the breed itself is not geared towards protecting them...they have a strong prey drive. Heck, I had a 2 lb ChiChi chasing my girls the other day but my 11+ pound cockerel (my avatar) grabbed him by the neck and shook him like a ragdoll and I saved the toerag from my boy and rehomed the little doggie.

 

[nzpouter]

I wouldn't risk it.... although we did retrain some chicken killing dogs, I still say unless you're there, don't do it...

 

[bakerjw]

Never trust a dog.

 

[Marie1234]

I trust my dog with the adults but never with chicks or ducklings. He's a lab mix, has squeaky toy issues, retrieves well when we go hunting. Often the hens can be found drinking from his water dish over theirs and he doesn't care. He's also trained not to take food from toddlers (that was a big one).
But it's all about the individual dog and if you don't trust it there might be a reason.