Geese and dogs

[subhanalah]

I don't mean to be the Bearer of bad news but when you choose to get a dog you have to train them. If you aren't willing to train them it's unfair for you to keep them.

 

[mystil]

Our springer spaniel was a bu**er when we first got chickens. He would haris them constantly. It got so bad that one day one of our baby chicks got out of their pen and our dog picked it up in his mouth and ran down the garden with it, with me following very closely behind shouting at him. He did drop the chick and it was fine.

We then had to take it a lot more seriously. We started to make him lie down next to the chickens and coax them closer to him, while having him on a lead. We kept saying "leave it". We also used a spray collar as well, which is an amazing bit of kit and well worth the money.

We spent months training. Now he is 4 years old and he can be let out with our chickens no problem. If he starts sticking his nose up their bums (to make them squark) we say "leave it" and he does. Training is the only way to sort this problem. I wont say he is not interested but now he knows our chickens are out of bounds and are not chew toys.