German Shorthaired Pointer with chickens?

[centrarchid]

I wont give up the clicker. That is how I am training her. She is learning to ignore the chickens and that they are part of the family. I swear by the clicker.

She is never left alone with the chickens. We have 4 chicks in the house and she is also figuring out that if she ignores those too she gets treats. She is doing awesome. She is the youngest pup in our dog classes and is 2nd best. I am very proud of her

Your requirements for constant control sets stage for having to replace lost birds. Training for class / competition not appropriate for long-term safety of livestock although it does help with initial stages, I have seen numerous well trained dogs kill when control lapses. Listen to experience as directly related to poultry. I am not fly by night on this.

 

[LaceyM]

She is never left unattended. When no one is home, she goes in her crate. She also sleeps in the house and my chickens get locked up at night in their coop.
We can agree to disagree.

 

[centrarchid]

There will be operator error.

 

[LaceyM]

Isn't life like that anyway. Lol

 

[jessicaagross]

Just wanted to jump in on this cool tread to sing the GSP praises! Even if I am months late. I have a 2 year old male from really good hunting lines, super high energy, crazy prey drive and is very respectful with my chickens.

He has caught barn swallows in mid flight by just jumping up and grabbing them, he runs off stray cats, and runs laps around my garden to chase off rabbits and has even caught a few rabbits. But he has never once looked at the chickens as prey. I let them free range and can be gone all day and he's never bothered them. He is loose and has access to them.

After having a couple losses from predators, thinking a coon, I'm starting to lock him in with the chickens at night.

The only problem he ever has is his running, he startles the new birds because he will wiz by at top speed going about his daily agenda, doing busy dog stuff that I don't understand. The seasoned girls don't even bother getting out of his way, he'll jump over them on his way and they just enjoy the breeze. Sometimes it looks like they purposely get in his way on hot days... But who can say. I used to correct this behavior and have him move slowly or lay down anytime we were around the chickens, but now I just let it go.

Although I wouldn't trust most dogs around them, I do trust him. And I have had multiple family dogs kill a combined 45-65 chickens in the past, so it takes a lot for me to say that. I'm a firm believer in judging each dog regardless of breed individually, they will prove how trustworthy or not they are. (As much as I would like to just say its cause he's a GSP

) I have also had him since he was young, but I don't think it matters that much. I have almost always trained with an e-collar, mostly on vibrate, starting with this guy when he was 4 months old. I mainly corrected him for trying to play or for being too intense with the chickens. Like someone on here already said, if he was too alert I would correct him. And he learned that he can't touch my things unless I say so.

One last interesting thing, every time I bring home new birds I have to claim them as mine. He'll get overly excited, and try to get super close to them or even push on the crate they're in. But once I've made it clear these now belong to me, normally by some verbal disagreement with his behavior, he calmly sniffs them from a few feet away, then leaves them alone.

Love the GSP's so I wanted to give them some good P.R.

 

[mrfrench]

My German shorthair pointer is a year old he is a very big lover not a hunter hasn't hurt. A thing. Was wondering we have six new baby chicks and he stands there and stares at them and wants to keep checking in on them do you think that he is thinking he is the mother or is just looking after them or is he got something else in mind

 

[mrfrench]

My German shorthaired pointer has never hunted or heard any animal whatsoever he's a year-old we got a six baby chicks and he seems to be fascinated with them he thinks he asked to check in on them every couple hours is this him trying to be motherly or do you think he has something else in mind mind you HisChannel does not wag when he does it and he whimpers a little bit when he can't go When he can't go inside the box with them do you think he is seeing them as pray mind you he's never seen anything is pray ever that's not how we raised him

 

[centrarchid]

He is hard wired to treat novel as potential prey. The behavior you describe is consistent with pointing which in the dog/wolf world is a non-verbal way of saying I got something of interest right in front of me. Being a pointer he is showing the results of selection for a tendency to hold point longer so hunter can get positioned to use firearm or other weapon to dispatch prey. You need to get dog to find other targets of interest. You also have another year of high risk even if training process is progressing well.

 

[TalkALittle]

mind you he's never seen anything is pray ever that's not how we raised him

Has he never chased or stalked a squirrel? Bounded after a bird that took flight? Followed the scent of a chipmunk or mouse?

Those behaviors are all part of the predatory sequence and unless a dog is dead, every dog engages in that kind of behavior to a greater or lesser degree.

Some breeds and some individual dogs will exhibit more prey drive than others. I would say that given that your dog is staring, quivering, and whimpering at the chicks you should be worried. Do I think he's a bloodthirsty killer? No. But he's probably got a decent amount of drive given his breed and enough interest to do some serious damage to the birds if he were to have access to them.

 

[grammaC]

Thought I'd update my post after 8 years I now let my chickens free range all day, every day. Have only lost one to a predator and none to dogs. The dog referenced in the original post was eventually "taught" to leave them alone by a chicken itself. I tried to supervise a sniff-and-see-what-it-is meeting. The hen looked the dog right in the eye and pecked him. Nailed him right on the nose. Dog left the chickens alone forever...he was afraid of them after that! Sadly, that dog was hit by a car.

We got a new GSP from the shelter and she has a totally different personality. She is kind of skittish around new things anyway, so she has never felt the need to get up close and personal with any of the hens. She will mingle with them in the yard, but only to follow them around and eat the little "snacks" they drop behind them. So, it IS possible to have both dogs and chickens!