Getting a guardian puppy - any chicken<-->dog communicables I need to worry about?

[chickfused]

The vet said the same thing about the car sickness. I am going to give her a bit of Dramamine to ensure that it's not just actual motion sickness vs. anxiety. She willingly loads into the car, so either she's very anxious to please me or she likes it at least a bit.

She stays on leash around the birds now, because I also don't trust her at all. But her trainer said he always trained border collies and herding shepherds to herd ducks and it worked well. So we'll see how it goes. I got her a 36 inch diameter herding ball...? The damn fox was back last night, so need to get her back into its territory to pee and stuff.

And I really want her and the birds to be free together in a couple years. My biggest fear is that she will eventually turn on the cats.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Welcome to the coop! I use the Forums and Articles tabs at the top of the page to do research. You can get lost for hours. It's nice to know you are minutes away from getting help with questions and emergencies!
I'm hopeful it is a great bond. It was nearly a year when I felt comfortable letting my dog alone with my girls. I call her the chicken protector.

 

[Geena]

But her trainer said he always trained border collies and herding shepherds to herd ducks and it worked well.

Yes, they often use ducks or geese in herding trials. But that's because they will gather and move together as a safety in numbers defense similar to sheep when under predation. Whereas chickens generally have a scatter and hide mindset.

I have taught a few of my dogs to "bring in" chickens and turkeys though, it's not real herding but more the dog simply circling them and the birds moving back to the safety of the coop. Actual herding, as in keeping the birds in a cohesive group and moving them from point A to point B I think would be pretty much impossible with chickens

 

[chickfused]

Do you think the bunching up moves ducks from prey to stock in doggy heads? I was thinking bird is bird from a prey perspective. Copper does help me move chickens from time to time. She's clearly flanking on purpose in the rare instances it happens. But it's really rare.

 

[Geena]

Do you think the bunching up moves ducks from prey to stock in doggy heads? I was thinking bird is bird from a prey perspective. Copper does help me move chickens from time to time. She's clearly flanking on purpose in the rare instances it happens. But it's really rare.

I believe any and all are always prey in a dogs mind, herding is simply controlled prey drive. I doubt dogs make any real distinction between stock and prey. I think it more so comes down to what I'm allowed to kill and what what I'm not allowed to kill, what belongs here and what does not.

You will sometimes hear people saying that their dog is fine with their own chickens, but will kill the neighbors chickens or will go after any new birds brought in at first. That's because in the dog's mind those chickens aren't the one's he's not allowed to kill.

Make no mistake most dogs will never consider a chicken to be a friend or companion or something they altruistically want to protect, they most often only learn to leave them alone. The protection is just them defending their territory and what they believe belongs to them, and you, more than actually defending the chickens themselves.

The biggest difference with herding is it's much easier for the dog to control themselves when the animals move slowly and steadily in a group like that. The running around, flapping, squawking or whatnot is what generally really triggers the prey drive.

Edited to add- I'm talking mostly about herding, working, and sporting type dogs here. There are some breeds that have little to no prey drive and of course the above does not apply to them.

 

[chickfused]

The neighbors dog is like that with my birds but not theirs. Copper rarely reacts to chicken crazy, she usually just walks up behind one that's slowly ambling around and licks them or mouths a tail like she does my arm. There's really only been twice when she was clearly in Chicken As Toy vs. Chicken As Playmate mode out of thousands of interactions.

Edit: She is hell on wheels to rodents though. Treed a mouse yesterday.

 

[chickfused]

Today was a great dog day. Really worked on managing her in hyper mode with kindness and love and basic obedience to keep her focused. Had to kennel her once to get her to chill and snack. She's learned enough restraint that we were able to let her zoom for hours! I didn't let the birds out to range which let her have all the freedom she needed.

I also got her a chain leash since nightly patrol was turning into tug of war and caused amping up. Worked a treat.

 

[chickfused]

So I got Copper a snuffle mat, to make her little brain work. Fun stuff, right? My dog is going to be soooo mentally stimulated! Yay! She snuffled for about 10 minutes, then picked it up, flipped it over, and shook it so all the treats and food fell out at once. Then she just snarfed everything up and looked at me. Refilled, immediately shaken. 14 weeks y'all.

 

[Geena]

Smart cookie! Most of those kinds of things are more gimmicky than actually helpful. I bet she had more fun and stimulation with that cardboard box.

 

[chickfused]

She loves to snuffle for treats and food in the grass, so I had been hoping she could snuffle inside. Nope! Fortunately, we have lots of boxes for her to demolish.

Now if only I could get her to amp down whenever she sees the cat. She wants to play SO badly, but she's way too amped up and nippy, and at 21 pounds, that's a problem for a 12 pound cat. They would be great friends if she could just find some chill.

In other news, I taught her to shake hands reliably in about 10 minutes tonight.