How do I train my dogs to be chicken friendly?

[crait]

Quote:

 

[Uppity Peon]

My young female shepherd mix looks like she might work out. She can lie down right next to the coop and pay no attention to what's going on inside. She knows they are mine.

But my old boy cannot take his focus off the 6 week old chicks, He will be the bigger challenge. I might try the shock collar on him, and use a sound simultaneously so that I can quit using the collar and rely on the sound eventually.

Training them is all about suppressing their prey drive. It is stronger in some dogs than others. It takes patience and persistence.

 

[Terri]

3 of my dogs are fine with the chickens, the pit mix, i have to work with her more, she 10 years old and a pit mix. I do not trust her around the chickens, even after hours of redirection I can see it in her eyes, she wants chicken.

 

[crait]

Off topic, what kind of chickie is that in the window? Gold sex link?

 

[highcountrychickens]

Quote:
I'm SO SORRY!! That is heartbreaking! I had a suspicion with your first post that you might have some problems, but I don't know your dog, so didn't reply - under NO circumstance should you let your dog stare and drool and fixate on any chicken at any time... use a leash and collar - when they look at them, shank the leash and break the "trance" before it starts with a sharp voice command... (I have a universal "LEAVE IT") Don't let them stare or fixate. Two posts before yours I think Uppity Peon listed a great YouTube link to the Dog Whisperer dealing with a dog and chickens - His method works better than anyone else's if you really follow it closely, read your dog well, and remain unafraid of following through, and practice train practice train -

Despite this tragedy, you can get past this.

Good luck

 

[woodlandchickie]

all of offered is good advice for the dogs, but cats are not as willing to be told what to do. and offers you no protection from strays or other area dogs.
my dog kira knows that the chickens are part of our tribe and the squirrels are not... she chases the squirrels mercilessly, running right past the bewildered hen who has gotten out of the fence.
luckily my cat, little sis does not kill anything - well, perhaps a cricket or two - i think she is preparing to be buddhist in her next life. she came this way.
i use an electric chicken fence around my chickens - it sets up and moves easily and now the area dogs etc know that a hardy zap will greet them when they become too curious.

 

[island.girlie]

Put your dog on his back and hold him there. Don't let him squirm away. Then, take a live chicken and put it in his face and loudly tell him "NO". Give him a good fling of the finger to his nose and let him smell the chicken all at the same time while you tell him "NO". Remember to keep him on his back while you do this. You have to show dominance over him. You may need assistance in having someone hold the chicken. This is how we taught our pit bull, who attempted to stalk our chickens at the beginning. Now she completely ignores them. It worked for us. BTW, sorry for your loss.

 

[clucky2]

Gosh, what great ideas! I wish I had referred to this site when dealing with our lab and new chicks. However, we've had recent success and have officially declared Tucker a certified chicken dog! Here's what worked for us....

Set up baby chicks in brooder in the house and tried to let the dog see them in our hands, sniff them, etc.
Too much for his predatory instincts...wanted to "chomp" them and trembled with nervousness.
Now we decided he may not pay ANY attention to the brooder box, and give him a sharp "leave it"if he showed any excitable interest.
Then we graduated to this step..
If he passed the brooder with a CASUAL glance....then he would get an IMMEDIATE treat from my pocket.
When the chicks outgrew their box, I moved them to a pen in the house. Every time I tended the chicks, he came with. This was still very hard for him, and at this point I realized the importance of paying CLOSE attention to his body language, subtleties in facial expression, ears and eyes. I would make him sit every time we were around the chicks and allowed NO staring!
At this point, saying "leave it" was not enough, even though he tried very hard to be calm. So I started using a shaker can. This is an empty soda can filled with enough pennies to make a horrible racket when you give it a shake. Doing this at just the right moment is the key!
I used this method with the chicks loose outside and the dog on leash. However, he knew I was the one in control of the shaker can noise and even though we were making a lot of progress, I was beginning to have my doubts about Tucker ever being able to not chase them, and possibly kill one.
Then one day just over a week ago, ( my chickens are about 14 weeks ), we were out in the yard on leash with the young chickens loose. Well a couple of them tripped over a shaker can that was on the ground. The sound of it coming from THEM is what finally worked!! He wanted to go in the house right away and have nothing to do with them.
Now, when I let the chickens out for awhile, I stick a shaker can near the chickens just to remind the dog that they know how to detonate it, and all is harmonious between.
I wish I could say I thought of this trick, but never the less, it really worked great for us.
The bottom line is, you must be on this training very diligently no matter what course you take. Summon lots of patience, and try hard to never to be angry with your dogs for doing what their instincts tell them. ( I had to fight this a couple times. ) In the end, if it becomes to much of a strain on them to resist the urge to chase, you can still have chickens in their pen and enjoy wonderful fresh eggs.
Good Luck! keep us posted!