How to get family dog not to eat the chicks.

[l.s.cooper]

It totally depends on your dog and how it has been raised- I have a lab/shepherd/husky mix and she will ignore full-grown chickens, but if a chick runs past her wings flapping I think she just holds back the urge to chomp.
Dogs can get jealous, so tell the dog how good she is being when she does not misbehave around the chicks, as long as the dog thinks she is still #1 you have a chance. And of course lots of time and patience supervising. And positive re-enforcement NOT discipline!!!

heres a picture of my 11 yr old dog who has been around chickens and baby kittens lots and never maimed one.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=179003

 

[Karrie13]

Quote:
Very True! Except some dogs are just not intelligent, like my miniature schnauzer. My Rotti who is still a puppy has learned fast and just needs a reminder now and then. My son’s lab is no problem even my husbands GSP hunting dog is fine.

I think it all depends on how intelligent a dog is and your consistency in training.

 

[Rolsjo]

Training, training, training!

Stay with your dog and constantly reinforce the good behavior and correct the bad. The problem is not to rush it. Just because you've seen your dog behaving around the chicks for a week, don't leave it alone with them. Work up to it.


Also, breed, breed, breed!

Certain breeds are known for being better with poultry than others. My dream is to someday have an English Shepherd. They are similar to a border collie but have a calmer temperament. They are touted as being the ultimate all-around farm dog. Whether it's herding, guarding or critter-catching, they seem to pay attention to their owner's actions and follow suit.

I've seen some of that with our border collie. I started sending her to her kennel when I got home from the store so she wouldn't get under foot, now she runs in there when I pull in the driveway and waits until the car is unloaded. Thankfully, she was raised on a farm surrounded by chicks and chickens so she hasn't been a problem.

 

[Davaroo]

Oh and electric fence? I don't think so.

Too bad. BYC is full of "The Dog Has Gone Bad!" stories.
For every person who wants a 'happy family together' scenario and decides to "train and monitor" their beloved hound(s), there are 5 who shout, "Aaaaaagh! My beloved trained and monitored hound(s) killed my chickens!!"

I trained an monitored and did all that stuff; one big happy suburban oasis, yessir. Then when my back was turned - they showed their true colors! Chickens gone, me starting over.

I like dogs and wish no ill will on any creature, in and of itself.
But, I'm fairly convinced that dogs and chickens are generally best kept apart. Most chickens I've been acquainted with would agree, preferring to see the back side of any dog - a whiff of electric-fence ozone lingering in the air.

 

[babylady4]

I have posted this before but I will do it again. My mother-in-law has raised free-range chickens along with the family farm dogs for YEARS without issues. If the dog kills a chicken she takes both dog and dead chicken and has the dead bird 'attack' the dog repeatedly until the dog figures it out that the birds will mess with him. After an episode or two of that they leave the chickens alone. She has had GS mix, lab/heeler mix, beagles, coonhounds, coon'bloodhound cross, lab/akita mix.... the list goes on and on....

Currently her lone surviving EE chicken (who is 13) tries to live in the one dog's doghouse (this annoys the dog A LOT!). The dog does not ever turn on the bird, just sits outside the house waiting for the bird to leave.

The ONLY time she had an issue was when my brother-in-law would bring his rotti over-it would kill her geese. Since my BIL's wife would have an absolute fit if anyone so much as yelled at her dog, my MIL never did the 'attack' with the geese on their dog. Eventually he killed all of their geese.

Good luck, it can be done you just have to remind your dog you are the alpha dog and you make the rules.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Now this I like; fitting justice for the dog, and sweet revenge for chicken kind everywhere. I will do this, from here out, to augment the electric wire.... just to be safe!

Thanks for this one.

 

[Beekissed]

Davaroo, I did this with a live chicken!

I rolled my pup and held him by the scruff of the neck, gave a shake and held the chicken right on his neck. Now, when I am holding a chicken and point it in his direction, he turns his head away and the tail goes down! He never wants a chicken holding him down ever again!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Well, my dogs have learned to taste killed chicken, doing so when I am not there. They know to do it when no one is around, the sneaking heathens.

So I am distrustful of methods that require my presence to make any sort of impact. Oh sure, they may go all wimpy when I'm the one shoving a chicken in their face, but just let me leave for work and see how they act.

I will stick to more barbaric methods that dont require my intervention, like 'electro shock therapy', from here out. However, I will bow to the "dog whisperers" in the group and augment with the "chicken in your face" treatment you guys describe.

 

[amyc]

I tried the chicken in the face, profanity yelling stuff - I ended up with nine dead chicks the minute my back was turned. So, my run will have electric fencing now. I know what its like to lose chicks and start all over again, and I don't want to do that again.

A little off topic, but hearing about people beating up dogs with dead chickens.....

My grandma used to raise coonhounds, and one day one came home with a possum. She started hitting the dog over the head with the dead possum, yelling at him for chasing possums and not coons. After she hit the dog a couple times, she tossed the possum off to the side and it got up and ran away. It was alive the whole time!

 

[Brindlebtch]

Can you imagine the rude awakening?! From playing possum to being flailed on a dog by an old ladies' hands?!