If you have a dog.....

[Moochie]

Here is a vid of our pup Bruno with one of the hens...

sad thing is that exact hen has coccidiosis

were getting meds so hopefully its not too late

 

[chicken danz]

I have two Great Pyrenees. They don't bother the chickens but bark and run after wild birds like owls or hawks that come near the pens. It's amazing they know the difference.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Quote:
I think Chicken Danz brings up an interesting point. We have seen the same behavior in some of our dogs. My theory is that we have trained and socialized our pack of dogs to understand that the chickens are part of our pack and home. Hence, they respect this and treat the pack leader's (us people) things with respect.

Dogs like having boundaries and rules of the pack to live by. This trait is what allows us to train them to stay in the yard, not to use the house as a toilet, not to eat the garbage or off the counters, to say out of the bedroom and not to eat the cat or chickens.

We have personally trained our dogs with a lot of few, reasonable restrictions and I think this helps in the chicken training. I think any good dog can be trained to accept the chickens are pack members and to leave them alone. Note, by good dog, I mean one that accepts her people as the leader and can obey simple commands that restrict where they can go and what they can eat.

I have one quick example of what we do to instill this kind of training. We have 5 dogs. When they get feed, they all must sit and stay while the food bowls are placed in front of the them. All the dogs must wait in the stay command until we release them to eat. This is really hard for most of the dogs but, they will do it even if we walk around them and make them wait for 10 – 30 seconds.

Jim

 

[GrammieAnn]

We have a Golden Retriever and a Brittany Spaniel, neither of them bother the chickens. The Brittany avoids them, taking a circuitous route around them when we call her. The Golden just kind of hangs around and my barred rock banty runs underneath her and sometimes jumps up and pecks her nose if she gets too close. Very patient dogs.

 

[harleygal]

Yes, and he is a Boston Terrier. He just loves them and goes in the coop to help feed and put them to bed. They dont pay any attention to him. Its a win, win. Harlygal

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

We have a Shepherd mix that's no good around little animals, and an English Mastiff that's great.

She's always watching over them and follows me when I feed and when I put everyone to bed.

 

[alexg]

a total of 16 laying hens... we have a pointer mix, about 70 lbs, female. when we first picked up our 2 day old chicks they stayed warm against the dog, she was 3 years old at the time and had never before been with any type of bird. she loved them. princess would try to steal their corn on the cob and boy did she receive a piece of the hens minds. princess is great, always protecting them. i think we are very fortunate.

 

[prairiepearls]

What a great thread! I read through the whole thing -- so many good dogs out there!

Both our dogs -- a beagle mix and a dachshund -- are perfect with our 3 chickens. The birds were in the house as chicks the first 2-3 months, so the dogs got used to to them being around. I would take the chicks out and show them to the dogs and let them sniff them. The dachshund thought at first I was offering him a treat, and would open his mouth for the chick, but the beagle just sniffed. Both dogs were told repeatedly to "Leave it!"

When the chickens moved outdoors, where they have free range of our back yard during the day, I at first would put the dogs out on leads in the yard. I gradually let the beagle mix off the lead under close supervision. The first time he was alone with them -- for just a few minutes -- I came back to find him carrying one of the birds in his mouth. I think the dog STILL remembers the screaming and spanking he got! And I shut him in the garage for half an hour for good measure. (He's normally such a good dog that the yelling and spanking and time-out were very unusual experiences for him, and I think made a big impression.) Fortunately, the bird just got wet feathers. After that, the beagle just always ignores the birds.

The dachshund was the one I was mist worried about, but it turns out his interest in the chickens is only for the little treats they leave for him. Gross, but I'd rather be able to leave the dogs & chickens out together than keep the dog from eating their poop. Oh, well. Now I just let the birds out in the morning & shut them up at night, and the dogs go in & out all day. (My official job description is "dog doorman.")

I agree with the person who said you should show your chickens affection -- pet them, talk to them, feed them from your hand -- and the dogs will get the idea that they're part of the family. OTOH, my dad's dog, a viszla, is so bird-oriented that he chases song bird up in the trees! He tried to tear through the big wire dog cage we kept the chicks in the first time he saw them in the kitchen. I still only allow him out in the yard on a 6-foot leash at "heel" when the birds are out.

 

[drumstick diva]

White Mountain Ranch, your Mastiff is Magnificent !!

 

[magicpigeon]

Miniature pinscher. No, he isn't, but he tolerates them