in need of chicken dog. "UPDATE" !!!

[lacyloo]

yea i hardly ever see the dogs for free, Ok my mom works at a vet clink so she has access to free dogs well since the bobcat i have wated a gardian dog to gard the animals at night, so she found a laty that had a litter that was 7 weeks and the owner dint want the pups anymore so my mom got them..

 

[texasgirl]

Quote:

 

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

IT KILLED UR GOOSE I THOUGHT YOU KILLED THAT THING!!!, DONT YOU DARE PUT THAT PUPPY OUT THERE TO GUARD THEM CHICKENS, YA HEAR YOU ARE FOREWARNED TAY DONT COME CRYING TO ME TELLING ME THAT THING KILLED UR PUPPY.

 

[lacyloo]

what is ur problem silki ? i killed the bocat, the bobcat kiled the goose along time ago, the puppys are outside pernamently and getting really big. there is another bobcat in te woods i have been told about by a hunter, a week ago i have the trap set tonigh for this bobcat , when i catch him i will kill him 2. . dont worry bout my chickens and animals and i wont worry bout urs...

 

[wifepreferschickenstome]

Without searching, I'm pretty sure she-who-must-be-obeyed has already posted pictures of our dogs somewhere on the site but... we are in an extremely remote valley in Central British Columbia. We have to contend with Cougar, Lynx, Bobcats and half the world's coyote population I'm sure. Our panacea against predation has been a Maremma livestock guardian. We rescued the older dog who has proven to be amazing and we have since acquired a puppy to augment the ol' boy. The puppy is kept with the chickens indoors. so far so good.

Here are a couple of pics...

You can see our Maremma knows when he's got more than he can handle... this is a Bison that wandered into our property.

Here is the new puppy at about 7 weeks

 

[lacyloo]

so cute,
im in the process of getting some sence into the dogs that chickens arent chew toys...

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

lacy_94,

I'm posting my little rant about training puppies. I've posted this before. I can't say enough about Pyrs. But, when they are puppies, you need some faith. Their bodies grow faster than their reasoning, hence quickily you will end up with a every large puppy! Have faith, in 1-2 years (time flys) you will have a perfect guard dog. And yes, I love big dogs.

I know you work with your animals alot, but don't forget to train those puppies!!

Here's the rant ...

Our training method is similar to how a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) is trained. The difference is we are training to guard chickens not sheep. So, the demands of this training are a bit easier. All we need the dogs to do is guard a fenced area and to not eat or chase the chickens. Simple right?

Well, as one might imagine, puppies like to chase feathery objects that make interesting sounds, run, flap wings and fly a mere three feet off the ground; what fun. A key factor in the training is to break the association of chicken with fun. It is a sort of socialization process. Here’s how it goes:

Level 1
1. Once house broken, the puppy sleeps in a crate in the chicken coop.
2. The puppy eats meals near the chickens. We do this by feeding the dog next to the chicken coop with the birds near.
3. Chicken chores are done with the puppy tethered to you.
4. No playing is allowed. All other dogs or playmates (children, etc) are not allowed in the area when the puppy is “working” with the chickens.
5. The puppy is not allowed to chase the chickens. Any attempts are corrected with a snap of the leash and a bark-like “NO”.
6. Closely watched bird introductions are done. With the puppy on a leash, we hold a bird and allow the puppy to calmly sniff the bird. Excited attempts to “play” with the bird are reprimanded. We are trying to desensitize the dog to the birds, so this is done a several times.

Once Level 1 is working well – this can take a few weeks - we move to Level 2:

Level 2
Most of Level 1 still applies, except now we try some limited “off leash” interaction with the puppy and birds. All contact must be closely supervised. It is important that the dog is responding to your commands to not pursue the birds. Commands like “NO” and “Leave It” should be understood by the dog. We believe obedience from the dog is the critical factor.

If a chase does begin, one technique used to show your disapproval is to bark a “NO”, take the dog by the scruff of the neck and roll the dog on its side, now glare at the dog. This is similar to how an adult dog reprimands a puppy. As you might notice, for this to work you must be close and watchful of the dog.

Level 2 progresses with more time with the dog with the birds. The goal is for the dog to ignore the birds. No stalking, no excited lunges as birds dart around or fly to a roost, no staring imagining how tasty they might be, nothing. By the end, the dog shouldn’t even look at the birds and it she does she should be reprimanded, LEAVE IT!

So, that’s it. That’s the plan. I think if one can train their dogs along these lines, the dogs can be expect to behave whether the birds are fenced off or free range with the dogs.

Another consideration with a Pyrenees is that they require good fencing. Most people recommend a 6 foot fence! We do not have that luxury, so we get by with a 4 ft fence. Along the road we have added four strands of bared wire above the fence. Fluffy likes to run the fence barking at people, horses and other dogs.

When Fluffy was younger, we actually used a drag. This is often used to training LGDs. It’s a piece of fire wood chained to Fluffy’s collar. The drag discourages running, makes jumping on the fence and escape difficult. It may sound cruel, but the discomfort is regulated by the dog’s actions. If she is calm, all is good. If she runs and jumps, the drag bounces around making this uncomfortable. It is also better than getting a call that the dog has jumped the fence to follow a horse and rider and is now half a mile away. The drag also helps stop, or at least slow down, chasing of the geese and ducks.

How did we do? Well, Fluffy is now 2.5 years old. Our chickens run free with the four dogs in a fenced in acre of yard. At some point after our little program, she apparently attacked a chicken. We expressed our displeasure (really couldn’t do much, she wasn’t caught in the act). After which we have never had a problem. Chasing is no longer an issue. As testament to the breed, we have never had a predator loss with Fluffy on guard duty. She barks a bit, but keeps the fox and bobcat away. It is not as if she watches over the chickens, but they happen to be in her territory which she keeps rather secure. The Labs on the other hand have been rather useless in guarding the flock.

Good luck,

Jim

PS: have the pups found their bark yet. Oh, wait ... the barking is coming. But, it does diminish over time.

 

[lacyloo]

i went outside the other day and found the puppy chaseing and biteing my little 2 month old goat. I freaked and throwed the puppys in a pen by them selves.they havent seen the goat in a week.

 

[lacyloo]

Mountain Man Jim , thanks sso much for you super info 'd list of steps thanks so much,,,

 

[gaited horse]

how are the puppies doing