intorducing neighbors dogs to the girls.

[yyz0yyz0]

Hello all,
future chicken owner here, trying to think of "everything"(good luck with that) before we start our flock.

So our closest neighbors have two large dogs, both are herding type breeds(keeping my fingers crossed that will help).

We haven't decided if we will have a permanent coop setup or go with a tractor. We would like to be able to let the girls out now and then to free range them for variety. My first thought was that we could let them out for a few hours before dusk so they are not out long. But after giving that more consideration I don't know if that will work since the neighbors take the dogs out and play fetch with them as soon as they get home from work, which is probably the same time we would have our girls out. Also I expect that if they were out long enough the girls would end up in their yard anyway. I'm pretty certain that one of the dogs would be unstoppable if he spotted the girls lose while playing fetch and wanted a piece of them.

So is there anyway to de-sensitize the dogs to the sight of the girls wandering around? My thought was that after getting the dogs good and tired playing fetch I should take the chicks over there in a box and sit down with them and let the dogs check them out. I figure that if I did this enough as the chicks are growing that the dogs will get used to them and realize they are not toys.

Of course I also don't want to freak out the chicks by exposing them to barking slobering dogs, so not sure if this is the best method.

What have others done to teach their or their neighbors dogs the chickens are not toys for them?

thanks

 

[cupman]

I would wait until the chickens are a little older and more durable before introducing them to the dogs. For the first 6 or 8 weeks they could grow in the brooder and then you could introduce them. You'll have to keep your eye on them while they are around the dogs.. maybe talk to your neighbor. My neighbor dogs always act like they want to kill my chickens but when one of them gets in their yard the dogs are too nervous to do anything about it.. kind of funny. All dogs are different, what breed are the neighbor dogs? I know some breeds are more spontaneous than others.

Oh, yes, and welcome to the forums.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

I would wait until the chickens are a little older and more durable before introducing them to the dogs. For the first 6 or 8 weeks they could grow in the brooder and then you could introduce them. You'll have to keep your eye on them while they are around the dogs.. maybe talk to your neighbor. My neighbor dogs always act like they want to kill my chickens but when one of them gets in their yard the dogs are too nervous to do anything about it.. kind of funny. All dogs are different, what breed are the neighbor dogs? I know some breeds are more spontaneous than others.

Oh, yes, and welcome to the forums.

They are both herding dogs, so I was hoping that would make them more amendable to treating the girls with respect. One is an Australian Cattle dog and the other is an Australian Shepard dog. They obey pretty well but if the male smells sumptin he likes he'll only listen to his owner when he has finished smelling it, so I believe if he started after a chicken that he wouldn't listen.

Have already been mentioning to them that we want to get some chickens. As mentioned they are pretty well behaved up to a point, the male is already my"BUD" as I come over with my freesbe(sp?) and treats and play fetch with him. So I'm not concerned that I wouldn't be able to stop him if I was there, it's more a concern with the girls lose in our yard and they come out to play fetch in their yard and see something more fun to fetch than a fressbe.

My thoughts with starting with the young chicks is that they would be confined to the box so very easy to just push a dog away if they get too excited and the girls would not be running all over the place. But I'm concerned about the chicks reactions as well. I could just as easily bring the dogs over one at a time when the girls are in their run and get them acquainted that way.

thanks for the welcome. My wife refers to my latest online research as "chicken porn!" LOL!

 

[cobrien]

I have had good success with my own dogs and my chickens. I adopted a new dog, also a herding dog last July. She wanted to kill the chickens. It's possible she still does, however I have done a lot of obedience training with her. Most important command: "leave it". I now let my dog loose in the yard with the girls when I'm there with her. She does not go near them, she know she is not supposed to, but if she looks at them with those perky ears, with a little too much interest, I say leave it then she looks at me, and I reward her.

I am not sure I will ever trust her alone with the chickens - possible but she has a strong prey drive and I have limited time for training.

I recommend group or private obedience classes.

Or, possibly easier for you since they aren't even your dogs - a good fence, possibly electric fencing.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

As a separate but related question:

Can the chickens be trained like pavlov's dog? What I'm asking is if there is a way to get all the chickens to return to their run for a treat as a way to get them back into their safe place before dusk.

So maybe if when they are in their run/coop, I come out with a coffee can with some rocks in it and shake the can and call out to the girls and then give them all a big pile of their favorite treats will they then come running from across the yard when they hear me shake the can and call out to them? Of course I would give them treats once all back in the run.

Just wondering if this could be done whenever the neighbors want to take their dogs out if we have our chickens out already and it's no where near dark yet.

 

[cupman]

I've only had chickens for a little over a year but one thing I've learned is they are super curious. Almost like a cat. I imagine they will warm up to the dogs fairly easily... heck, I just witnessed about 8 of my chickens chase a deer through my yard. I have no idea what they are thinking, they just get excited and start chasing after it.

I don't know if chickens are intelligent enough to be trained like Pavlov's dog. I do know they LOVE treats.. so while you might not be able to shake a rattle or ding a bell you can normally get their attention with treats. I normally walk outside and start making chicken noises with my mouth, they all come running and then I throw their treats inside the run.. when they go in I shut the door behind them. Works about 90% of the time.. sometimes you'll meet a stubborn hen who doesn't want treats that day.