Introducing a dog to chickens???

[6of6chicks]

The whippet part would bring a lot of chasing instinct I would assume. Our labs are fun to watch when they get a scent of a deer. They track it with great interest, but once it takes off right in front of them, they don't know what to do.

The thing that worked for us in training the labs not to chase, was a remote controlled spray collar. Doesn't hurt the dog, but breaks the frenzy long enough for you to call it to you. Of course basic obedience must be taught prior to this. Took us a day or two to get the chasing to stop. Might not work for you, but something to consider.

I've always had labs - this is the first time I've ventured outside the breed and it has definitely been an eye-opener! She's a great dog, but I've learned that whippets are bred to chase and hunt. She's fast, clever, and lives to run down prey. It's why whippets are recommended never to be in homes with cats. Sure, some can be trained not to kill the cat, but it's difficult and risky. I've just come to accept her limitations and realize she's never going to be trustworthy in this particular area. Still love her to bits, though.

I've done the spray collars as well. The problem with those has always been my super-smart labs. They quickly learn that if they aren't wearing the collar, then all bets are off. When the collars are on they aren't behaving well because I want them to, they are just avoiding getting sprayed. I couldn't keep the collars on them 24/7 (spray or shock) because they would accidently go off when my girls lay down on the floor. My girls don't lay down - they hurl themselves to the floor and collapse in a puddle. So when the collars hit the hardwood floors with a thud they would go off. It would confuse my dogs and was so unfair to them. So my smarty-pants girls quickly learned how to PURPOSELY set the collars off to get me to take them off, in which case the deterrent was gone and they went back to behaving however they wanted. I've just had better luck over the years with reward-based training instead. Takes MUCH longer to instill the behaviors I want, but it means they will listen to me in any situation. But that does mean about a year of pulling my hair out from the lab-puppy crazies, so I can understand why the spray collars are so popular, lol!

 

[vehve]

I've always had labs - this is the first time I've ventured outside the breed and it has definitely been an eye-opener! She's a great dog, but I've learned that whippets are bred to chase and hunt. She's fast, clever, and lives to run down prey. It's why whippets are recommended never to be in homes with cats. Sure, some can be trained not to kill the cat, but it's difficult and risky. I've just come to accept her limitations and realize she's never going to be trustworthy in this particular area. Still love her to bits, though.

I've done the spray collars as well. The problem with those has always been my super-smart labs. They quickly learn that if they aren't wearing the collar, then all bets are off. When the collars are on they aren't behaving well because I want them to, they are just avoiding getting sprayed. I couldn't keep the collars on them 24/7 (spray or shock) because they would accidently go off when my girls lay down on the floor. My girls don't lay down - they hurl themselves to the floor and collapse in a puddle. So when the collars hit the hardwood floors with a thud they would go off. It would confuse my dogs and was so unfair to them. So my smarty-pants girls quickly learned how to PURPOSELY set the collars off to get me to take them off, in which case the deterrent was gone and they went back to behaving however they wanted. I've just had better luck over the years with reward-based training instead. Takes MUCH longer to instill the behaviors I want, but it means they will listen to me in any situation. But that does mean about a year of pulling my hair out from the lab-puppy crazies, so I can understand why the spray collars are so popular, lol!

I think positive reinforcement is a great tool for teaching dogs to do things you want them to do, but sometimes a bit of negative reinforcement goes a long way when you want them not to do something. Labs (or at least ours) are so fast learners, that it's better to get rid of the unwanted behavior as quickly as possible. Ask any athlete - It's ten times easier to learn something right from the start, than to first learn it the wrong way and then change your technique.

We luckily haven't had the issues without the collar. They do get a lot of exercise and other stimulation, both mental and physical, so the need to think of new things to do themselves (which often are the things people consider misbehaving) is smaller.