I have a five month old Bichon Frise puppy, who encountered his first poultry yesterday. I am visiting friends (who are giving me a chicken coop so I can start my own small flock), and when he saw their two ducks and turkey yesterday, he started alert barking and was 100% focused on them. I told him to hush up, and he stopped barking, but I couldn't distract him from them at all. I know ideally I want him to ignore them, but I'm not sure what is the best way to accomplish that. I don't think he was thinking of them as prey though- they are all bigger than him, and I think he was more worried than anything else. Thanks for your advice!
Well first you need basic obedience- I can't tell if he has that. A strong recall A good 'leave it' (or we just use No, we use No to mean -stop and look st me right now-) and leash training You must be comfortable with him on the leash and giving the 'leave it/no' command with leash correction when 'wrong' and patting and verbal praise when 'right' But I don't know how sharp or soft your dog is so YMMV.
SuburbanFarmstress, You missed the easy window (6 to 10 week old pup) for introduction so more input on your end required. Before allowing pup to have interacction time with birds, wear him out with long walk and play. Bring him into contact (visual) when he is tired and possibly immediately after feeding him. If goes as I like, pup will lay down watch birds and possibly fall asleep. Ideally birds will be calm for this. Repeat as needed for pup to get board with birds.
Quote:I agree with firetigeris. I started conditioning my dog to poultry about a year before we got our chicks. Taking her to farms and friends with chickens, keeping her on leash while rewarding (petting and speaking to her calmly) when she sat and watched them calmly. When we got our chicks we made a screened window in the side of the brooder box at floor level so our dog could lay out side the box and watch, and they could see her. I now trust her completely and she feels quite a duty to guard them. She has even chased away cats, raccoons and hawks.
