My dog is 9 yrs old. We introduced him to our baby geese in April. We were very worried about him since he DOES have a strong prey drive - he chases the wild rabbits in our backyard. His ultimate goal is to catch one, but he never does, the adult rabbits manuever too fast for him. I agree with what dainerra said, you MUST work with one dog at a time.
Initially, Nilo (our dog) was very curious of the goslings and wanted to get close enough to smell them. He would walk around the pen we kept them in excitedly, at which point we had to tell him to "sit!" to calm him down. We would pet him while we watched the goslings. Since we wanted our geese to free range, we had to teach him to keep a distance from the goslings (it would've broken our hearts if our family dog killed one of our new pets, so we didnt want to risk him feeling too comfortable near the geese). Not to mention that he would lick his lips while looking at them. A lot. We would call him to us (sternly) if he got too close to the goose pen - can I just add here, it also helps to have an obedient dog that listens to his owner. He was still obviously curious about the goslings and always wanted to get closer to sniff them better. One day, my father held a gosling in his hand for Nilo to sniff, well, that cured my dog's interest in the goslings.... as Nilo came in to sniff, the little gosling pecked him hard on the nose, the shock made my poor dog jump back 2 feet! I say "poor dog" because it made us laugh! Ever since then, Nilo maintains a safe distance between the geese. Now, if he comes to close, he risks getting bitten by a goose! He could of course bite back, but I think he behaves himself because he doesnt want to get in trouble. As others have posted, we still dont leave the dog & geese unattended, just in case.
I dont know if chickens defend themselves, but maybe a peck in the nose will help teach your dogs that chickens need to be respected.
Initially, Nilo (our dog) was very curious of the goslings and wanted to get close enough to smell them. He would walk around the pen we kept them in excitedly, at which point we had to tell him to "sit!" to calm him down. We would pet him while we watched the goslings. Since we wanted our geese to free range, we had to teach him to keep a distance from the goslings (it would've broken our hearts if our family dog killed one of our new pets, so we didnt want to risk him feeling too comfortable near the geese). Not to mention that he would lick his lips while looking at them. A lot. We would call him to us (sternly) if he got too close to the goose pen - can I just add here, it also helps to have an obedient dog that listens to his owner. He was still obviously curious about the goslings and always wanted to get closer to sniff them better. One day, my father held a gosling in his hand for Nilo to sniff, well, that cured my dog's interest in the goslings.... as Nilo came in to sniff, the little gosling pecked him hard on the nose, the shock made my poor dog jump back 2 feet! I say "poor dog" because it made us laugh! Ever since then, Nilo maintains a safe distance between the geese. Now, if he comes to close, he risks getting bitten by a goose! He could of course bite back, but I think he behaves himself because he doesnt want to get in trouble. As others have posted, we still dont leave the dog & geese unattended, just in case.
I dont know if chickens defend themselves, but maybe a peck in the nose will help teach your dogs that chickens need to be respected.
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