Just got chicks, now I'm worried about the dog.

[dianaross77]

Your welcome. Our bullmastiff mix has caught and/or killed mice, moles, and possums. So if she can get used to them I'm sure yours can too. I do take them out and let her smell them but she has to be calm and gentle when she does it, otherwise it's like a free sample at the grocery store!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

My dog did the exact same thing. Just sit and watch them for hours. If I picked them
up and put them near his face he would sniff a little then back off. He is also a gentle soul with other species. I think if your dog wanted to eat them he wouldve made a move by now. Since he's acting just like mine dud when my girls were babies, I'll tell you that my pup now like to watch them when they scratch. He also likes to sniff their butts which they hate. In my experience you've got a good chicken pooch there

 

[whasittoya]

I sure hope so, I just had one of the girls out and he sniffed it then relaxed and laid down. He didn't move off his pillow or make any real move. I guess the thing is to just keep working with him. He is really responsive to training so I am hopeful.

 

[ginormous chicken]

Ok Noodleroo that is way too cute!!! Quite a good looking tri-colored Collie!

Back to the OP, I have 3 dogs! a black and yellow lab, and a shih tzu. ALL OF THEM know the rules of the house: If you want to live here, leave the chickens alone!

Seriously though, from my experience, it depends how well your dogs are trained to begin with and their personalities. All 3 dogs saw the chickens as chicks and then later, when they went to live outside. I made it a point to discourage and eye contact, chasing, or even herding behavior. Basically, I set the ground rules that chickens are part of the property and not chase toys. The dogs are fine with it. I guess they see them as moving lawn ornaments!

Lots of no chasing early and sit and stays and you will be fine. Of course, there are some dogs that IMO just can't help themselves ( usually hunting dogs). They were bred to chase fowl and the idea of not is just confusing. I make a note to tell friends with these dogs to please leave their dogs at home.

 

[noodleroo]

Thank you, Ginormous Chicken; Patsy lives with us and goes everywhere we go in the house. It was only natural that she went in with me to tend to the chicks from the beginning. I would open the door to the bedroom and she would go in first and stick her head in the brooder. The chicks got used to that immediately. It was a great conditioning exercise for all.

With that said, she is well trained and has a very sweet and loving nature. Not all dogs will be able to be trusted around prey animals. A well trained dog that wants to chase and kill birds is like a recovering drug addict; they may be able to keep themselves from using (chasing/killing birds) but they don't lose the desire to do so...

 

[Judy]

Quote:
That's more or less what I do, just as I do with cats. Had one dog who would kill stray cats but never touched our cats, or the chickens; she lived to nearly 20 and was probably introduced to 6 or 7 cats in her lifetime. Have now trained 4 dogs in 3 years to leave the chickens alone, no failures. And a whole lot fewer predator losses since letting the chickens and dogs be together.

 

[teach1rusl]

I'm a full believer that many breeds can learn to share space with chickens (and other small animals). My dogs, cats, and chickens all intermingle unsupervised. But it took weeks/months before we got to that "unsupervised" level of trust. As chicks, I would let my dogs in the room with the brooder when I was there, and after a few days, would allow my dogs to sniff a little at the chicks while I held them protectively in my hands. The "gentle/easy" command was already mentioned.

From there, once the chicks/pullets are old enough to go out into the coop, I'd take a dog on leash, hold the collar, and just sit with the chicks milling about (gentle/easy). We worked our way up to the dog on loose leash, us sitting there with the chicks, then to walking around on leash with the chicks out and about. It just kept going from there. It's quite doable if you have a people pleaser dog, especially if he/she's a big sweety with other animals.

My biggest issue with my dane pup (who seems to love all animals) is that he's so clumsy...and his tail will sometimes send someone squawking. Good luck to you - I'm sure you'll have trust in your pooch within a few months

 

[babyrnlc]

Quote:
I was worried because our German Shepherd mix was so interested in our new chicks. We were holding them today so I finally let Annie come see, and watch closely. She was so excited. She came up and licked it. I think she thought it was a puppy!

 

[whasittoya]

thanks so much for the advice, I feel a lot better now.
Maggie

 

[gokan68]

Glad to see all of the advice, will see what works with mine!