Sponsored Post Keeping Dogs and Chickens - Tips for a Harmonious Introduction.

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, the bird instincts are definitely hard to work with. I've been trying to get mine more exercise too because if he's tired it's a little easier to work with him. But when they want to chase they will. But yeah, the e collar is great especially because, at least with mine, once they learn what it is and what the shock, vibrate, sound (if you get one that makes sound), etc. Means then you may not even need to use the actual shock. Though of course it depends on the dog. Mine's both smart and a sensitive dog for the most part so he learned that if he didn't want the shock, he better listen to the vibrate, so now we just use the vibrate. But yeah, coming from the universe is definitely a different effect. I think it helps them learn that they still can get in trouble for doing the wrong thing whether mom or dad is there or not. It was pretty funny seeing how surprised Gator looked the first time I did it over chicken chasing. How surprised he was that he got in trouble even though I wasn't there. And he just instantly shook his head, walked away, and rolled around like he was trying to get rid of the punishment or like it was a fly or some real itch

 

[justus85]

Yea, my dog is going to think chickens are suddenly related to electric eels.Haha!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sorry, forgot to reply, but hahaha probably!

 

[JaysGirl]

We did pretty much what the article said... We also used the Omlet temporary fence... We were able to have half of our yard for the dogs to be out and the other half for the birds to free range. This allowed everyone to be out together and become acclimated. Our new greyhound has done great! I think having a house chicken helped too....

Now I'm new to all of this chicken stuff but does a house chicken mean that it stays in the house all of the time? And what about the "pooping" ? Lol!

 

[KrisCVT]

Now I'm new to all of this chicken stuff but does a house chicken mean that it stays in the house all of the time? And what about the "pooping" ? Lol!

She was in the house while healing from a wound...and currently comes in at night because she still gets picked on a little bit (I'm a little overprotective). She unfortunately likes being inside at night better than the coop and waits at the backdoor for me to bring her inside. But while she was in 24/7 this past winter, I bought a diaper for her- then she could hang out with us without worrying about poop. =)

 

[JaysGirl]

Aww that's sweet that she wants to stay in with you! It's hard to say no to those sweet faces, isn't it? Just like with real children! Lol!

 

[mizz9]

We have had 3 chickens for a few months now, and have been working at getting our Rat Terrier to "get along" with them. He has a fairly high prey drive so we weren't sure it would be possible. At first he wanted to chase and/or eat them. But we did several on-leash slow introductions and telling him NO any time he looked at them with "that look" in his eye. He hates water so would also get a little squirt from a spray bottle if he was being really bad and he realized we meant business.

It took him a long while to desensitize to the chickens and realize they are NOT on the menu. We also worked on positive training with treats in the vicinity of the chickens, telling him to sit/stay/down etc and giving him treats and telling him he was a very good boy for listening to us in the presence of chickens.

Now that it has been a few months we have finally been able to let him off leash in the yard (highly supervised ALWAYS). The funny thing is he is FAR more interested in investigating every square inch of ground for chicken poops than he is in the birds! And now the tables have turned. Our BR hen is taking a dominant stance and she will chase the dog away when he gets too close! He seems to think she wants to play with him. Not sure what to make of this very unexpected turn of events! lol. I am actually wondering now if I have to begin training the chickens not to chase the dog!!

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I think you should have introduced your dog to the chicks the first day. I let my dog look at them and I held them up and let my Great Dane smell their butts everyday, never unsupervised of course. She learned they were part of the family before they were loose on the yard. The Dane is young so once in a while she will run through the herd of chickens and like to watch them flap and squawk but she has never hurt one. Now my sister's french bulldog comes over and run around the pen. He has a higher prey drive. I have held the chicken so he can smell it. Don't get too excited over the running around the pen, especially with a Lab/Perenniese mix. I bet he is just naturally doing his herding behavior. My French bulldog acted real tough running around the pen, but the first time I put him on a leash and the herd came running at us he ran between my legs. I use an Electronic training collar that vibrates for training. It breaks their concentration on whatever they are focused on, NO you don't have to shock the dog!

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Love it. Your foxy should be great around the chicken coop for keeping mice and rats away. My Great Dane just lets the mice run right past her, never even looks up, but she is great at keeping the Hawk away, always barks and runs out into the yard.

 

[knwisdom]

We have a Vizsla, they are bird dogs and I was a bit worried about how she would do with the chickens. When the chicks were in the brooder their cheeps drove her nuts. We had it elevated and she couldn't see them. My husband used to pick her up and let her look in and sniff but she really got obsessed. The chicks grew fast and I built them a temp coop in the corner of the garage on the floor and 6 ft tall. I put a mat on the out side for the dog and made her lay down if she wanted to watch the chicks. I told he she had to be gentle, which was a command she new from when we had cats. Over time, several week, she learned to be calm and they would come to her. Then they started pecking her on the nose. She decided they were not fun anymore and began to ignore them.

When we moved them to the coop, we trained her no to go in the coop. Once the chickens were settled in the coop and run we let them out into the garden. The dog quickly learned that the chickens peck more than just noses. I had to change my training strategy and protect the dog from the chickens. Now they pretty much ignore each other but the dog is still afraid of the chickens. She really only likes one of our Buff orpington, Lily, that likes to go on walks with us.

My in laws came for a visit and brought their Golden Doodle and once he sniffed one of the fluffy butts he was good. Five minutes and done. He thought they were interesting but didn't bother them. He quickly became good friends with Lily. Every dog is different. Knowing the breed can help.