Meet "Olive"

[Hobbits Mommie]

I've had Olive for 3 weeks and have allowed greetings from outside the run. The chickens are more interested in her than she is them at this point. Her main function as an adult, will be to protect the property and them. (She will be between 80 & 120 lbs full grown).

Do you have recommendations on how to create a bond between them?

 

[Pork Pie]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1137009/topic-of-the-week-dogs-and-chickens

 

[5hens&aroo]

Put olive on a leash and whenever you feed and water your girls or anything like that keep her with you. That’s what I did with my border collie Rex who had killed 7 baby chicks when I first got chickens and now he hangs out with them all day he goes in and out of the coop and barks his head off anytime anything tries to get in the yard! Cute pup by the way

 

[N F C]

Olive is a cutie! What breed or mix is she?

 

[PirateGirl]

Food! My dogs associate my chickens with snacks now. I don't even give treats around the coop anymore, but they help themselves to any chicken feed, poop, food scraps that get pushed out of the run. The chickens peck at the dogs through the fence while the dogs try and clean up on snacks. If a friend brings over a dog that is excited about the chickens, my dogs will chase the strange dogs away from the coops.

 

[MotherOfPeepPeeps]

Does your pupper live indoors?

I have a jack russel who was not good with fowl, but considered critters that came in the house to be fellow pets. I brought my most friendly two hens in the house and housed them in a dog crate for a week, letting them come out for meet and greets. Then I started letting them out in the backyard with my dog for supervised outdoor time. As soon my girl started identfying them as pets she was fine with all of them. I did the same thing when acclimating her to rabbits.

 

[Hobbits Mommie]

Olive is a cutie! What breed or mix is she?

Olive is an American Bulldog. My neighbor had an accidental litter of 9. I already have two very large Catahoula Leopard Dogs but they are "older" rescues and are total couch potatoes. I'm also trying to figure out how to introduce her to them. They are both very calm well behaved (for the most part) but won't tolerate any shenanigans from her. So, for now when she's in the house she's crated, and they take separate potty breaks. Olive is dying to be with them, but she'll have to learn some basic manners first. She knows come, and we're working on "Sit", and "No Bite".

 

[Hobbits Mommie]

Does your pupper live indoors?

I have a jack russel who was not good with fowl, but considered critters that came in the house to be fellow pets. I brought my most friendly two hens in the house and housed them in a dog crate for a week, letting them come out for meet and greets. Then I started letting them out in the backyard with my dog for supervised outdoor time. As soon my girl started identfying them as pets she was fine with all of them. I did the same thing when acclimating her to rabbits.

She is indoors for now. When we got her 3 weeks ago she was only 3 lbs, and so she was too small to be outdoors alone, even in a kennel. She's put on about 8 lbs now. She'll probably be inside until the spring at this point, learning how to be a sweet , obedient girl (to her family anyway).

 

[N F C]

Olive is an American Bulldog. My neighbor had an accidental litter of 9. I already have two very large Catahoula Leopard Dogs but they are "older" rescues and are total couch potatoes. I'm also trying to figure out how to introduce her to them. They are both very calm well behaved (for the most part) but won't tolerate any shenanigans from her. So, for now when she's in the house she's crated, and they take separate potty breaks. Olive is dying to be with them, but she'll have to learn some basic manners first. She knows come, and we're working on "Sit", and "No Bite".

The older dogs will probably help Olive learn to behave (at least around them)

 

[feathermaid]

Put olive on a leash and whenever you feed and water your girls or anything like that keep her with you.

Great advice!

Olive is an American Bulldog. My neighbor had an accidental litter of 9. I already have two very large Catahoula Leopard Dogs but they are "older" rescues and are total couch potatoes. I'm also trying to figure out how to introduce her to them. They are both very calm well behaved (for the most part) but won't tolerate any shenanigans from her. So, for now when she's in the house she's crated, and they take separate potty breaks. Olive is dying to be with them, but she'll have to learn some basic manners first. She knows come, and we're working on "Sit", and "No Bite".

The best way to introduce dogs to each other is on neutral ground. Can you take all your dogs to the dog park, or a friend's house or school yard... some place they haven't been before? They'll be too interested in investigating the new surroundings and more likely to tolerate a newcomers presence. Your older dogs are the bosses anyway, so like a pecking order, it's normal for some growling/barking/snapping to happen... that's how they teach a youngster manners and what's not acceptable. Your pup will learn real quick what she can and can't get away with -with your other dogs.

Good start on obedience, but don't forget the "leave it" command. That is probably the most useful and valuable command you can teach. And make sure she has lots of chew toys! There's no way a puppy can leave "everything" alone and she actually needs something to chew and bite. The more opportunities she has TO BE ABLE TO chew, the easier it is to teach NOT to chew and bite other things.

I think the more time Olive can spend with the chickens, the more a bond will develop. Try to make a goal of having her stay put (on leash) while the chickens are out free ranging or eating some scratch on the ground... have her mingle through them and stay calm. Then give her a special treat like tiny pieces of hot dog. She should learn to associate the presence of chickens being very awesome, and probably also the chicken poop will be an extra reward itself My dogs love that dang chicken poop and would hate to see anything harm those yummy poop distributors!