My OWN predators!

[kichohana]

my 9.9 lb mini dachshund used to bark and circle their pen/run like a crazy man when i first moved my girls outside. they've been outside full time for about 2 months and now he pretty much ignores them. they get a little excited when he comes near their run chasing his ball, but it think it's his ball that freaks them out, not the dog. time and patience.

 

[horsepowerhaven]

I have a 13 lb Mini Dachshund (Oliver) that went after my chickens and mostly the Rooster when I first got them and let them out to free range. I thought the Rooster would fight back, but he was only a year old and apparently not confident enough yet. (He stands his own now and even chases people on the property sometimes).

There they went, Chester the Rooster running top speed through my arena and around my property with Oliver close behind and me lagging screaming at the top of my lungs for Oliver to stop (I wonder what the neighbors thought).

I finally caught Oliver after Chester ran into the open garage and back out again with Oliver behind him. Feathers everywhere and hanging out of Olivers mouth.

Needless to say Oliver got a very swift hard spanking while being told "No!!!" and "Naughty" in an extrememly firm tone.

I then worked Oliver on a leash around the chickens, very firmly tugging him back and saying "No". I even tried a training shock collar, but the remote control wasn't working very well.

He learned right away that it was big trouble and to leave them alone. He is not loose out in the yard with them, but sometimes if he is off leash and we are walking around the house and the chickens are close by, I just say "No" or "Don't you even think about it" and he gets a sad look on his face and leaves them alone.

I'm having a fence put up to keep the chickens off my patio (a poop-free zone) and to keep the dogs away from the chickens and horses. I think each dog will learn at their own pace, but I wasn't hesitant to be much more firm with my discipline than usual when it came to the safety of the chickens.

Good luck!

 

[tfromtx]

I have a lab mix who killed a total of 5 chickens on two different occasions when I first got chickens. All the old timers told me once a dog gets the "taste of blood" you can't train that out of it. WRONG!!! He has now been free-ranging with the chickens for two years... The secret to my success with him was to make him understand that the chickens were my property. In the same way my clothes or my food etc. I used the command "NO TOUCHING" which is the same command I use when I leave snacks on a coffee table etc. If you have a command for your dogs that you use to make them not mess with your property then use it! Good Luck!

 

[redhen]

Good luck..min pins are nuts...
Cute.. but nuts.

 

[momdrinkstea]

We have 2 border collies, and just let them sniff the chicks, then we held and pet the chicks in front of them.
If they started licking their chops, we said "NO, mamas birdies" and cuddled the chicks. By the time they were
ready to free range (3 months), the dogs were used to them and considered them part of the family they protect.
I held them in front of the dogs 2-3 times a week, worked like a charm.
ALSO, we keep a light on the coop at night, it discourages predators, and even though there are coons, skunks,
coyotes, cats & dogs around, we've never had a problem. We use a flourescent light bulb in an outdoor safe
floodlight holder. Most of the birds nest at night on the fence in FRONT of the coop, or in the tree hanging above
the coop, and no problems with critters getting at them.
Good luck!

 

[nzpouter]

one dog at a time, start with the worst... the min pin, one on one training, on lead when you do your chores around the chickens.... quick correction all the time. Watch for signs, any dog will give out sign before they do anything.

 

[Gypsi]

Oh, lordy do I know what you're going through! I had NO clue my elderly daschund would become so obsessed with the chickens, nor that he would KILL any, if he got into the run, which he did. He barked at them constantly. I wanted to kill him. Then I wanted to kill him when he killed a chicken. But he was there first, he was eleven years old, and it wasn't his fault, it was MY fault.

I have a dachshund about 10 or 11 years old that got 2 of my pullets, stole one from my granddaughter's hand and killed it. After the 2nd one he almost went to the pound. He was here first - in the backyard when I bought the house. One sibling found a home, the other found the humane society after a couple of years. However Toby doesn't chase the chickens anymore. They are as big as he is and he has a tender nose. I still kennel him in the pond area when they are loose in the yard. He still digs holes. I fill them in. Life goes on.​

 

[Trevi70]

Thanks for all your replies everyone.
My dogs have calmed down. The little one is more interested in the bikers, joggers and trucks passing by and the larger one isn't crying so much when she hears them talking away at me. I worked with them all week long and at least i can let them out again without them running straight for the coop!

Time should do it- they aren't stupid dogs.
And yes Redhen, the min-pin IS nuts. So ugly he's kinda cute, and totally nuts. Not my favorite dog but I can't say no to an animal that's headed to the pound- especially at 9 years old!

 

[Dar]

min pins are not ugly

my fur babies are cute

 

[Trevi70]

oh mine's not the cutest thing you've ever seen.... well, he just looks funny! He's got a barrel chest, BIG ears that either point straight up like a fox or flop over like a lab (they were never clipped) and he was super, ridiculous fat when we 1st rescued him. He never lost the barrel chest even though he's lost half his body weight since moving in with us.