New chicks overly interested dog...Help!

[NaJaLeHa]

I'm new here and just got my first chicks.... Our husky is stalking the chicks. She lays under the coop and when I let them in the outside pin she paces around and tries to dig under... Now she is showing signs of playfulness, waggin her tail and whining, but my question is, how do I get her to leave them alone? I don't want to have to pin my chickens forever...help!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

You need to stop this behavior right away. Take her out to the coop on a leash. The second she shows ANY behavior other than calm ignoring say no, or whatever command she knows ("stop" "leave it"), and take her away. Start again. Calm is the ONLY ok behavior. Happy excitement is not ok. Playfulness is not ok. Whining is not acceptable. Stalking is very bad.

You will need to do this over and over and over. Work on it for an hour everyday and do not let her around them without being supervised until her behavior is perfect every time. She needs to get the very consistent message that those things are YOUR things and to be left alone. It is a process and takes a time commitment on your part. Don't skip a day.

 

[NaJaLeHa]

Thanks! Ill defiantly get at it then!!! Fingers crossed!!

 

[mpguay]

My border collie goes nutty for the chicks. they are just like a squeaky toy to her, especially when they fly a little. However, she pays NO attention to the adults. Your husky may settle down, but as said, I would do some training.

 

[cuppycake]

My border collie goes nutty for the chicks. they are just like a squeaky toy to her, especially when they fly a little. However, she pays NO attention to the adults. Your husky may settle down, but as said, I would do some training.

We have the exact opposite going on here. Our dog completely ignores chicks but he wants the older chickens. I don't let him near them. We fenced in part of our back yard with dog kennel panels to make a large run for him right outside the back door. That's where he stays unless all of the birds are locked inside their coops and/or runs. Even when he's let loose he's never by himself so I can keep an eye on what he's doing. He also likes to go sniff around and watch the rabbits and I don't need freaked out rabbits breaking their own necks trying to escape. He isn't loose often, usually in the fenced yard or on leash. We also have a road in front of the house that folks like to fly down going 70mph for some reason and while he's never tried to go into the street I don't trust him with those stupid drivers.

 

[NaJaLeHa]

Ou

My border collie goes nutty for the chicks. they are just like a squeaky toy to her, especially when they fly a little. However, she pays NO attention to the adults. Your husky may settle down, but as said, I would do some training.

Our girl is the same way! When they fly she gets so excited... Which is what makes me so nervous!!

 

[settingdusk]

Yeah be real careful. We had a Rottie and 2 dozen chickens and we didn't acclimate him properly. He dug under the fence one day and him and the neghbors dogs killed them all. I have lab now. I introduced the lab to the chicken smell by not washing my hands to get him used to it. Then I introduced an adult chicken, then an adolescent, then a 4 week chick. Any unacceptable behavior was met with a flick on the nose, he hates that. Now the chickens lay against him when he is near the fence.

 

[DuginMT]

Our basset hound wants to "play" with our pullets really bad. I don't know if she would kill them but probably would. I have been working with her on a daily basis but she has always been so stubborn and instinctive around birds. Will keep working on it and probably will never trust her with access to the chickens. These are definitely not herding dogs or flock protectors!

 

[NaJaLeHa]

It's so strange cause she could care less about any bird or animal that comes in the yard.... Uhhhh!!! Looks like I've got my work cut out for me!!!

 

[Linnren]

You never know about dogs. They can be so unpredictable. We had one that was totally untrainable, or so it seemed. Now we have a golden retriever. Once we had forgotten to let the chickens in at night and awoke to a huge ruckus going on. One chicken was cowering under a tree and another in the coop but the rest had totally vanished. The dog's barking lead us, in the dark, of course! to one behind the chicken house. In our agitation we blamed her, but by morning realized she couldn't have caused at least ten chickens so totally disappear off the property so concluded foxes must have got them, and the dog was trying to alert us. I accidently dropped a dozen eggs once, so let the dogs eat them. (This is more recently, now.), They still don't go into the chicken house to help themselves, nor ever harass the chickens, but like I said, you never know!