new dog and bantam rooster

[joojy]

we recently got a great pyrenees from the pound. He is 2-3 years old. He is loose, in a fenced in 3 acres. We have been letting our 3 hens, 1 is a bantam , and bantam rooster, and 5 ducks, 3 large and 2 call ducks out with him. Twice in the last 2 days, we have caught him, first with his paw on the rooster, and the feathers were wet, and today, my daughter mistakenly let the chickens out. Found the rooster in the kennel, hiding. I think the dog took him there.
We got the dog to protect the poultry.
My daughter is so worried that we will take the dog back. The rooster is terrified. He is a nice dog, good tempered.
Any ideas?

Mother of 6 kids, 8 cats, 5 ducks, 4 chickens, and 1 dog.:

 

[leonphelps]

lets hope he adjust to them. I would guess he will. He is probably bonding with them and showing his place in the pecking order. He could have killed them if he wanted to already.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Did this happen the first time the dog has been with the chickens? If not, how long has the dog been reliable with the chickens? Is this the first time the dog has had exposure with a rooster?

What kind of training have you worked on with the dog and the chickens? Unfortunately, they don’t come preprogrammed. That would have saved me a lot of time

What kind of training has the dog had with basic obedience commands?

My short story is this: When our Pyr was a puppy and still being trained with the chickens, we left her alone for too long with the chickens. We found her with one of the chicken cornered in the chicken tractor. The bird was soaked on her back but, uninjured. As far as we can tell, she was licking the poor bird, why I do not know. After she matured and learned that she was not supposed to play with the chickens, this never happened again and she was complete reliable with the birds.

My guess is that your dog needs a lot more careful observation and socializing with chickens and that rooster. You need to make sure she understands that the roosters are yours and not to be played with or chewed. It might take a while, Pyrs are pretty determined to do things their way but, he’ll figure it out eventually.

Jim

PS. PM sent on the MMJ training program, for what it's worth (not much).

 

[joojy]

We have only had the dog 10 days. It was about the 8th day, that he had his paw on the rooster. The rooster is just an english bantom, and cannot take too much rough house. I do not know if rooster posturing caught the dog's attention, or why he singled him out. But today, he definitely carried that chicken into his stall, the rooster then hid, and that is where I found him, terrified.
I think he is bored, because we are at work all day. He is loose in 3 well fenced acres. We were considering another dog buddy, but I do not know what kind would get along with a Pyrenees, and could be outside. He has a great stall in the barn. It would have to be a spayed female something. I am just a little gun-shy.

 

[blkpoodles]

he needs work, mind stimulation, he's a working breed. you can give him a buddy or wear him down so he's tired. but if not he will find something to keep his mind at work like play with the chickens, dig his way out, tear things apart. just cause he's in a fenced in 3 acres doesn't mean he has stuff to do. its nice that you adopted him, alot of dogs need homes, i adopted my 2 poodles, i have to keep one of them busy or he goes to compulsive licking at his feet. have you owned a GP before?

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

The dog is still too new to you and the situation on your property. I would start slow and segregate the dogs and chickens. Right now you are too close to having an accident with the chickens. On the weekend and at night you can work on the training with the chickens and with basic obedience. I would not leave the dog with the chickens until you 100% sure he can be reliable with the chickens.

2 weeks ago we adopted a new dog that was not safe with the chickens. When this dog saw the chickens, he was completely focused on getting the birds. He was going to take a lot of training but, we had to return him due to aggression towards our current dogs (4).

What is amazing about your dog is that he has been so good with the chickens with, what appears to be, no formal training or structured socialization with the birds. I think you must have a very good dog for chicken guard duty that just needs some focused training.

Good luck,

Jim

 

[blkpoodles]

very nicely said mountain man, the GP was bred to guard flocks, but like you said he is new and needs training and i say needs work. then she'll have a great dog for her chickens.