New puppy needs training asap *Updates and training tips for your puppies!*

[centrarchid]

More time, much more time needed with birds. Otherwise off to a good start.

 

[JesnJer]

I posted this in another thread recently so sorry if this is repeat info but here is the method I use to train my dogs:

I have a pit-bull mix and three pugs. The pit and two of the pugs are rescues from urban shelters with mixed histories of abuse. All four dogs are out in the yard with my 5 chickens everyday without any problems. In fact I once had a chicken attack a dog but never the opposite. Everyone guaranteed me that the pit would kill my chickens but she has never been a problem.

Here is what I personally recommend: The most important thing to focus on overall is controlling your dogs impulse control. Especially with a new puppy. Good basic training makes teaching them anything else so much easier. Make sure that you can snap your dogs attention back to you even when they see something they want. (I can't snap so I use an "aht." noise - this means sit and pay attention to me) One of the best ways to work on this without a live animal present is during feeding. Do you free feed your dogs or do they eat at regular times? I would recommend taking them off of free feeding if you are doing that. Focus on training your dogs so they they will not eat anything unless you give a specific command. I set down all four bowls of food and make the dogs wait. They do not eat until they hear their own name and see a hand gesture. Also work on them stopping eating at a command and willing stepping away from their food. I say "Name, wait." and they stop and sit until told to continue. These skills help with impulse control in many areas of training. It may seem unrelated but to a dog, the one who controls the food is the ruler of them all.

I would introduce the dog to the chickens on a leash and just sit and be calm. As soon as she starts to fixate on the chickens in any way other than simple curiosity or barks or is excited (even happy excited) I would scold her with the same word every time (you only need to say it once, firmly) and immediately take her inside. With my dogs I brought them back when they were calm and started all over again. and again and again. lol. It took a bit of patience but within a few days all of the dogs ignored the chickens and now find very little interest in them at all other than a sniff here or there. I never yelled or hit them or used a choke or a shock. I just said no and took them away immediately at any sign of fixation or barking. Patience is the key and consistency. It sucks because sometimes you are busy and don't want to deal with it but starting and stopping will just make it worse.

Dogs want to make you happy so bad, so if you can just find a way to tell them what you want then they will do it.

For fun, here is my dog, Lou, with a silkie chick who fell in love with her.

This worked for us too. we have 3 dogs, two pits and a lab that can be trusted outside unattended with our 25+ birds (chickens and guineas). One of our pits killed a hen just after we got her, we thought we were doomed and basically wound up trying this same thing and worked like a charm. Now that same pitbull loves our month old chicks and is very gentle with them. We really didn't like the dead bird suggestions that you can find online because our dogs are inside with us every night. Now the only issues we have is our dogs think our birds are pez dispensers (they like to eat the chicken manure) and they track chicken manure in the house.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

This worked for us too. we have 3 dogs, two pits and a lab that can be trusted outside unattended with our 25+ birds (chickens and guineas). One of our pits killed a hen just after we got her, we thought we were doomed and basically wound up trying this same thing and worked like a charm. Now that same pitbull loves our month old chicks and is very gentle with them. We really didn't like the dead bird suggestions that you can find online because our dogs are inside with us every night. Now the only issues we have is our dogs think our birds are pez dispensers (they like to eat the chicken manure) and they track chicken manure in the house.

me too! The chicken poop battle is the one I think I may never win. To them is it like the best candy in the whole world! Super gross.

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Time for an update!! Naga continues to improve on the same training method that was suggested by Chickensrdinos. If you are training a pup, this is the way to go in my opinion. She is about 90% housetrained now. We always go out the same door and go to the same outdoor spot for bathroom breaks and she is starting to go to the door on her own when she needs to go. I am pleased. I have known dogs that were housebroken in a week, and some that took years, so the rate at which your pup learns will be unique. We have had Naga for a month now and she's nearly there.

Crate training: Naga does great in the crate as long as we follow a strict routine! She always gets treats and toys for going in and pretty much is quiet if you put her in to leave during the day, but special precautions have to be taken for her to be quiet when we put her in at night. The crate is right next to our bed so she can see us. I stop giving her food after 7 and water after 8 so she doesn't have to wake us up in the night to pee and she can now sleep through the night (about 6.5 to 7 hours). 30 minutes before I go to bed, I put her on my bed for cuddle time and we watch tv. She falls asleep during these 30 minutes. Once she's pretty zonked, I pick her up and put her in her crate with a chewie and she is fine. If you choose to do this, do NOT change the routine! If we put her in without cuddle time on the bed she will whine all night. We don't mind Naga on the bed since she doesn't shed but if you have an exceptionally hairy dog or don't want them on the furniture you may want to try something else, like a good belly rub to relax them just before putting them up.

Chickens: I have increased the time Naga is out with the chickens (and me) to 30 minutes a day. Half the time she is on a lead, the other half off, but I always call her near to me and if she disobeys, she gets the leash or we go back inside. She really loves being with the chickens so going away from them is a good punishment and she straightens up when we try again. Do NOT take your puppy off lead out to the chickens on her first several times. Naga is a very calm and generally well behaved dog, but you never know just what your canine is capable of until it's too late, so I prefer not to take a chance. When she is on lead, she almost always behaves, but sometimes she has a brain fart and tries to chase a bird. I let her, and she will run out of lead and get a sharp jerk. (It's probably not necessary to jerk it yourself, you don't want to really hurt her, just get her attention. Naga jerks herself and I just hold the lead. It only took a few goes at this for her to get the message.) Tell her 'No' immediately after she gets jerked a little and that should do the trick. Naga is making slow progress in this area, but is progressing nonetheless. I suspect training a dog to be gentle around its natural prey is a long process, and will require reminder training throughout the dog's life, so I am pleased that she is where she is now.

General training: Naga now knows all her basic commands, but sometimes ignores them. I suspect this is partly because of the hound in her. It can be hard to get a hound to concentrate on what you are doing with them when they always have their nose to the ground, and also the fact that she is now around 3.5 months old and will soon be approaching adolescence, and we all know what teenagers are like...She listens 80% of the time though, which is still good, and when she doesn't, she will do what I'm telling her to do the second or third time I say so.

How are your puppies/dogs doing? I hope this thread has been helpful, it sure has helped me. Here's a picture of my prize pup Hubby and I both love her very much

 

[centrarchid]

Your pup is similar to mine in size and age. Mine is learning under tutelage of older (almost 2 years) bird dog. Our pup now gets about 4 hours daily during daylight with birds and all night but birds on roost at that night or penned in coops. She is under my supervision while I feed or work fence / garden but otherwise my knowledge of her actions requires listening to birds. I am efforting to have chickens as not being biggest source of excitement, rather excitement is scheduled as moving through free-range area to patrol property boundaries and sometimes to chase a rabbit or squirrel. I do not employ kennel which delays house training somewhat but keeps pup from being so explosive when we go out to patrol. Nighttime activities also helps burn off energy. Some nights dogs are up effectively whole night especially when weather changes. My pup is begining to respond with barks at strange stimuli but as of yet does not follow elder when he challenges potential threat. She is also starting follow elder as he does high speed patrols of pens, coops and roosting areas. Older dog responds aggressively with hair on back and tail up when chickens give alarm calls as he runs over and pup at least watches him do his thing. Elder dog when alarmed will patrol in any direction I look / point even when we are separated by a hundred yards and I think pup is at least becoming aware of that communication between myself and elder dog. My pup is now bigger than any fox but could not yet whip one even if it were to stand and fight. That day when she can whip one is not too far off.


Pup was not of interest for photo but most recent I have. Pen, like many scattered in about a 2 acre area of pasture.


Pup learning from mentor how to construct / destruct environment.


Pup and mentor sniffing wind for threats to north.


Pup standing back as mentor patrols.


Mentor back from patrol and front reunified.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Yay! I am so glad to hear that it is going well. I really believe whole heartedly in that sort of dog training. It takes time but I think the long term results speak for themselves.

I had a dog abandoned in my yard a few months ago and have been going through the training process all over again. She was in horrible shape and based on her behavior I do not think she had ever been inside a house before or slept on a bed. She would eat her dinner so fast that she would throw it right back up. But, she is doing much better now and looks like a totally different dog. She is getting a long well with my birds and my other dogs and all of her health issues are now resolved.

Both of your puppies are so pretty! Thanks for sharing pictures. I LOVE dogs way too much. Here is a picture of Lou, Sam and Olive. The pug looking at the camera is Olive, the abandoned dog.

 

[mulewagon]

Here's Badger this afternoon with some of the hens out in the front yard. He's 20 months old and has been out off-leash with the chickens for several months. This week, I've started leaving him outside unsupervised for the whole time they are out in the afternoon. He usually lies around, and then shoots off into the woods to chase whatever it is he hears - scattering chickens as he charges!

He actually had an incident while I was photographing. I scattered oatmeal to get the chickens to stay in the frame, and Badger decided he wanted the oatmeal for himself and snapped at the hens. But I told him "Off!" and he desisted. Then I gave him his own treat. "Off/Take it" is the greatest command set of all. We practice it every day, in all kinds of situations.

This was especially useful when he was an adolescent, and managed to eat a couple of the hens. I caught him with a live one, and traded it for a treat. Now that he's older and calmer, I can stop him when he starts to get a little too interested.

 

[littlechicklet]

Many other people have posted excellent advice. I have always been a dog person first and a cat person second. Here is my two cents worth:

1. Crate Training: I agree with a routine. Mine are crate trained from day one. The crates are not in the bedroom & you have several nights of little to no sleep but they learn to adjust. They are crated at different times but always at night & when we leave. I do not think it slows down house training because when they are young if you put them in the crate when you are busy doing something else they will "cry" if they need to go out because they do not want to soil their area. Of course this works if the crate is the proper size (about enough room to lie down & turn around) and they are accustomed to the crate as a safe place. It will take a little time. I generally use the crate for a least a year but it all depends on the dog.

2. Leave It command: Its priceless. I use cheese as a reward. Hold anything in your hand while standing in front of the dog. Say "leave it" and drop the toy/food etc on the floor between you and the dog (but closer to you). If your dog goes for it use your foot to bop them on the side of the snout. Think of a sideways soccer kick but of course only LIGHTLY. You are not trying to hurt your dog but just get their attention. Again the number of times you have to repeat this depends on the dog's personality/drive. If/when you dog does ignores the item dropped on the floor. You reward them with the cheese & praise. Get really excited like they do when they see you come home. Show the love!

3. Get It command: Almost priceless. After your dog has successfully accomplished Leave It use cheese to drop on the floor. Then point to the cheese and use the "Get It" command. If the dog is hesitant (and it usually is the first time or so) use your foot to push the cheese to the dog while using your praise tone to encourage them to get it. Once they get it repeat the Show the love.

4. The Cat: The only thing I think you are doing wrong is getting the puppy away from the cat and "petting/holding" her. She will see this as positive reinforcement for doing exactly what you do not want her to do: playing rough with the cat. Master the "Leave It" command and you can stop the behavior.

I am getting very long winded here and I apologize. My best advice would be (like others) find a basic obedience class. Group classes are cheaper than private lessons. Check with the AKC and you may find some in your area. You and your dog will learn: leave it, get it, sit, stay, off, down, heel and maybe some others. Best of luck to you.

 

[CreativeCowgirl]

I am so glad to have found this thread! Since I have only recently gotten my chickens, my older dog had previously no experience with them. I was training her to leave them alone, and she seemed to be doing well because as long as I was within eyesight, I could let her off leash with them and be fine. But she ended up killing all 6 of my original birds when a family member let both the birds and the dog out at the same time when I was away at work.

Now that I have gotten my new flock, I have resumed training with her. Again, as long as I am within eyesight, she seems to be fine off leash. However, I have also just gotten a GSD puppy a few weeks ago. I have been using the same method with her as with my older dog, but since she is a bit more rambunctious she needs close attention when around the birds. I think I will definitely try the training methods mentioned here, they sound like they would really work!

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Very good advice, Littlechicklet. And don't worry about being long winded on here, look at my posts lol! Your dog in your profile is gorgeous. He has that look I like, muscular but with a sweet face

I do need to work on my approach with her when she is rough with the cat, it's not getting worse, but it sure ain't getting better either, and my little kitty isn't the brightest crayon in the box so sometimes she forgets she can just jump out of reach and cries for me to make Naga stop instead. What I have been doing lately when that happens is grabbing Naga by the collar and telling her 'No' and giving her a little shake but that's not the way to do it because as soon as I let her go she's back chasing Mai again, just as rough as when she started. We will work more on 'Leave it' and it will be in my next update. Btw everyone's dogs are lovelies!