Our Dog almost got the ladies.

[Hens & Hounds]

Such a shame but as other members have said there are some dogs that would never be able to be trusted around chickens, I personally do NOT agree that ALL bird dogs can't be trusted it is just a matter of that particular dog & the relationship w/ its owners. That being said...I would like to add that NOT all hunting dogs can't be trusted around poultry, there are hunting dogs that hunt mammals which I have & hunting dogs that hunt birds hence the name bird dogs...it is rather complex but any & all dogs can & can not be trained to behave around chickens it just depends on that individual dog.
Always best to give it time & patience & perseverance which may take weeks, months or even years....but if you do not have that kind of time to devote than it is best for both the dogs & the chickens best interest to make the choice which stays & which goes. Good Luck w/ whatever you choose to do!

 

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

Since the dog belonged to the previous owner, and was never your dog to begin with, and you did try to befriend him, I say, send him to your in-laws. We had a similar situation, two days after we moved in to our new house (March), a neighbor came over holding a Lab puppy, and asked if he was ours. She said she found him in her yard, and could not keep it, due to her bigger dogs. Because we had a empty dog crate, I agreed, and hubby was thrilled, he wanted a big dog, I am a little dog person, and we had two small dogs already.
A week after we moved in, the puppy was pestering my 15 1/2 year old Pom/Chiu mix, and she became injured and had to be put down. This was strike one against this dog. He also would play too hard with our other dog, a 2 year old Pom mix, and he would yelp.

We tried for weeks & months to find the owner, or someone who would take him. But as time went by, he got bigger & more active, dug all the time, would escape the yard, but was crate trained. Mid May we got our chicks, end of June they were moved into their new coop. By July the dog was under the shed that our coop is attached to (converted greenhouse), and was digging to get to the run. I told Hubby, if any of my chickens are hurt or killed by this dog, he is gone. Hubby would be gone all day working & he did not want to train a big puppy when he got home. He would not listen to me & when I had to put him to bed at night, he would growl at me, he was knocking down my 2 daughters in the backyard, it was just time. So after 4 months of trying to rehome him, I took him to AC. It was like night & day, we could go into the back yard & not get jumped on or knocked over. The chickens could finally come out and free range. In July we got a new puppy, a Chiu/Jack Russell mix, she thinks she is part chicken. I can leave both dogs out with the chickens all day, and our roo keeps everyone in line.

This is Sophie during the summer, laying out with the chickens.

 

[evenstargirl]

> This is Sophie during the summer, laying out with the chickens.

That is an ADORABLE photo!!! How cute!

 

[dadthebaker]

"This is Sophie during the summer, laying out with the chickens."

Wheres the dog? I only see chickens???

>.< lol

I am taking the dog to inlaws house tonight. In the meantime, I took him out of direct view of the chickens.... I still thnk it is funny how they fearlessly taunted him...that is, until he got at them!

 

[soehls]

My 1 yo Mastiff puppy thinks chickens are his own personal play toy! His last escapade got him into BIG trouble, and the poor hen is almost bald. I feel so bad for the hen, but cant stop laughing as she looks so funny. and yes, Tonka got into a lot of trouble, he knows better but sometimes puppies cant control themselves.

 

[Frost Homestead]

Hens & Hounds said:

Such a shame but as other members have said there are some dogs that would never be able to be trusted around chickens, I personally do NOT agree that ALL bird dogs can't be trusted it is just a matter of that particular dog & the relationship w/ its owners. That being said...I would like to add that NOT all hunting dogs can't be trusted around poultry, there are hunting dogs that hunt mammals which I have & hunting dogs that hunt birds hence the name bird dogs...it is rather complex but any & all dogs can & can not be trained to behave around chickens it just depends on that individual dog.
Always best to give it time & patience & perseverance which may take weeks, months or even years....but if you do not have that kind of time to devote than it is best for both the dogs & the chickens best interest to make the choice which stays & which goes. Good Luck w/ whatever you choose to do!smile

We have a Golden Retriever that couldn't care less about our chickens. All of ours free range with her in the yard everyday. Here a pic of her with our silkie. She ADORES the silkie and will come over and gingerly creep closer and closer to her. I know a lot of people say bird dogs cannot be trusted around chickens but I agree with you, I don't think there's much truth to that, it all depends on the dog. We didn't do anything to train her to not attack the chickens, she's just laid back.

 

[Hoofer]

My Australian Shepard "Sadie" really likes her chickens. She does like to herd them. But she never really bites them she will push them around with her nose. This picture was taken several years ago. My hens are all grown now and free range with the dog in our fenced yard.

I hope this works... going to try to post my first image.

 

[dadthebaker]

Quote:
It works,...beautiful dog! arf!

 

[Hoofer]

Thanks, she is a pretty good girl, loves to play with the chickens. Aussies have a lot of energy.

 

[aoxa]

I really have never experienced a dog do anything like this to my chickens.. Even my dog hating dog, Koda, loves the chickens.

Dogs can be trained.. You just have to work with him...