Our dog

[ahwhite]

We have 13 hens that we keep in a coop with a run and fence around the whole thing. We let our chickens peck around the fenced in area and thought we would test our family dog and see if she could be a good guard from predators if she got along with the chickens. We kept her on a tight leash incase instincts kicked in. She is such a friendly dog! At first she was more interested with the chicken poop in the grass/dirt and then I brought a chicken over to her, the calmest one we have. They were doing fine but as soon as Martha(the chicken) started to run away, our dog chased after her with her mouth open. Martha made it out fine (our dog was on a leash) but we are not sure we should try again. Should we try to get her used to chickens so we have a good deterrence from hawks? Or is it just something she cannot do. She is a black labrador retriever. Please help! I would love to get her to be a friend to the chickens but I understand if she´s just not a breed that can do that.

Our lab was always fine with our chickens, but we had to train our husky because she was overly excited about them. She is totally fine with them now. So I don't think it is a breed thing I think lots of labs are fine with them, just depends on if you think your individual dog would be ok! Personally we did the leash with them for a while, training them to not pay any attention to the chickens at all. It was nerve racking to test our husky out off leash, and honestly it only even happened by accident when we didn't realize the run was open when she was out there. Luckily she did well!

Good luck with your dog and chickens!

 

[Willowspirit]

I'm sorry, I don't buy into the hunting dog theory..
dogs first job is trying to please us humans.
My key word is NO.. it covers everything that a dog can do wrong.. once they get used to that word, the rest is easy..
btw. everybody in the household has to be on the same wave length in teaching a dog.
I have seen many labs in farm yards who do not chase chickens or cattle..
I have had quite a few beagles and one beagle/brittaney and lots of just plain mutts.
I never had a problem with any of them..
take the time now to teach your dog, and it will save you the decision later down the road to keep her or get rid of her or the chickens.

You make a very good point which is that even though there are known breed characteristics, it really matters when you get down to individual dogs.

 

[jvls1942]

Yep, I have a way with dogs.. MY WAY..
I have never beat an animal.. that is counter productive.. I doesn't teach loyalty or trust, it only teaches fear..

 

[DuckyBabies]

I have a golden retriever. She was raised along side my ducks. She was about 8 months old when we got them. She only ever got my duck once. My duck loves to play with the dog, and will run up on her so she must have got him back to hard that day. He wasn’t physically hurt, just stunned. I was worried to add another duck to our flock because of my dog. We integrated our new duck in January, and my dog doesn’t bother him at all because Dave doesn’t bother her. Bingo on the other hand (the one she stunned) LOVES to chase our dog. They have the weirdest dynamic I have ever seen. They actually play together and chase each other through the yard. It took some times of telling her no in the beginning, but now she watches over them and plays with bingo all day everyday. I think you can totally train a dog to get along with your chickens, just as long as you take it slow and watch out for any aggression towards the chickens.

 

[aart]

They have the weirdest dynamic I have ever seen. They actually play together and chase each other through the yard.

Would love to see video of this!

 

[DuckyBabies]

Would love to see video of this!

Unfortunately, I am unable to upload a video. However, I have a picture of them before they run around together.

 

[DuckyBabies]

Everyday when I let my dog out in the morning, he runs right up to her ready to play.

 

[aart]

Unfortunately, I am unable to upload a video. However, I have a picture of them before they run around together.

Upload to youtube then link in a new thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/pictures-stories-of-my-chickens.39/

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Assuming that Labs and Goldens are similar, I also question the hunting theory. Our last Golden was an adult when we got chickens. All we ever had to do was say "no" to her and she quickly understood that she was to leave the hens be. They would literally walk up and pluck hair from her tail and she wouldn't move.

She left us last June. We have a new Golden puppy and it's a different story acclimating her to the birds. If she gets too close, they flap, she gets excited and gives chase. We put her on the leash this afternoon in the chicken yard and we shall see how it works - I honestly think she has already gotten the message that the chickens are a "no". Goldens are very engaged with their humans and want to please. Are Labs different?

 

[Folly's place]

My Chesapeake Bay Retriever and German Shorthair Pointer puppies were easy to train to leave the chickens alone; started as puppies, no problems ever with them. Currently, years later, two rescue adult terriers, and much less energy on my part, and now I rely on fencing. It failed in March, horrible, but working again, and I really don't think these particular dogs are ever going to be 'chicken safe'. My fault too.
Mary