Question about dogs

[dandydoodle]

I didn't know where to put this. I thought this section might be okay for my question. So how do you train a new dog to be okay with your chickens and barn cats? We have a 4 month old German Shorthaired Pointer. We have had her around them since we got her about 2 months and she is has been good with them. She is now starting to point and show a lot of interest in the cats and chickens and she is chasing them. I am worried if this keeps escalating someone is gonna get hurt. What would you do? How do you train your dogs?

 

[nzpouter]

firstly get their recall response, LEAVE IT!! and NO!! imbeded in their head... then make sure they get enough exercise daily.

 

[dandydoodle]

How do you train for leave it? I am trying to train her for this but, I am not sure I am doing it right. Should I tell her to leave it when she has any interaction with the chickens and cats right now or where should I draw the line? I am hoping eventually someday everyone can be friends but, I think if I don't something right now they will end up being snack instead.

thanks,
Michelle

 

[dandydoodle]

She probably does need more exercise then she is getting. I am not quite sure what my hubby was thinking with this breed. Well I guess I am off to the dog park. ;0)

 

[Nicole01]

I'd train "leave it" as stated above. I youtubed this command and taught it to my golden retriever. It is an awesome command. I used the example from the lady training her little white dog(Maltese).

My neighbor trained her golden by using a muzzle. This worked for her. You might want to purchase a muzzle for their first meeting. It might save a chicks life depending on your dogs personality. Both my dogs are very good with the chickens. Even my golden is and she is a trained bird dog.

 

[dainerra]

here is my usual cut/paste. One thing is to make sure that your dog is getting the exercise (physical and mental) that she needs. Otherwise, she will make up her own fun and that never works out.

Find the closest distance that the dog first notices the birds in the brooder. This might be in another room if he is one to constantly glance at the door. Put your dog on leash and get some extra special treats that he only gets for this work - bacon, grilled chicken (no spices!), hot dog chunks, etc. When the dog glances toward the birds, say his name and "leave it" If he looks at you, give him a treat - if he doesn't, give a light pop on the leash (think tap on the shoulder). When he looks at you reward him.
You can also teach him "watch me" the same way. You can practice this at random times though out the day. If you have a couple extra minutes while you're watching TV or whatever, just say his name, pause, "watch me" When he makes eye contact, then reward him. You can also (if you get in the habit of keeping a small treat in your pockets) catch him looking towards you say "watch me" and then reward. Or just praise him verbally.

Once the dog is reliably paying attention to you and the birds at a distance, move a little bit closer. If he absolutely blows you off, you're too close. Just back up a bit and begin again. Eventually you will be right amongst the birds. You can then start at a distance or with a long line (20' leash or so) and work from there. I never ever leave my dogs/chickens loose unattended together.
I don't even trust Rayden
I don't mean I constantly hover over the dogs when they are out with the birds, but I am in the area and aware of what they are doing. Think of it as a small child. Even though you've taught them not to play with matches, would you leave them alone in the house with matches scattered all over the floor?

The most important part of the training is to set the dog up to succeed. Don't give him a chance to chase the birds. Don't give him a chance to disobey.

ETA: The best thing about teaching "leave it" is that it works for everything. Drop something on the floor and don't want the dogs to touch it? "leave it" See dog running toward a snake? "leave it" Lots of training and work, but it pays off!
Of course, some dogs just can't be trusted off-leash. Period. They are just too focused on the birds. In that case, just confine the dog when the birds are out.

 

[dainerra]

my description doesn't cover everything, but it's a good start. You need to make sure that you keep her controlled and never give her a chance to make a mistake with the birds. It's easier to train the right behavior from the start than to try to break a bad habit

 

[ChickaBamBam]

firstly get their recall response, LEAVE IT!! and NO!! imbeded in their head... then make sure they get enough exercise daily.

here is my usual cut/paste. One thing is to make sure that your dog is getting the exercise (physical and mental) that she needs. Otherwise, she will make up her own fun and that never works out.

Find the closest distance that the dog first notices the birds in the brooder. This might be in another room if he is one to constantly glance at the door. Put your dog on leash and get some extra special treats that he only gets for this work - bacon, grilled chicken (no spices!), hot dog chunks, etc. When the dog glances toward the birds, say his name and "leave it" If he looks at you, give him a treat - if he doesn't, give a light pop on the leash (think tap on the shoulder). When he looks at you reward him.
You can also teach him "watch me" the same way. You can practice this at random times though out the day. If you have a couple extra minutes while you're watching TV or whatever, just say his name, pause, "watch me" When he makes eye contact, then reward him. You can also (if you get in the habit of keeping a small treat in your pockets) catch him looking towards you say "watch me" and then reward. Or just praise him verbally.

Once the dog is reliably paying attention to you and the birds at a distance, move a little bit closer. If he absolutely blows you off, you're too close. Just back up a bit and begin again. Eventually you will be right amongst the birds. You can then start at a distance or with a long line (20' leash or so) and work from there. I never ever leave my dogs/chickens loose unattended together.
I don't even trust Rayden
I don't mean I constantly hover over the dogs when they are out with the birds, but I am in the area and aware of what they are doing. Think of it as a small child. Even though you've taught them not to play with matches, would you leave them alone in the house with matches scattered all over the floor?

The most important part of the training is to set the dog up to succeed. Don't give him a chance to chase the birds. Don't give him a chance to disobey.

ETA: The best thing about teaching "leave it" is that it works for everything. Drop something on the floor and don't want the dogs to touch it? "leave it" See dog running toward a snake? "leave it" Lots of training and work, but it pays off!
Of course, some dogs just can't be trusted off-leash. Period. They are just too focused on the birds. In that case, just confine the dog when the birds are out.

Excellent, excellent, excellent advice from two people who are obviously dedicated and experienced dog owners. And additionally they have Bull Terriers and a GSD. Those are breeds that IMO are best living with just as they are...people who work hard to understand and respect their dogs needs to have leadership and exercise.

Keep in mind, each time your dog messes up it is nothing more than another opportunity for you to teach them what you expect.

Always end with positive training session. If you have a bad experience wait a moment, try again and the next time it ends they way you want then you end the session.

Do not allow yourself to worry about anything while you are training. Thinking thoughts like "this is never going to work' or 'the dog is going to pull on the leash' etc are just going to go against you.
While you are working on leash near the chickens the only thing you are allowed to think is "We are going to stand here and ignore the chickens." That's it, nothing else can go thru your mind....oh and make sure to smile while you are thinking that Serious!!

Not leaving the dog and chickens together unattended -- I couldn't agree more. By nature dogs are predators; chickens are prey.

My beagle and black lab are allowed outside with the chickens when I am there however they are never allowed to be between me and the chickens. Their place is behind me simply because those are MY chickens and not theirs. Thankfully our yellow lab is terrified of the chickens and our 14 yr old border collie is to old to care about chasing anything besides a nap.

Great info about the treats. Our black lab is a bundle of energy and excitement so we are constantly working on leadership. I buy cheap peanut butter and let her lick it right out of the jar when we want a distraction. You can pack it into a Kong toy but her own jar works just as well. Just don't keep it in the cupboard ROFL mine stays on the sill at the door the dogs use.

'Leave it' is the best command I could have ever learned to teach our dogs.
"Watch me' is the first voice command I taught any of our dogs.
'NO' or a loud "ETTT!" is very effective for me because I only use it when absolutely needed. Usually 'leave it' covers any situation we are having.

 

[farmer boy]

i have a australian shepherd / border collie she is a good dog i didn't even have to teach her anything she just did it if i said it .. she can herd some animals sometimes .. one day i had a bull standing in my yard .. it was huge .. but i let both of my dogs out .. my pitbul and my shepherd out my pitbul chased it and the bull was charging at him trying to attack and kill him he was playing with the bull even though it was trying to kill him but my other dog just put him up against hay bales and brought him back and i didn't even train her it was amazing what she can do she is nice with the birds she did try to bite them but thats when she was smelling them when it jumped and hit her in the face with her wing and she tried to bite the hen but thats it ... it just depends on the dog and the dogs personality

 

[ChickaBamBam]

nzpouter -- those are Bull Terriers right? If not, I stand corrected Regardless they are power houses.