Socializing a new puppy to chickens, any successful strategies?

[MiaS]

What kind is she and where did you get her?
She sure is cute, love black and white.

She's a Portuguese water dog, locally raised by a CKC breeder. Hoping for a confident little friend who's active and smart but with an off button. So far the off button on the puppy biting has been a bit hard to activate I love black and white too. I wear a lot of it and I do find that people tend to choose dogs who both look and act like them.

 

[MiaS]

What kind is she and where did you get her?
She sure is cute, love black and white.

They make puppies like children; cute so you won't eat them before they are grown

 

[NightingaleJen]

What a darling puppy! Guessing she wins many hearts by being so adorable and could rule with a benevolent paw. I've heard many good things about Portuguese Water Dogs.

Thanks for all of the good advice in this thread. God willing, we'll be training a pup to chickens around here this year as well. (We're rough collie people, FWIW.)

 

[MiaS]

What a darling puppy! Guessing she wins many hearts by being so adorable and could rule with a benevolent paw. I've heard many good things about Portuguese Water Dogs.

Thanks for all of the good advice in this thread. God willing, we'll be training a pup to chickens around here this year as well. (We're rough collie people, FWIW.)

My last pup was a border collie. Loved her to pieces

 

[BYC Project Manager]

I am looking at purchasing a new puppy to fill the terrible void in my life that my very old dog has left upon her recent departure. She was really too old to be bothered with the chickens but I rather doubt that will be the case with a new puppy!

Does anyone have positive experiences to share in introducing a very young dog to chickens? I do understand that much of this will be breed and individual dog specific but I would dearly love for a new pup to live harmoniously with my birds. The dog will be a working breed, a Portuguese Water Dog. These dogs are workers but bred to retrieve fishing nets not hunted birds. Smart, mouthy. It will be my first intro to the breed so that is as much as I know so far.

I've got some ideas but would love to hear strategies that seem to have worked. Any proven suggestions for socializing to chickens are most welcomed!

I'm sure there are likely threads here that talk about this but lets face it, if people don't post questions then there is no discussion here right?!

Insightful post! Great input guys! This deserves a spot in the featured items on our homepage! Congrats!

 

[jolenesdad]

Insightful post! Great input guys! This deserves a spot in the featured items on our homepage! Congrats!

The picture for the feature is TOOOOOOOOOOO adorable.

 

[WhoDatChick]

First, a disclaimer...dogs are like people and they all have different personalities; however, my four dogs are great with the chickens. They are all strictly house dogs who go outside to play and do their business, but I don’t have to supervise them with the chickens who free range in the back yard. I got my day old chicks May 2019, and my dogs were 13, 11, and 4 (boxer, pug, boxer). In the same week I adopted a mixed breed puppy (Pointer/lab/bulldog/Heinz 57) who was about 12-15 weeks old. When the chicks were in the brooder I would put them in a baby pool and let the dogs look at them. When I started letting the chicks outside with supervision, I just let the dogs out with them. They were harmonious from the very start. My only issues with dogs and chickens have been that the dogs are interested in the chicken food and poop, and in the compost and chicken scraps. Also, the puppy knows that eggs are food, because my dogs eat a raw diet that included whole raw eggs. So, if an egg is laid on the ground, it’s a snack for someone.

All of this to say that when I dog sat for my sister’s puppy who is the same age as mine, I didn’t put the ladies up when I let her outside. She chased immediately and had to go out on a leash the rest of her visit.

Consistency and reminding dogs what is expected behavior is the best advice I can give though. I speak to my dogs like the are human, and they act like humans.View attachment 2005347View attachment 2005348View attachment 2005349View attachment 2005350View attachment 2005351View attachment 2005352View attachment 2005353

I love this! So adorable!

 

[I love my ducks34]

our dog knows better than to hurt our chickens, but we did teach him to chase them of the porch

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

I've had great luck with puppies and chickens. A basic rundown is keep the puppy on a leash, never allow it to get in the habit of chasing or "playing" with the chicken, teach basic obedience (come, sit, leave it) from day 1, and firm fair correction when needed.

Sounds like you have some dog training experience so I won't get too detailed on obedience training. Just share what I do.
When I have a young puppy around the birds, or other livestock, the puppy and building good manners is my #1 priority. I have a pocket full of treats, we hang out with the animals and work on "leave it" command.

I don't try to squeeze in chores or lose focus. Timing is everything. If you're off with you're commands, rewards or correction the dog won't learn what's appropriate. Because of this interactions between pup and other animals are brief. 10-15 minutes twice a day. Only once the dog's default is to ignore the animals do I take them with me to the barn for chore time. They're still watched closely and on a leash but they are allowed more opportunities to develop good habits.

She's a beautiful puppy! I've heard her breed is smart and training shouldn't be too difficult. Puppies are so much fun and so much work. Enjoy the process. She'll do great!

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

I would suggest not getting a puppy! See, I had a sweet older collie Pyrenees who the chickens didn’t mind and the cats would sleep on her in the winter when they got cold. When she passed away, I got a younger not puppy Pyrenees who had never met a chicken before. She was great, barks away the weird animals that want to eat the hens and the cats love her too. The chickens still scream if I go near her whilst holding them, but she didn’t show much interest in them. So I think you should get an older dog already trained, and preferably with poultry experience. Good luck!