Socializing Chickens and Dogs

[DarrellP]

Hope this is the right spot.. searched for similar stuff but didn't really see what I was looking for.....
I've got some acreage and seriously considering adding some chickens... not a lot but enough to beef up the farm like ambiance. Would like to do free range, knowing there are predator risks but I don't like penning animals up any more than necessary. Now to my question... My son has a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (1 yr old now), he lives on his own in an apartment, but we end up dog-sitting quite often... little bugger has non-stop energy. Any chance of us being able to socialize a toller to be able to co-exist with the chickens? He seems fine around cats, very playful (more so than the cats would like) but he has never shown a bit of aggression toward them - just curiosity and playfulness.

 

[townchicks]

Tollers are bird dogs, so he will probably be very interested in the chickens. They are very trainable, however, so it shouldn't be hard to teach him to leave them alone. Start with basic obedience and keep him on leash or the chickens behind a fence until you are sure he can control himself around them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The problem with s playful dog is it wants to play with the chickens, the chickens don't survive, the dog chews on the chicken and next thing you know you have a chicken killing dog. You may need to keep the chickens confined when the dog is around, or the dog confined when the chickens are out.

 

[KtheChickenGal]

Hope this is the right spot.. searched for similar stuff but didn't really see what I was looking for.....
I've got some acreage and seriously considering adding some chickens... not a lot but enough to beef up the farm like ambiance. Would like to do free range, knowing there are predator risks but I don't like penning animals up any more than necessary. Now to my question... My son has a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (1 yr old now), he lives on his own in an apartment, but we end up dog-sitting quite often... little bugger has non-stop energy. Any chance of us being able to socialize a toller to be able to co-exist with the chickens? He seems fine around cats, very playful (more so than the cats would like) but he has never shown a bit of aggression toward them - just curiosity and playfulness.

I would say definitely start with basic obedience. Make sure that he can recall around distractions and teach him leave it. Work on this until mastered. Make sure that he's getting lots of mental and physical stimulation. I recommend having him on a leash at first, or putting him on a tie out line so that he could see the chickens but the chickens could get away. I think he should be allowed to be interested in the chickens, or maybe even sniff them, but I would not hesitate to correct him if he went after one. If he has a solid recall and leave it, you should be fine. My dog is interested in the chickens and she like sniffing them- because of course they smell good to a dog-but she's not too excited about them since she's allowed to be around them and they're not such a novelty anymore.

 

[cassie]

Keep in mind there is nothing like chickens and rabbits to bring out the prey drive in dogs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When we got our Sheltie at about 15 months old, I used the "see-no-touch" method. I stuck him in the grow-out pen adjacent to the chicken run every day for a couple of hours. Since he was new to us and our property is not fenced, he never went outside unless he was on leash. (Fortunately he was ignorant of doggie doors, lol!) Anyway after about a month I tested him by taking him into the run (it's quite large) on a 15-foot long line, and dropped the line. If he had gone after the chickens I could stop him by stepping on it. But he didn't; he showed no interest in them. I then let the chickens out of the run to free range and let him out, still dragging the long line. Again, no reaction whatsoever. He's been totally reliable ever since.

Note, this method did NOT work on our Aussie puppy. Anyone wanting to know how I chicken-proofed him can pm me.

 

[febane]

Hope this is the right spot.. searched for similar stuff but didn't really see what I was looking for.....
I've got some acreage and seriously considering adding some chickens... not a lot but enough to beef up the farm like ambiance. Would like to do free range, knowing there are predator risks but I don't like penning animals up any more than necessary. Now to my question... My son has a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (1 yr old now), he lives on his own in an apartment, but we end up dog-sitting quite often... little bugger has non-stop energy from Exclaimer. Any chance of us being able to socialize a toller to be able to co-exist with the chickens? He seems fine around cats, very playful (more so than the cats would like) but he has never shown a bit of aggression toward them - just curiosity and playfulness.

Yes, it’s possible to socialize a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever to coexist peacefully with chickens, especially since your dog shows curiosity without aggression toward cats. With consistent, positive training and supervised gradual introductions, you can teach him to respect the chickens and reduce his prey drive. Start slow, reward calm behavior, and always supervise interactions until you’re confident he won’t chase or harm them. Given Tollers’ intelligence and trainability, many owners successfully keep them with poultry.