I hope this belongs in this group, plea feel free to move me if not.
We have a 12 week old lab/mix. She is a very sweet and obedient puppy. I want to teach her not to go after my chicken, rabbits, cats nd future goats. All of our animals except cats are pinned. Right now I have her following me around even in the coop. When she gets too curious I tap her nose and tell her no!
Is there anything else I need to do? Also would like to know other techniques for house training
New puppies.
At 12 weeks, it sounds like you're doing the right thing. Exposure (to your livestock), correction, and reward should go far with a young pup. That's certainly not too young to learn the "leave it!" command, which you could start teaching her. I would probably have her on leash when you take her out with you around the birds, just so you retain ultimate control of the situation.
I like "real" crate training for potty training. AS SOON AS the pup comes out of her cage/crate, she is taken outside to "go potty." REWARD!!! If she doesn't potty, then either back into crate or ON LEASH, connected to you, in the house. She should never be out of your sight (unless in her crate) until she is housebroken. So if an accident happens, it's your fault, not hers. Some people keep their crates, but I've only ever used them for house training and have stored mine after successly potty training.
Lots of exposure helps. My dog must go off property or into woods to get away from chickens whether they be pinned or free-range.
Something that works for me with respect to house training is front door is usually open during production season except when extremely hot. Pup can go in and out as desires. Two problems potentially with that. First is infant son that will readily crawl outside now to cause trouble as he is attmpting now. Second is some chickens will occassionally come into house causing wife to practice bitchcraft.
I'd stop the tapping her on the nose. For mouthy breeds, it's going to be an invitation for her to nip at your hands - dogs play with their teeth because they don't have hands.
Here is how I've always trained my boys.
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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.
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for potty training, I use a combination of tether and crate training. When I'm up and about, pup is tethered to me with a 6 foot leash (just tie it to your belt loop). This does several things - 1) helps with bonding 2) helps with leash training 3) allows constant supervision so I know pup can't chew or potty or any misbehavior without me knowing. When I can't be watching the pup, into the crate he goes.
As teach said, as soon as pup wakes up, outside he goes. If he potties, have a party! treats and praise, maybe a few minutes of playtime. If no potty, just quietly take pup in and back into the crate. Wait about 15 minutes and then back outside. (the crate should be big enough for the pup to stand and turn around and lay down comfortably, but small enough that he can't potty in one corner)
Don't let him run around and play instead of pottying - pups are like toddlers; they will get wrapped up in having fun and forget to go potty. I keep mine on a leash and take them to a designated spot and use a special command (I use "potty" ) Let the pup sniff his immediate area but don't go wandering around. Just stand in one spot or, again, you run the risk of puppy getting more interested in sniffing than in going potty.
Once he's gone and you've had your party and playtime, take him inside and tether him to you. It's also a good way to teach basic manners like not charging through the door in front of you.
If you see him starting to sniff and circle inside, calmly pick him up and say "outside" in a cheery voice. Run him straight over to his spot and say "potty".
if puppy is still finding a way to sneak off and have accidents, take a rolled up newspaper and beat yourself around the head and shoulders saying "bad person, not watching the puppy" Rubbing the nose of whomever was supposed to be taking care of the baby also works, I've heard.
Thank you all so much!! You offered so much great advice. We have three dogs, our little one could care less about chickens, then we have Moxie who goes right for the chickens or rabbits. She is really a handful and I am really vworried we may have to give her away. I have only had chickens a few months and they came after we adopted Moxie. So it is really my fault for not introducing her to tthe animals correctly. Right now it is okay since we have a coop and hutch, but we are considering moving to a bigger property and I may free range my chickens. Moxie would chase and kill them for sure. So I want to start our new puppy, Patches, off on the right foot. I like the tether idea. I do have a question about this though, our puppy refuses to walk on a leash. .We have only had her two days and she is one very scared puppy. We got her at a Flock/Swap. The people that had her said that if nobody took her they were going to take her to the pound or something else. I did not ask what the something else. So my daughter had no problem convincing me to adopt her. She is extremely underweight and very timid. So I worry about tethering her. Perhaps we could giver treats when she does walk. We crated her last night and she cried all night . So today we have put her in the crate several times. Hopefully she will have a better night. Again. I want to thank all of you for the advice.
On a separate note, I have to tell Dainerra that you a very handsome German Shepard. I was raised with Shepard and have a great affection for them. She/he is gorgeous. Also thank you for your extensive reply. It really was most helpful.
Thank you all so much!! You offered so much great advice. We have three dogs, our little one could care less about chickens, then we have Moxie who goes right for the chickens or rabbits. She is really a handful and I am really vworried we may have to give her away. I have only had chickens a few months and they came after we adopted Moxie. So it is really my fault for not introducing her to tthe animals correctly. Right now it is okay since we have a coop and hutch, but we are considering moving to a bigger property and I may free range my chickens. Moxie would chase and kill them for sure. So I want to start our new puppy, Patches, off on the right foot. I like the tether idea. I do have a question about this though, our puppy refuses to walk on a leash. .We have only had her two days and she is one very scared puppy. We got her at a Flock/Swap. The people that had her said that if nobody took her they were going to take her to the pound or something else. I did not ask what the something else. So my daughter had no problem convincing me to adopt her. She is extremely underweight and very timid. So I worry about tethering her. Perhaps we could giver treats when she does walk. We crated her last night and she cried all night . So today we have put her in the crate several times. Hopefully she will have a better night. Again. I want to thank all of you for the advice.
On a separate note, I have to tell Dainerra that you a very handsome German Shepard. I was raised with Shepard and have a great affection for them. She/he is gorgeous. Also thank you for your extensive reply. It really was most helpful.
) Let the pup sniff his immediate area but don't go wandering around. Just stand in one spot or, again, you run the risk of puppy getting more interested in sniffing than in going potty.
.We have only had her two days and she is one very scared puppy. We got her at a Flock/Swap. The people that had her said that if nobody took her they were going to take her to the pound or something else. I did not ask what the something else. So my daughter had no problem convincing me to adopt her. She is extremely underweight and very timid. So I worry about tethering her. Perhaps we could giver treats when she does walk. We crated her last night and she cried all night 
