Teaching dog to guard chickens and bark at things

[MROO]

did you manage to make your dog ignore poop and any other potentially tasty junk in the chicken/duck run?

Wait. You mean it's NOT dog candy?

Unfortunately, my setter/border collie mix doesn't really get the chance to sample the chickens' fecal delights. Skye is great outside the coop and run, but she's never allowed inside with the biddies.

When told to "Check the chickens," she'll do a high-speed circuit around the yard, stopping dead to bark her head off if she finds something that doesn't belong. She's good about overhead hawks, too. I guess that's the one benefit of having a bird-dog.

If she manages to follow me in with our own birds, though, it's a totally different story. She's more interested in playing with the feathered squeaky toys and hunting for eggs (I have the classic "egg-sucking-hound!) to look for poop!

 

[PirateGirl]

I had 5 ducks escape from their run while I was cleaning it the other day and my dog was so preoccupied with the poop that she didn't care when they all ran single file past her face.

 

[centrarchid]

Below are two threads documenting some of what I have done using dogs to protect a combination of free-range and confined poultry. I do not do a good job of explaining how to the dogs were promoted to want to go after raptors, but I think it was from a combination of dogs watching the chickens and me when raptors visited. The dogs do now get worked up over raptors. Barking does not seem to be as important as direct eye-contact.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planned-poultry-guarding-dog.426408/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/english-shepherd-as-poultry-guardian.1008645/#post-15616568

 

[CanadaEh]

Below are two threads documenting some of what I have done using dogs to protect a combination of free-range and confined poultry. I do not do a good job of explaining how to the dogs were promoted to want to go after raptors, but I think it was from a combination of dogs watching the chickens and me when raptors visited. The dogs do now get worked up over raptors. Barking does not seem to be as important as direct eye-contact.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planned-poultry-guarding-dog.426408/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/english-shepherd-as-poultry-guardian.1008645/#post-15616568

any way you could point out specific posts - there are 43 and 66 pages in those threads

 

[llombardo]

On duty--knows not to touch the electric fence. Since she is a girl and squats she has closer contact to run. Not sure what would happen if one of the boys peed on the wire..lol

 

[centrarchid]

any way you could point out specific posts - there are 43 and 66 pages in those threads

I will have as much trouble finding what you want. Be assured, you will have more than raptor concerns to line out and some of that is contained as well.

 

[llombardo]

I do think that some not all dogs can pick up on aerial predators. My older male german shepherd saved my golden from either an owl or eagle--whatever it was had a huge wingspan. I'm thinking owl because it was night time. The puppy was about 3 months old and not super small-15 pounds maybe. It swooped down and my GSD got there and it swooped back up. I was standing by the door and caught the end--it happened fast. The GSD was on the other side of the yard, not close. He had to either smell or hear it. If hedidn't get there, I'm positive it would have gotten him.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

The most natural way for a dog to learn to watch for hawk attacks, is to let them see it happen...

If you raise a pup with herd protection instincts with chickens it is likely to see them as it's flock... then once it sees it's flock being attacked it will know what to look for.... this could mean some chickens get attacked (and maybe lost) in order for the dog to learn...

This was the approach my brother used when training his Great Pyrenees ... it only took one or two attacks and the his "pup" was tuned in after... or you could set up a decoy pen out in the open with a chicken in it to lure the hawk in to attack, but keep the chicken safe.

Note too you can often find a place in town to trap some feral pigeons (feed store, car wash, etc.) and use them as the decoy birds in a pen to lure hawks.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Stiletto]

Dogs do not see flying birds overhead as a threat because birds are not a predator of dogs. I'm not sure if you can train the dog to view them as a threat

My LGD has barked at flying birds since she was a puppy - she is super aware of what is happening in the sky.

In fact, she has even barked to alert me of shooting stars at night!

I've tried to train her not to view flying birds as a threat, as they are mostly vultures and I'd appreciate the other visiting raptors coming a little closer so I can get photos of them. However, I have failed miserably thus far. Instead, she has managed to teach our third dog that birds flying overhead are to be barked at and chased.


Conversely, the resident vultures seem to have become immune to the dogs' barking and chasing, so at least there's that!

 

[Sacri]

When we got our chicks I introduced each one to our dog and let her sniff and lick them. We did this daily as they grew. Now I think she thinks of them as hers and they think of her as one of them. She is an older dog so calmer and a collie, german shepherd mix so I think that helps too. It took some work to get her to "go check on them" on command however she does chose to hang out with them multiple times a day. As far as barking at predators, etc. I think just her being with them is a deterrent and barking etc hasn't proven necessary. I also think her pottying near their coop works as an evening deterrent as it smells like DOG.