Terrier

[Horsedoglover]

I have a soft coated wheaten terrier and she has killed a bird and a squirrel. I also have a Lab. I want chickens but is there anyway they could be in oeace with two dogs meant for hunting?

 

[Folly's place]

Chickens need a predator proof coop and run, big enough to be comfortable for both the birds and you. Then, free ranging them is wonderful, to a point. Your dogs will need serious TRAINING to convince them that your chickens are off limits, and that takes time, and might be more difficult with one than the other. It's an individual thing, but in general, a lab bred for hunting and working for humans may be much easier to train than an independent terrier. Plan on very good fencing, and then training them is a bonus. Mary

 

[Horsedoglover]

Chickens need a predator proof coop and run, big enough to be comfortable for both the birds and you. Then, free ranging them is wonderful, to a point. Your dogs will need serious TRAINING to convince them that your chickens are off limits, and that takes time, and might be more difficult with one than the other. It's an individual thing, but in general, a lab bred for hunting and working for humans may be much easier to train than an independent terrier. Plan on very good fencing, and then training them is a bonus. Mary

Are there any special techniques for training?

 

[andreanar]

I have 2 terriers, Schnauzers. I brooded my baby chicks in the house and allowed the dogs in the room when I went to take care of them. My dogs know the word NO and GENTLE. I would hold the chicks and let them sniff, if they got rambunctious, I yelled NO and Gentle. I would take the chicks outside to play on warm days, keeping temp see thru barrier around chicks and let them interact thru that. They gradually got used to the chicks running around without their instinct to chase kicking in. It was a process that took from the day the chicks came home till the day they went to the coop. I think it taught them that the chicks were part of our pack, just like the cats. Some dog breeds might have a higher prey drive and my method may not work for them. I got lucky.

 

[aart]

Are there any special techniques for training?

Start with the basics....come, sit, stay, leave it.
Your dogs should already be trained to these basic control commands.
Just reapply that training in respect to the birds, it will take time.

 

[Horsedoglover]

These sound great for the lab! The terrier however is stubborn and she has killed things so I dont know if they will work for her will try though!

 

[chickens really]

I have a Yorkie...If she can catch it? she kills it..Although she is trained to not touch my Birds...Its rather simple once all basic commands are learned..My key word here is OFF..My Yorkie is also trained to herd all my Chickens and Ducks back into their runs at night..She is fantastic...She never uses her mouth, she boxes the Birds with her front feet if they are moving as fast as she likes..lol....all dogs can be great with Birds....Training....

 

[TeeMom]

I have a boxer/wirehaired terrier mix and a greyhound mix...both are not ideal breeds to have around a flock of chickens. The greyhound mix is very submissive, so she fell right into line 3 years ago when we started our chicken venture. She was curious, but learned quickly that they were off limits. The boxer/terrier was a different story. To him the chicks looked delicious and there was nothing to convince him otherwise. Our chickens are true free-rangers. We don't have a run. They have a very large coop, but spend most of their day ranging. So, outdoor time was restricted completely to on-leash only for Griffin, the terrier mix. We spent hours upon hours with him on a leash with us and distracting him if he would start to fixate on a chicken and rewarding him when he was calm and ignoring them. It was not easy and it took months, but our patience paid off. Both dogs and birds free-range together now, 3 years later and we have never lost a bird to a dog. There hasn't even been one incident. Both dogs are calm and relaxed around the birds and I even have one chicken who hatched out last summer that likes to hangout under them as they stand in the shade that they cast off. You must be patient, but cohesiveness is possible. Good luck!