Hello,
We have a small backyard flock of bantams of various breeds who free range throughout our gardens.
We have also recently introduced a baby rough collie Pup, he is now 10 weeks old and we brought him home at 8 weeks.
He has always been interested in the chooks, more so trying to herd them, or he will run at them and watch them scatter and then walk away very pleased with himself, but up until recently has not hurt one. He knows the ‘leave it’ command and is well aware the chooks are off limits.
Yesterday, we had an incident where he caught one of the girls and caused her quite a bit of damage. She’s bruised and battered and has puppy teeth marks all over her, but she’s alive. I’m confident that she will make it although I’m keeping her inside until she’s ok. It’s quite rainy and cold here at the moment so she’s sat in front of the clothes dryer and is snug.
I am now terrified to leave the dog anywhere in the yard, up until now they’ve all free ranged together. Risky, yes, I did this as I was told if I raise him around them he will learn to leave them be. I know it’s about the individual dog and training, so with that in mind, clearly my method hasn’t been working,
My question is, for those of you who do have dogs that live harmoniously with chickens, how did you train them?
I’ve been told that if I give him a mission/job, ie, protect the chickens; that he will respond better, does anyone have any advice as to how I should go about this?
At the end of the day, if I am not confident he is the kind of dog that can be trained, I’ll just buy a bigger run for the girls, but they love their free ranging life and if possible I’d like to allow them to keep it.
Thank you all for your help
We have a small backyard flock of bantams of various breeds who free range throughout our gardens.
We have also recently introduced a baby rough collie Pup, he is now 10 weeks old and we brought him home at 8 weeks.
He has always been interested in the chooks, more so trying to herd them, or he will run at them and watch them scatter and then walk away very pleased with himself, but up until recently has not hurt one. He knows the ‘leave it’ command and is well aware the chooks are off limits.
Yesterday, we had an incident where he caught one of the girls and caused her quite a bit of damage. She’s bruised and battered and has puppy teeth marks all over her, but she’s alive. I’m confident that she will make it although I’m keeping her inside until she’s ok. It’s quite rainy and cold here at the moment so she’s sat in front of the clothes dryer and is snug.
I am now terrified to leave the dog anywhere in the yard, up until now they’ve all free ranged together. Risky, yes, I did this as I was told if I raise him around them he will learn to leave them be. I know it’s about the individual dog and training, so with that in mind, clearly my method hasn’t been working,
My question is, for those of you who do have dogs that live harmoniously with chickens, how did you train them?
I’ve been told that if I give him a mission/job, ie, protect the chickens; that he will respond better, does anyone have any advice as to how I should go about this?
At the end of the day, if I am not confident he is the kind of dog that can be trained, I’ll just buy a bigger run for the girls, but they love their free ranging life and if possible I’d like to allow them to keep it.
Thank you all for your help