I LOVE the picture in this article with the puppy and chicken napping ear to ear! I respectfully disagree on the subject of dominance though. I have two dogs, one GS and a Black Lab, the GS leaves the chickens alone, she's regal and the chickens give her her personal space, but they all get along well. The Lab has decided to be the alpha protector, babysitter when needed, worrier of all sounds and can identify each noise they make. She's a nag if they have a need or are peeping/crying, until I drag myself out to see what is going on. Oddly, she is not the alpha dog, the GS is, but this is her flock. Both dogs were grown when the baby chicks first appeared, and I took plenty of time in having them get to know each other. The hardest part was moving them outside (first inside the coop, walled on four sides with hardwire cloth). This was different for the dogs, they had to learn that they weren't cute toys, even as part of the family, these couldn't be played with in the same manner. Although their tongues and jaws understood this, they have big paws and wanted to play. Didn't take them long to learn. The Lab created yet another Mothering job for herself within the flock, and when the sun starts to set, she'll carefully scan the yard for any late straggler chicks to bring home, herd them gently by prodding her wet nose (I swear I see the hugest grin on her face) until they stop squaking and comply. Most of the time if they see her at sunset, they beat it to the coop pretty quick, much like a parent playing 'gotcha' with a small child.
