Training dogs to leave ducklings alone

[CarleeAnn]

I have two dogs, one with a very strong prey drive. My other one (Great Pyrenees mix) is just an old lady- but loves squirrels!

Anywho, I raised my two ducks in the same room as my dogs. We let my dogs stick their heads in the brooder and sniff the ducks as we praised them for being good. The ducks were used to the dogs since they grew up in the same room as them and don’t get startled, which helps a lot! Anytime we would leave the ducks and dogs alone we would secure a wire crate divider on top of the brooder so they could still see each other but not interact when we weren’t there. Outside we would have our dogs “sit” or “lay down” and “stay” while we all relaxed and watched the ducks. Occasionally the dogs will still perk up if a duck goes flapping across the yard! But they are very obedient and know not to go to them. My ducks will come up and nibble on my dogs now

We never let the dogs outside alone with the ducks, but we never let them outside alone anyways. I have indoor dogs and walk them and spend much time training them so they will listen. But when by the lake my dogs will gladly run towards a flock of birds if we give the “okay”!

Just be vigilant!! My goal was not to have the dogs be around the ducks unsupervised and I don’t think yours should be necessarily either... But it is super nice to be able to all enjoy the outdoors together or to feel comfortable if you all have to be in the same room for any reason.

 

[ChrisWNY]

Quick question I meant to ask.
How old are your dogs?

The beagle is old, ~14 yrs. The pitbull mix is somewhere between 4-5 yrs old. I do have an Invisible Fence installed around a portion of my 2-acre property, and have a chicken coop well outside the confines of the fence. The dogs don't dare cross the fence line as they are extremely fearful of the warning sound and the zap that follows if they do. I plan on setting up a duck pen near the coop, same general area, outside the invisible dog fence. I know the invisible fence will mean nothing to the ducks, they'll roam wherever they want if/when they're outside their pen walking around the yard.

The beagle has no prey drive at all - she's old, and she did have a litter of pups many years ago, so she's very defensive of smaller animals. The pitbull however gets riled up over small animals, so we're working with her the most to try and tame her to treat the ducks as friends not food. My plan is to use the remote zap collar to work with the pitbull in order to train her not to lunge or go after the ducklings. Unfortunately the weather has been awful in WNY, but the ducklings aren't yet feathered enough to go outdoors for long anyway.

Thanks for all your tips and suggestions so far! Keep 'em rollin!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I would start with basic commands. Sit, stay, leave it, drop it, and come. Are all commands that would help for dogs to learn to listen to you. Once they are solid in that, you could move up to trying it near by where the ducks are using two people. Build up the trust and go from there.

 

[Patinas]

I have posted in the past about my experience training my small mixed breed dog to leave my chickens alone.

I used a vibrate/shock collar on her. I put her on a leash and when she lunged for the chickens I hit the vibrate button first which had zero effect so I hit the zap button and fortunately that's all it took. Just once.

It's been about a year since that one zap and she is absolutely fine with the flock. I fully trust her outside with them. She mingles with them daily when they are out foraging and she also helps protect them from aerial and land predators by barking and the flock runs for cover.

She never chases them and instead follows them around waiting for them to drop a poop that she feels is fit to eat. The chickens completely ignore her as if she's one of the flock.

While I feel a shock collar can be misused in the wrong hands, I also see it as a valuable training tool, not punishment, when needed. If all other attempts to train fail, try a shock collar as a last resort...it just may do the trick.

 

[Hyroler]

Shock collar works good but a little expensive I prefer a foot in the as* its free.

 

[starrmar006]

With husky in the mix it's unlikely your dog will ever be trustworthy around the birds. Huskies have a very strong prey drive. This article explains why:
http://sixteen-feet.com/blog/2013/4/4/prey-drive

My dog is a husky border collie mix and he doesn't attack my chickens he protects them.

 

[pamelajean]

My dog was nuts about the ducklings when we first got them, she would lunge into the brooder at them and terrify them. I'm not sure what she would have done if allowed to make contact, and I don't really want to know. Once the ducks were outside they were enclosed in electric net fencing. All it took was lunge at the fence and one zap and she won't go near them. I will let them out when we are all in the yard, and the dog will stay as far away as possible. If she knows they are out in the yard, sometimes she doesn't even want to go outside with us, which is kind of sad, but safe!

So, long story made short - electric shock worked for us. It will be interesting to see how she reacts once we have a few new ducklings in the house this year...

 

[needlessjunk]

Mine has killed chicks and goes nutty over ducklings as well. Once they get their adult voices then he loses most interest. Every once in a while one of the dogs tries to play with the adult birds but I stop it as soon as it starts. Keep doing slow introductions and use a strong fence. Some dogs never get over it some do, it really just depends on the individual dog.

 

[gilbert2]

My Aussie cattle dog has the most powerful herding drive of any breed I know. Sometimes cattle will wander through our property, and my dog is after them like a bullet! He compresses them into a group, then drives them off, into the next field.
With my ducks though, he just doesn't care!

 

[1cock2hens]

My three pitbulls(12,6 and 6yo) and my english bulldog(3yo) all behave around my chickens. they actually completely ignore them. I taught my dogs the command "mine" years ago and they know to ignore anything that is mine. My oldest pitbull who is deaf got excited when she first saw them but i just had to give her signs that they were mine and she doesnt even look at them anymore, literally turns her head away when walking past them