Training/Teaching a dog about chickens

[KilnChick]

Yep, a real chaser. NOT!!! Lol

 

[Karelp38]

I have a Boxer male. He helps me every day with the chickens. He started off on cattle (self taught) He then progressed to sheep (He watched the collies for about 2 weeks, before he jumped off the truck to herd them himself. Lately he started helping me with the chickens. When one of them is separated from the others, he would go round it and bring it back to the rest. I've seen the rooster sitting on his back without him doing anything.

He doesn't even know the "sit" command and everything he knows is self taught.

Maybe I'm just lucky.

This is a short video of him interacting with the sheep.

 

[mrswolf02]

my boxer is very good with my chickens too, When I first got them id take Heidi out on the leash and made her learn to be calm around them ( in case hubby let her out and didnt know the cheeps were too, didnt want any accidents. told her to sit, stay, and leave it) then one day she had to throw up while they were out and i hurried her outside standing with her, she did her thing, looked at the birds, and carried on her potty business. She does very well! She wants to play with them but is an excellent listener. The other day she tried to chase and play with my Dorothy but i scolded her, then Dorothy chased her! lol

 

[Tacampbell1973]

First of all - get both your dogs spayed!! One - because it's the right thing to do. Second - because it will help with the chicken aggression.

I am a firm believer in spay and neuter. The pros so outweigh the cons. Unless your a breeder. The cut back on cancer is huge, the pet is happier and more sane. They truly don't understand why they feel compelled to roam in search of....Ok I feel like Bob Barker here, but seriously the first thing I did was spay my dog seven years ago when I got her. Take a walk through the pound sometime if you need a dog, it is simply heartbreaking. I wish I could take them all home, but then I would be a hoarder

 

[skyedale]

Many years ago I had a confirmed chicken killer. Not his fault - he was a terrier and terriers are bred to kill things. I thought I had penned in the chickens and made their fenced area dog proof. When the chickens were out and about the dogs were confined to the "human" backyard that was encloused with 6' chain link fencing with gate to the rest of the property . The human backyard was like most backyards, garden beds, stone patio, grass, lawn furniture etc.

Like most terriers who are great problem solvers, he found a way. If you can't go over, go under. Not only did he go under, he killed a chicken, brought it back under the fence, through the doggie door and gave it to me as a gift, by leaving it on my bed.

After trying various barrier methods that all failed an old farmer suggested that I get two geese. After they fledged out I moved them in with the chickens. Surprisingly that was the end of the dog going after the chickens. Seems that even the most determined dog takes the hint when his ear gets grabbed by a goose and then gets a good thrashing with goose wings.

Worked for me. In addition to keeping the dog away from the chickens, the geese also acted as flock guards against skunks, raccoons and snakes.

 

[RottenEgg]

You know your collars! Lol. I must admit, I'm surprised.

Personally, I don't even like to use regular collars. I train my dog "naked" usually, unless I feel that there's a chance he can run off. Then I use a well-fitted harness that doesn't rub against his arm pits. But almost 100% of our training involves nothing more than a clicker and treats(for my dog, I use green beans because he has an issue with gaining weight, but for really really difficult behaviors I use chicken or liver). I didn't like using a prong because it literally did nothing. It didn't lessen pulling at all, and he never seemed phased by it. I did finally put it away when he lunged sharply and caused some damage to his neck. They do say not to use prongs for lunging dogs, lol. It's interesting that some people use them for punishment, considering a lot of police academies use them to amp a dog up.

I can't help myself with this one, and I didn't continue on reading except to the end of the page, so if someone corrected you, I'm sorry for the double dose.

I also start training my dog naked, but only in the backyard. Out of the backyard he gets a flat (or actually his is rolled paracord). A harness is the absolute WORST thing you could put on a dog who lunges, as you said your dog does. Think of sled dogs. What type of collar do they use? A harness. The "amping up" that you talk about with a prong is most certainly NOT done with a prong. They amp them up using a harness because it puts no pressure on the dog's neck and gives them extra drive to "get that thing" due to inhibition. Here's a link to my friend's page, and more specifically me working my pup about a year ago when he was just a baby (and yes, I know my posting could use some work lol):

A prong collar should be a corrective collar, and one of the most effective. It should be a quick correction, not a long correction due to a pulling dog. You shouldn't have an issue with a lunging dog not getting a correction. If you do, then you've used the prong incorrectly and essentially have desensitized the dog to receiving a correction via prong. The collar won't work on your dog then. If the dog is able to apply constant pressure to their necks from the prong collar initially instead of one quick sharp correction, the effect is lost. Of course, each dog has their own personality and each dog will take a different type of training so the prong may not work on every dog. That said, I'd say 99% of people that I've given a prong collar to use during my classes have seen an improvement when used correctly.

 

[RottenEgg]

Hm, I thought it was a very common thing? I've been told by other professional trainers who do bite work that prongs are used to keep the dog amped up, but not used as a punishment tool.

Due to his arthritis and recently-torn ACL, my dog can't sit or lie down, and even stopping too quickly can further his ACL injury. But he has an awesome recall so I use that if I need to, but he's been taught to do regular "check ins" so he never wanders too far anyway. I do have to walk him on a leash because of leash laws, though.

Dogs pull on harnesses if they've been taught to, definitely. And it is indeed easier to gain leverage. Which is why, when dealing with a particularly strong dog or a dog who lunges, I prefer to start training indoors, and work my up to strange places.

Oh, but this is off-topic! If you're curious or want to discuss more, feel free to send me a message! But I don't want to steal fromthe conversation anymore.

Much of the advice given has been great. I hope that you (the poster) succeeds and all animals are capable of coexisting, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen.

Not true. It is a corrective punishment. Not used to keep dogs amped up. Generally a toy is used as a reward after working to keep the dog in drive. It's generally a reward based training method, but corrections are involved to give a balanced system.

 

[jmandawn]

Our Pit Bull Chuckie (see picture) loves and adores chickens...he would let them walk on him while he was laying down and they would crawl inside his dog house during the day to "hang out". He has never made any aggressive moves toward them or even attempted to chase chickens.




We had another Pit Bull that got off of her chain and killed my favorite Rooster. She is no longer with us. Once a dog kills a chicken, it's a chicken killer and even Cesar Millan can't change that.

 

[chiengora]

I don't believe that dog/chicken behavior can be completely generalized. Dog breeds have been developed to have specific traits and this often includes hard-wired behaviors. Prey drive is inherent in predators and is still very much present in our domesticated prey animals although it is often altered.
There will always be individuals variation but purebred animals generally display traits that were desired as the breed was developed. For example, herding instinct is an altered version of prey drive. This doesn't mean that herding dogs can't be trained to leave chickens alone but since the chase drive has been selected for over generations, it will be more difficult.
I currently have a Bearded Collie (a fairly uncommon herding breed) who chases my chickens. I also have two Great Pyrenees dogs; these are livestock guardian dogs. They can absolutely be used to guard chickens but must be bonded to their charges. Not all dogs will do well as chicken guardians, some are excellent but they do need to be trained.
My older Pyr has been bonded to the chickens (I got her when she was a year old; she is now 6) and no longer pays any attention to them. She does bark at anything overhead so we are well protected from hawks, eagles, and all air craft. (The first two are quite rare in our urban setting but the latter are common.) My younger Pyr is a 16 month old puppy who does chase and will play with a caught chicken. He isn't trying to kill a chicken but paws at it like he does with any toy, unfortunately chickens break very easily.
What I have done to help protect my chickens is to have "dog free" zones in the back yard. I have fenced off areas where the chickens will fit between the slats in the fence but the dogs will not. It is a bit labor intensive but before I let the dogs out, I go and make sure the chickens are in a safe zone. If necessary, I lure them in with food. The chickens are slowly learning that when the back door opens, it is appropriate for them to get to a safe zone but they aren't yet consistent.

In regards to training dogs about chickens (or most anything else, for that matter) dogs do not generalize well if at all. This is why a new puppy which was house trained at the house where it grew up may not be house trained to its new home. People who have had excellent livestock guardian dogs for one species have discovered that the guarding doesn't necessarily translate to another species. An example was a dog (Great Pyrenees) that had been guarding chickens for several years and was excellent with the chickens. The people decided to start raising rabbits and were horrified to discover the dog killed the rabbits. The dog was not introduced to or bonded to the rabbits and saw them as an unknown threat to the chickens. The owners tried again, carefully introducing and bonding the dog to the rabbits. They had no further problems.
The previous example involved a breed that had been developed as a guardian. Some breeds will not learn not to chase and kill small animals that move fast; some individuals of any breed might not learn either.

I don't want anyone to think that I am against mix breed dogs; I am not, I have had a number of excellent mix breed dogs but if you are looking for certain traits in a dog, a good (don't get me going!) pure breed animal is most likely to possess specific traits.

 

[Tacampbell1973]

Many years ago I had a confirmed chicken killer. Not his fault - he was a terrier and terriers are bred to kill things. I thought I had penned in the chickens and made their fenced area dog proof. When the chickens were out and about the dogs were confined to the "human" backyard that was encloused with 6' chain link fencing with gate to the rest of the property . The human backyard was like most backyards, garden beds, stone patio, grass, lawn furniture etc.

Like most terriers who are great problem solvers, he found a way. If you can't go over, go under. Not only did he go under, he killed a chicken, brought it back under the fence, through the doggie door and gave it to me as a gift, by leaving it on my bed.

After trying various barrier methods that all failed an old farmer suggested that I get two geese. After they fledged out I moved them in with the chickens. Surprisingly that was the end of the dog going after the chickens. Seems that even the most determined dog takes the hint when his ear gets grabbed by a goose and then gets a good thrashing with goose wings.

Worked for me. In addition to keeping the dog away from the chickens, the geese also acted as flock guards against skunks, raccoons and snakes.

my husband said the same thing, I thought he was nuts. We have a park with geese and ducks. He wanted to take her there and let her see a goose.