What do your dogs see chickens as?

[Ilovemychicks08]

Denver is a Golden Retriever and acts as if the chicks are her babies, she so gentle. Last night one of the chickens flew out of the coop, and she ran over to make sure she was ok. And when one of the little chicks passed away, she watched us bury her and she layed there for awhile almost like she was mourning.

Now Tucker on the other hand is your typical hunting Retriever, chicken means food. Or any other small animal. Tucker has a super high prey drivand and i cant trust him around any chickens or birds.

 

[Red Mangrove]

My two dogs have 24/7 unrestricted chicken access and always treat the chickens with respect. I had a German Shepherd mutt long before I got a proper LGD and he's always been a perfect gentleman to the chickens

 

[MaeM]

Following BYC people's advice, I introduced the chicks to the dog and told him off as soon as he tried to put his mouth on them. He wasn't trying to eat them, he wanted to play with them, but I let him know that physical contact with them - of any kind - was forbidden.

I reinforced that rule multiple times as the chicks grew and I started free ranging them. I would supervise their interactions and warn the dog whenever he got close to the chickens. Eventually, he understood that he would get scolded if he got close to them, so even if the chickens got close to him, he moved away from them.

In the process, I managed to make him understand that the chickens were very important to me, and he started to take care of them. He barked if he saw that something was wrong with the chickens. If the roosters fought, he would let me know with his barks so that I could separate them. If the chickens got in the house (which he learned was wrong because we scolded the chickens), he barked and guided them out of the house.

The funny part is that, at first, he barked every time the roosters had a sexy time with the ladies It took him a while to understand that they were not trying to kill them...

 

[BroodyBambi]

I trained my German shepherd to herd them from very young. No dead chickens from his doing. All I say is “work” and he gets them in for me. I did cook a rooster for breaking a hens back though.

 

[Bock-Bock-Bagock]

My Labradoodle "Noodles" sees them as toys. Typically she is very well behaved with them. Though if they get to running, she gets to chasing. She does have the potential to harm them if she wasn't kept in line. She does know the line and she holds it. If I left her unsupervised with them she would generally ingore them or just be in the same space. But if they bother her or they start getting flighty she may well go after them. Though she thinks it's a game. She's not gone after them in a predatory way. She's gone after them like they are toys. She has swatted them once or twice when she was laying down and they bothered her.
This morning she kept following the two new pullets around, trying to sniff their booties. Maybe she's looking for the egg button. She's the kind of dog that sees something moving and she wants to chase it. Squirrels, birds, deer...Even wants to chase the armadillo.

 

[Tonyroo]

My mixed terrier loves chicks but scared of adult chickens.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am 100% sure my current dogs think they would be fun squeaky toys. They are not allowed around my chickens.

 

[tripletfeb]

Thor, my weim, was raised around my chickens so I can trust him with them. The new ladies I have, he tries to play with when they are in their run. But if they free range, he leaves them alone. Cats on the other hand, are free game to him. If one comes in our fenced backyard, he'd kill it

 

[fluffycrow]

Thor, my weim, was raised around my chickens so I can trust him with them. The new ladies I have, he tries to play with when they are in their run. But if they free range, he leaves them alone. Cats on the other hand, are free game to him. If one comes in our fenced backyard, he'd kill it

Do you hunt with him?

 

[tripletfeb]

Do you hunt with him?

No. We only hunt deer and in Ohio, it's illegal to hunt deer with a dog. If we hunted pheasants or something, then I would have trained him to hunt with me