Advice for introducing chicks to dog

[LosAltosAlleyChicks]

We took a four year hiatus from raising chicks and in the meantime we welcomed an English cream golden retriever to our family. We now have 3 1/2 week old chicks every time our dog comes near their brooder he starts freaking out with loud barking. He’s actually a very sweet dog and tends to be very good with other animals, he’s also good at catching mice and chasing the birds and wild bunnies away as needed.

Would love some advice on how to best introduce our dog to these checks as they grow so that we don’t have to worry about him hurting them one day.

The chicks won’t be free rangers, we build them a big new house with a large run but they will occasionally have access to the outside on the grass. Thanks and advance for your tips and tricks.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Congratulations on your new dog, and on the forthcoming chicks.

We raised Guide Dog for the Blind puppies for 7 years going through intensive training. (We had numerous labs, goldens, and germans throughout the years). It was our job to condition the animals throughout the first year of life to be calm in all situations, so they were ready to go back to campus for actual blind guide training. So here's my advice:

First, never leave the dog alone with the chicks or chickens. Ever. One mistake will perpetuate many others to the tragedy of the animals. (I'm sure you hadn't planned on doing that, but it needs to be said). Your dog already knows to chase mice and bunnies, so chickens and chicks will be incredibly tempting. In time, with supervision and training, you can get a well trained animal to chase what you want and not chase what you want, but that takes weeks to months of conditioning, depending on the dog breed and personality. (I currently have a Rat Terrier that is an excellent ratter in the coops, but knows to leave the chickens and chicks alone...however, I still do not leave him alone unattended because of his strong prey drive.)

Secondly, to begin conditioning, keep the dog on a leash at all times while you are conditioning him. Walk by the chicks slowly. Watch your dog. The second he/she reacts, do a gentle (not enough to actually hurt them) but firm leash correction (like snapping a towel...so quickly the dog doesn't know where it came from) and in a loud commanding voice say "No! Leave It!" Guide dogs like "training collars" for this task. I now use what is called a "martingale" which is 3/4 collar with just a small stretch of chain. The second the dog looks up at you (and he/she will in surprise...if they don't you didn't leash correct hard enough or command loud enough), praise them and give a quick treat (we liked to use string cheese as it is easy to break off in small bits and gives a quick "flavor load.") Walk away with the dog on leash. You may attempt this once more. That's it for that day.

Continue to do "walk bys" on leash for a minute or two each day until the dog is looking up at you in expectation of that treat instead of reacting to the chicks. Gradually increase exposure on success. Absolutely praise and lavish a treat on them the second they ignore the chicks and calmly look at you. Timing is very important. If they get distracted with the chicks, say "Leave It" in a firm voice (you never need to yell as dogs hear better than we do, but this is a command voice.) Also, There is a 3 second rule with dogs....they will forget what the lesson is about in 3 seconds, so again time what you want to train at the incident, never after the fact. (Which is why shouting and yelling at your dog at the return when they've run away is totally counterproductive and just trained them to NOT return to you.)

Continue to condition your dog until you can stay in the presence with the chicks while they are on leash and be totally calm and controlled...next comes the lunge line phase.

Walk by with the dog on a long lunge line (at first holding it, then dropping it on the ground). Let the dog walk around the chicks. The second the dog focuses on the chicks, give the "Leave It" command. If the dog ignores you or gets overly excited at the chicks, "reel" them back in on the leash line. Hopefully by now the dog just looks at you for a treat. (My Sheltie would look at the birds then come over for his treat, on purpose, LOL. He was a smart cookie and trained within a couple of weeks). Continue this drill until the dog is reliable.

Then...it's time for off leash with carefully controlled circumstances. By now you should have a great recall and "Leave It." Keep treats in your pocket for reinforcement, but in time you should have a calm dog by chicks and birds. Remember chicks are often harder than full grown birds because they are just so fluffy, loud, and usually running.

And again, unless you have an impeccable dog with months of conditioning and training, never, ever leave a dog alone with livestock (Livestock Guards are bred and trained for the purpose). One opportunity realized is immediate reward in itself and reinforces the bad behavior (which is why training to stay out of the garbage can be so hard once they've been successful...dogs are opportunists...if it worked once, it surely will work again).

That should get you started. Feel free to PM if you have more direct questions.

Good luck
LofMc

 

[LosAltosAlleyChicks]

Congratulations on your new dog, and on the forthcoming chicks.

We raised Guide Dog for the Blind puppies for 7 years going through intensive training. (We had numerous labs, goldens, and germans throughout the years). It was our job to condition the animals throughout the first year of life to be calm in all situations, so they were ready to go back to campus for actual blind guide training. So here's my advice:

First, never leave the dog alone with the chicks or chickens. Ever. One mistake will perpetuate many others to the tragedy of the animals. (I'm sure you hadn't planned on doing that, but it needs to be said). Your dog already knows to chase mice and bunnies, so chickens and chicks will be incredibly tempting. In time, with supervision and training, you can get a well trained animal to chase what you want and not chase what you want, but that takes weeks to months of conditioning, depending on the dog breed and personality. (I currently have a Rat Terrier that is an excellent ratter in the coops, but knows to leave the chickens and chicks alone...however, I still do not leave him alone unattended because of his strong prey drive.)

Secondly, to begin conditioning, keep the dog on a leash at all times while you are conditioning him. Walk by the chicks slowly. Watch your dog. The second he/she reacts, do a gentle (not enough to actually hurt them) but firm leash correction (like snapping a towel...so quickly the dog doesn't know where it came from) and in a loud commanding voice say "No! Leave It!" Guide dogs like "training collars" for this task. I now use what is called a "martingale" which is 3/4 collar with just a small stretch of chain. The second the dog looks up at you (and he/she will in surprise...if they don't you didn't leash correct hard enough or command loud enough), praise them and give a quick treat (we liked to use string cheese as it is easy to break off in small bits and gives a quick "flavor load.") Walk away with the dog on leash. You may attempt this once more. That's it for that day.

Continue to do "walk bys" on leash for a minute or two each day until the dog is looking up at you in expectation of that treat instead of reacting to the chicks. Gradually increase exposure on success. Absolutely praise and lavish a treat on them the second they ignore the chicks and calmly look at you. Timing is very important. If they get distracted with the chicks, say "Leave It" in a firm voice (you never need to yell as dogs hear better than we do, but this is a command voice.) Also, There is a 3 second rule with dogs....they will forget what the lesson is about in 3 seconds, so again time what you want to train at the incident, never after the fact. (Which is why shouting and yelling at your dog at the return when they've run away is totally counterproductive and just trained them to NOT return to you.)

Continue to condition your dog until you can stay in the presence with the chicks while they are on leash and be totally calm and controlled...next comes the lunge line phase.

Walk by with the dog on a long lunge line (at first holding it, then dropping it on the ground). Let the dog walk around the chicks. The second the dog focuses on the chicks, give the "Leave It" command. If the dog ignores you or gets overly excited at the chicks, "reel" them back in on the leash line. Hopefully by now the dog just looks at you for a treat. (My Sheltie would look at the birds then come over for his treat, on purpose, LOL. He was a smart cookie and trained within a couple of weeks). Continue this drill until the dog is reliable.

Then...it's time for off leash with carefully controlled circumstances. By now you should have a great recall and "Leave It." Keep treats in your pocket for reinforcement, but in time you should have a calm dog by chicks and birds. Remember chicks are often harder than full grown birds because they are just so fluffy, loud, and usually running.

And again, unless you have an impeccable dog with months of conditioning and training, never, ever leave a dog alone with livestock (Livestock Guards are bred and trained for the purpose). One opportunity realized is immediate reward in itself and reinforces the bad behavior (which is why training to stay out of the garbage can be so hard once they've been successful...dogs are opportunists...if it worked once, it surely will work again).

That should get you started. Feel free to PM if you have more direct questions.

Good luck
LofMc

Oh My Goodness! Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed advice, I really appreciate it. The good news is our pup, who is now 3.5 yrs old is very good with training, so I'm optimistic that with continued diligence and reinforcement, we can all be friends.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I should think your English Cream Golden would be highly trainable. Our Goldens in the club were all so willing to please people that helped a lot. A few were stubborn, and some highly environmentally sensitive (curse of the retriever), but they overall so wanted to please their people that they would work hard to figure out what that meant.

Patience, calmness, consistency, and handy treats should win the day in time.

Good luck
LofMc

 

[babyratt]

We took a four year hiatus from raising chicks and in the meantime we welcomed an English cream golden retriever to our family. We now have 3 1/2 week old chicks every time our dog comes near their brooder he starts freaking out with loud barking. He’s actually a very sweet dog and tends to be very good with other animals, he’s also good at catching mice and chasing the birds and wild bunnies away as needed.

Would love some advice on how to best introduce our dog to these checks as they grow so that we don’t have to worry about him hurting them one day.

The chicks won’t be free rangers, we build them a big new house with a large run but they will occasionally have access to the outside on the grass. Thanks and advance for your tips and tricks.

I hope you get great advice. I need it too.