2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[quirkas]

Hello

 

Advice please.

 

Lost our Parsons Jack Russell Max recently and now have rehomed a glourious 1 year old Black lab poss cross with collie, Toby. He is very good and settling well but the chickens and Bantams had got used to Max and whilst they never met without wire between them all was calm. Took Toby into Garden on lead and there was mass upset from the girls, he was quite fascinated and wanted to watch them, after a few mionutes I took him back inside and let everything calm down.

 

How best to approach this so dog loses interest and girls don't freak?

 

Also its snowing yippee!

 

Quirkas

[Lavenders_Blue]

From my experience, proceed with caution. Hubby and I rehomed a young terrier crossbreed 4 months ago and she has been a total nuisance with the chickens, to the point where she actually chewed her way into their run one afternoon and killed one of my girls Hopefully your lab x collie won't have such murderous intents as a terrier. We have had to put up very, very strong fencing to make sure Tango now cannot chew her way into the chicken pen and even now 4 months on she will stand at the fence, watching the chickens and trembling with excitement, whimpering and yelping. We always take a lead out into the garden so that we can put her on the lead and take her away from the hens if her behaviour gets too much, and we reward her with treats for calm behaviour - we use our time in the garden to practice her training e.g. sit, down, watch me, recall etc to try and focus her on us rather than the hens. It can be very, very trying but she has made a little bit of progress since we got her so there have been some positives. I am living in hope that next summer we will be able to sit out in the garden with a well behaved and calm dog and happy chickens... fingers crossed!

 

Good luck with your lovely new dog, I am sure he won't be so difficult as Tango has been! Any photos you can show us?

[lindafw]

with a lab collie breed line you will have (I hope) a dog willing to please and keen to learn (terriers tend to have a strong will of their own) I advise a lead at first, treats in pocket for rewards, and a strong vocal tone to use when saying LEAVE! Never leave your dog in the garden unsupervised when your girls free range its just asking too much.

 

I introduced my collie to my hens at feeding time...the hens now race towards him thinking he is providing food and he stands immobile with a yearning expression on his face desperate to round them up but knowing mum will shout LEAVE!!!

 

Hope all goes well...slowly does it

[Lavenders_Blue]

...terriers tend to have a strong will of their own

 

You're telling me! Our family has kept terriers for a long time (my parents currently have a 15yo JRT x Manchester Terrier) and they have all been very independent little souls. So full of character though and I wouldn't have them any other way, you just need to be on your toes at all times!

[lindafw]

Have had Labs and or collies for the last 26 years..Just now I have a collie...eager to please but demanding and needy, and doggy deaf when he wants and a really large (border terrier size) Yorkie...who is a softy and a little madam and winds the collie up endlessly and then sits back and looks innocent

[Treacle]

We have a Springer Spaniel who was a nightmare when we got the chickens! We kept her on a long lead if they were free ranging and if she went anywhere near them there was a firm command to leave. After a couple of hard pecks from the girls and them facing her off she gives them a wide berth now!!! Our JR Terrier who sadly died in July wasn't a problem at all in fact all he was interested in was eating their poop and food!!

[quirkas]

Many thanks for all your suggestions.

 

We have been going(dragging) past them with him on the lead and they are getting less agitated. He goes a bit crouchy with his tale down so may be scared of them and the noise they make. I just talk to the chickens in a normal way and encorage him past and he goes of the lead in the eclosed vegetable garden then put back on to go past the girls. It all terribly new for him. We are trying to get into a routine for him doing his jobs and the dam chickens keep putting him off.

 

Doh!

 

Quirkas

[quirkas]

I forgot to say they are in runs and previously the dog went in and they came out for their exercise. I expect the same to continue. We have a sign that goes on the back door as a warning.

 

Q

[daxigirl]

My 3 (a whippet & 2 sausages) are scared of the big girls and won't be in the garden with them. They'll follow the littluns but it only takes a flap to make them run. They're uncomfortable with the poorly silkie in the kitchen and prefer to avoid if possible when she's out having a truffle about. Although Woody Sausage did try and make friends with her through the bars this morning.

[loumabel]

Ive got two Labs, one black male 8 years old and one Brown female 4 Years old. The black male totally ignores my bantams although they are in a fenced off area and my brown female always dives at the fence and makes them flutter off squawking. I have tried everything to get her to stop, treats, verbal commands and even done the blast with a hosepipe trick and she still persists. It is not a massive problem as I said before they have there own fenced off area so are safe from the mad dog. I would never trust her alone with them, Labs have a strong retreiving instinct and I think it is hard to contol this habit, they instictively want to pick up birds etc. My Meg is bonkers though so you may have more luck with your boy than me, they all have different little personalities and like a previous post said they do have a strong instinct to please their owner.