Advice on training puppy to be ok around chickens?

[DishwasherDogs]

We have a sprocker puppy aged 7 months. He has regularly been around the chickens from 8 weeks, but is very interested in them and looks like he'd like to eat them, or at least play with them.

He hasn't been off his lead around them, as I don't think he'd come back. Recall is getting better, but not 100%.

Does anyone have any ideas how I teach him to ignore them?

We had what was probably a rather unusual lesson with our cocker. My trainer took me to meet a friend of his who ran a broiler house. We took the dog in and sat him down in a barn that contained about a thousand chickens. He was completely surrounded by noisy, shrieking, flapping birds and he just did not know where to look. He was stunned and overwhelmed and looked a bit scared so we brought hin out. It did the job though, he never ever showed any interest in a chicken again.

Just want to say that while flooding may work for some, I am pretty sure had I done this with my dog she would have had a blast and been very, very full....

He was on the lead!

Still think it would be carnage with mine....
Toys! Thousands of squeaking, moving, delicious toys!

What do you suggest then?

I honestly don't know.
I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, it just really made me laugh imagining how my dog would have probably reacted.

I wasn't being rude either!

Shall we start again?

Superpower worked well for us. Everything he so much has as looked at them!

The only think that will make a dog interested in chickens safe around them is a lead :( I have had several chickens killed by walkers's dogs :( All training goes out of the window when they run :(

^thing! Dan you autocorrect!

^Seems autocorrect doesn't like swearing either...

I have chickens and dogs, I let my chickens freerange with the dogs tied up or on a lead when they were little, they have always showend the chooks a very healthy respect (mind you my chickens are pure evil.)

I have 5 dogs and a ridiculous amount of free range chickens. They don't chase them at all-they do scoff all the food and nick the eggs though! Not sure how it happened-they just got grumbled at if they ever showed any interest in them and I guess the pups learnt that the older dogs didn't chase them.
Pigeons....now they are a completely different story.....

A friend of mine has always had chickens and got her dog as a puppy. Dog shows absolutely zero interest in the free ranging chickens other than to (quite helpfully, if you've ever stood in it) eat the chicken poo. They just told her a firm 'no' and removed her when she gave chase as a puppy. She's an intelligent, very willing-to-please dog/breed though, with a low prey drive anyway. You wouldn't have a hope in hell with my dog/breed.

I had a rescue JRT cross who tried to chase our chickens years ago - the first time we got the hen off him because he caught it ok but then didn't know whwt to do with a mouthful of feathers. The next time he tried it I had one of the kids water blasters and gave him a faceful and he never did it again. However this didn't work with our Parson russell recently, he's a black hearted killer and didn't care about being wet.. (In fact we never did fix it and the chooks are now in a big run) but a dog behaviourist suggested we put him on a long lead so we could stand on the end when he chased, call him back and reward recall lavishly. This could have worked I think if he'd been more of a team player, this isn't the case with our terrier but your dog may be more keen to please you!
Good luck - it's a difficult one to fix.

We have one dog who doesn't chase them (although she has been known to have a bit of a lunge towards the cockerel for fun ) and one who can't be trusted. The sprocker, who can be trusted, was told a very firm no when she was a puppy. She also got attacked by one of our broody hens (not intentionally, just happened to be in the run when I hoiked the broody hen out). That certainly gave her a healthy respect.

They have to be penned now as our new rescue can't be trusted with anything feathery or furry or that tastes good

Completely forgot I started this! Sorry I haven't been back to it.

He's been familiar with them since he was 8 weeks old, but has always been quite bold.
He will happily ignore them as long as they're not startled, when they flap, he thinks it's his cue to try to catch them.
His recall is getting better, so I'm really working hard on that and getting him to come back even when playing (or eating chicken poo), so hopefully that'll help.

I think exposure is the only way, and luckily your dog is young. We have 6 chickens, a cockeral and two Guinea Fowl. We had the Guineas before we got our lab, who is 4 months. They were always more curious about the fat yellow bundle we came home with, than he has ever been of them. They followed him everywhere for the first week, until one day he rolled and lolloped towards them. They mostly ignore him now or puff themselves up and threaten him when he is minding his own business.

The chickens we got when he was about 12 weeks. He did show an interest but after a very firm 'NO' from my husband he's left them alone. I take him with me (not always through choice) when I feed them, put them/let them out or collect the eggs. I don't use a lead but practice the sit and stay and reward him everytime we go to them. This is because, I am embarassed to say that the first time he came, he went into the henhouse, he didn't chase them but it caused a kerfuffle and I started running like a frantic loon in the opposite direction calling his name, luckily he came bounding after me. Don't want to repeat that!

Chicken poo is a delicacy in our house too, also you can roll in it, delightful stinky mutt!