Hello, Ideally, this should be done as soo as it's safe for pup, starting between 8 - 12 weeks of age. I would have pup continue to be penned next to the chickens, and allow pup into the area where the chickens are every day with you there to intervene if anything goes wrong between pup and the chickens. I would practice the up close interactions with your supervision and pen barrier when you can't supervise for at least a month, to see if pup shows any desire to chase or bite the birds or both are safe around one another. Many dogs don't bond with chickens the same way they bond with larger livestock like sheep. A dog will often guard the chickens as part of their territory if they are taught not to pester the birds and see them as part of the property. Some dogs will bond with the birds and guard them due to that bond, similar to larger livestock, but you have to be careful to avoid chasing and killing behavior between the dog and bird until you are sure pup has either learned to not harass the birds or pup has bonded with the birds. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 24, 2022

Hello Cody, First, I would not trust her off leash for a while. Keep her leashed or training whenever around them. If she practices chasing without your interruption this will become a lot harder to address. It doesn't sound like you are doing that, just wanted to warn you up front to avoid difficulty later though. Second, many livestock guarding breeds don't naturally guard birds the way they would something larger. The bonding that can happen with other livestock when raised with them often isn't created with chickens and other birds. The dogs who do successfully guard them often guard them as an extension of their overall territorial behavior and not wanting something like a fox or raccoon on their territory period, opposed to seeing the chickens as family like many would a flock of sheep when raised with them. Because of this the goal is often teaching pup to leave the birds alone, boundary training pup so pup stays in the area where the birds generally are, and pup living in that area enough that they become territorial of that land and everything in it against all predators, regardless of what the predators specific intent is. To teach pup to leave the birds alone, I would work on a solid Leave It command, practice pup being around the birds with you on a 20 foot leash, and enforcing leave it with the leash if pup tries to go after one. Pup will probably be fine until a bird flaps or runs - be ready when that movement happens. Reward pup for ignoring the birds, especially when they run past or get excited. When pup is doing well on the 20 foot leash every time, then practice on a 40 or 50 foot very light weight one, so pup is less aware they are leashed because it's lightweight, and you are further away, and even duck behind a tree so pup doesn't see you all the time while they are around the birds. Also be ready to correct if pup goes after a bird or even fixates on one too much, like they want to hunt or chase it. For some dogs, doing this practice throughout pup's first year is enough to train pup not to chase after or kill one, some dogs need the additional step of an e-collar leave it, so you can be 100 feet away, completely out of sight as far as pup knows and enforce the leave it command and training you already did on long leash, but with pup thinking you aren't present. Reward good calm responses around the birds so pup still likes being around them, but just learns to be calm around them. Pup will also need to spend a lot of time in their area once you are ready for pup to protect that part of the yard where the birds go, but I would keep a physical barrier between the birds and pup until pup is trained when doing that part, such as a coop and chicken wire, or pup inside a fence where they can hear, smell, and ideally see the birds still, but can't get to them to catch one. Livestock guardian forums are also a good place to post questions and learn from other owner trainers along the way if you have never trained a livestock guardian dog before, or are new to teaching this specific type of livestock guarding. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

May 3, 2022