April 23 ...it's been a while

So yes, life got really hectic last week with prep for convocation and then Jedi was gone to Sacramento the last 3 days. That meant we spent time handling the chicks and letting them spend some time outside. They're funny. Grass totally freaked them out at first but they've adjusted now.

Today I got Jedi back. I put the chicks outside and after they'd had 30 min to settle in I put Jedi on a leash and started on training. At first he was pretty focused because he only heard them, hadn't seen them yet. We got within 5 feet of the pen and then he suddenly noticed them and was very interested. Not focused on me but was sitting and watching. I let him do that until he tried to lunge at them. Then we backed up a few feet and as long as he was calm and sitting or laying I let him watch them. The instant he tried to ounce we backed up again. When we reached the patio...he finally stopped sitting to pay attention to me again rather than lungs. We did tricks in fast succession: sit, down, stand, touch, shake, and spin. Easy on leash tricks.

Then I was able to keep his attention and slowly move back towards the chicks. At 5 feet away he did another lunge and I jumped in front of him and said NO! And went right back to tricks as if nothing had happened. But we didn't try to move closer than 5 feet that's obviously the closest he can handle right now. When I got low on cheese we went back to the door and did a sit/stay and sit and were done.

He was still pretty excited. Scratched at the door to go back out, when called off that, went to the garage door and sniffed and jumped up at it...then came and sat with me on the couch but still very excited.

Calmed down when Caleb started cooking and went to see if he could get scraps. I got 3 mosquito bites for my trouble! We'll do another short session at 6 then call it good for today.

6pm
Very fast and short session. Kept up the very fast commands. When we first went out the door he wanted to run to the chicks, I stood in front of him and got his attention. Then just did fast tricks and worked up to 10 feet when he started to glance towards the chicks. Did tricks there and then backed up to the door again and went inside. No lunging and except for the quick glances towards the chicks I kept his attention. I'll try to do that daily as long as I get home early enough to give the chicks some outside time.

April 12

Three in a row.

It has been a long week. I didn't do training with Jedi on Wednesday because I had Evi over for the evening so I just let them play.  I did take the chicks outside for their first adventure.  They were very silly.  Our grass/weeds are tall enough that they hit their chest when they walk...it freaked the chicks out.  They'd take a step or two and then rush backwards.  They finally decided it was better to kind of hop around rather than walk.  They pecked at the grass a bit but mostly they were just completely bewildered.  It was rather cute.  Maybe I can take them out again this weekend.

Thursday, I rushed home from school to get to my PUC webinar.  That got out at 5:30 and then I had grading and planning to do so once again...no training.

Trying out the roost

Today, I didn't get home until 5 but I was determined to do some houseish stuff.  Got my seedlings planted outside and such and did a training session with Jedi.  The session went well.  He glanced towards the chicks box a couple of times and did get distracted once by a box I've put them in while I clean their box but he was easily redirected.  Cheese is a great training tool.  We worked on sit, down, stand, touch, back-up, sit/stay, down/stay, jump, paws up, off, spin, bow, shake, chill, roll-over, ladder and weave.  He is such a great and fun dog.  I'd have done more but my back started hurting from bending over so much for the training.  Gotta take care of my back.  Anyways it was fun and he did really well.  Only broke one sit/stay and that was returning to the house...not going after chicks.

By the way...the chicks now look pretty much like dinosaur birds.  Cute in an awkward way :)

April 9

Didn't get around to training Jedi yesterday, I was very tired.  Today we did some training.  The chicks, by the way, now have definite shoulder feathers in and the beginning of tail feathers visible.  Jedi has continued to be good about just looking towards them on the way to and from the car.  I used cheddar cheese and worked with him in the garage.  We worked on spin, weave, ladder, down, sit, touch, paws up, off, jump, shake, sit/stay, down/stay and stand/stay.  He did very well.  He did break his sit/stay a couple of times but not going towards the chicks, it was always coming towards me.  I just put him back and we did it again.  Doing a sit/stay with him near the box, he would glance towards the box but didn't miss whatever his next command was.  So he's doing alright :)

April 8

So, I was intending to do extra training with Jedi and the chicks over the weekend but...things didn't go according to plan.  Ended up with a hectic weekend and 2 trips to the hospital for multiple hours so...Jedi got a training break.  Hopefully I'll have the energy to do a session this evening but I'm still pretty worn out from the crazy weekend.  The chicks got upgraded to a larger box yesterday, and their water is now twice as high as it was before, and I added a roost.  They haven't gotten the hang of the roost enough yet to sleep on it, but they keep trying it out while awake.

April 5

Baby chicks are starting to flutter across the box.  Soon, probably by Monday, we'll need to put a cover of some sort on it. They've got the beginning of pin feathers at their shoulders and the down at their tails is sticking up at odd angles leading me to believe that there may be some tail feathers soon as well.  They are curious little things.

9 days old and they've got feathers!

Heading out to the car, Jedi looked at the box but readily came when called.  Coming back from school he looked at the box but had moved on before I had everything out of the car.  I let him outside to run around while I changed the chicks water and he did come and scratch at the garage door once but stopped immediately with a reprimand.  Did some training with him in the garage...he was definitely hungry, he was a little rough taking his treats, my response to that is a slight delay before the next command...well that let him get distracted about the box.  He took a couple steps towards it but was easily redirected.  He also looked towards it during one down/stay but otherwise was quite focused on me.  We did down/stay, sit/stay, jump over arm, touch, weave through legs, walk across a downed ladder, back up, stand, paws up, and shake. 

8pm  Jedi got his first good look at the chicks today.  We want to handle them more so that they become really friendly.  We brought his crate over next to the kitchen and stuffed his kongs with yummy stuff like turkey meat balls and cheese.  He went into the crate readily enough. 

Jedi watching the chicks with Caleb

Brought the chicks into the kitchen and sat on the floor with them.  They did pretty well.  Didn't try to run or fly away.  Scrambled around on our arms and legs and mostly just looked around.  When it gets warmer I want to take them outside where they can do a little exploring in a more chicken interesting environment.

Baby chicks perched on Caleb

Jedi got super excited when the chicks came in.  He sat up in his cage, his ears came forward and he started shaking and whining and scratching at the bars.  He didn't bark or lung at the bars or start chewing at the bars like he has when he was younger and excited.  Talking to him from three feet away, while holding chicks wasn't enough to calm him and his kongs no longer held any interest for him.  So I had Caleb take all three chicks for handling and I went and sat next to Jedi's crate and talked to him.  He laid down in his crate but still showed anxiety behaviors like yawning and licking his lips. His whines got quieter and finally quit and when he licked at his kong once I traded with Caleb and I held the chicks again.  He got excited again, sat up and restarted his whining but not his pawing at the crate.  I stayed with the chicks for a couple of minutes until his whining settled a little bit but he was still sitting up and focused on me and the chicks rather than Caleb and the cheese.  Then we switched again and once I had Jedi lying down and not whining and watching me instead of the chicks (would take pieces of cheese from my hands but still wouldn't touch the kongs) I had Caleb put the chicks away.  It took Jedi about 2-3 more minutes before he calmed completely down and turned his attention to the kongs.

They're so cute!

Let's just say, chickens are definitely very exciting for Jedi and we certainly have our work cut out for us before he'll be calm and safe around them.  But I think we're doing the right things...making sure both Jedi and the chicks are safe at all times and just doing lots of short sessions and trying to end them all positively so that we build up to good behaviors.  Sunday is box cleaning day again...we'll see if this experience makes it harder for Jedi to stay away from the chick box on the hearth or if he does as well again.  And we'll do more handling of the chicks on the floor where he can see them so that he gets used to them and calms down.

The chicks didn't seem to be too concerned about Jedi except when his whining got especially loud and agitated.  The rest of the time they mostly ignored him.

April 4

Yay! Raising the feeder and waterer has greatly reduced the mess getting into the water!  Unfortunately it has caused the chicks to spill a lot more feed all over the box.  Win some and lose some I guess.

Jedi had a harder time today.  I blame the fact that we've had two days of parent-teacher conferences which means about 5 hours a day that we're at school without any students and I'm just sitting and doing paperwork or talking with parents which means not a lot of stimulation for him and the chicks are getting noisier now.  He still just looked towards the box going to the car in the morning.  On return from school he glanced towards the box but then beat me to the door into the house.  When it came to training time in the garage though he took a step back.  He ignored a command to walk towards the box and he missed a command due to lack of attention because he was looking towards the box.  Overall he still did well and was fairly focused but definitely less so then he has been.  Certainly a work in progress.

April 3, 2013

    The chicks are getting so big!  They're making a mess of their water dish and such so I put some 2x4 blocks under their water and feed dish and we'll see if that helps.  I also cleaned out their box.  They didn't squawk as much when I caught them this time either.  Both their primaries and secondaries have come in quite well on their wings too.  So I cleaned out their box and then came the tough part...training Jedi. 

       I took the chicks in the smaller box into the house, I had set out some turkey to thaw for working with Jedi...but apparently it took less time to clean the chicks' box than I had thought...so it wasn't thawed yet.  Caleb quickly sliced me some fresh cheddar cheese. Carrying the box into the house was definitely very exciting for Jedi.  He was jumping up on me and would not follow a command except sit, and was too excited to take cheese.  

       I put the box down on the hearth and took Jedi to the other end of the living room.  Then he was able to work with me.  He actually did much better than the last time we worked in the living room with the chicks.  I never had to take him into the sun room.  We worked on weaves, paws up, shake, sit/stay, down/stay, sit, stand, touch, down, crawl, chill, roll over, up, and off in quick succession.  Even moving to within 2 feet of the box with noisy chicks in it, he did not break any tricks or stays.  Doing a down or sit/stay within 2-3 feet of the box, he would look over towards the box, but he didn't break and he did every trick.  At 5-6 feet from the box he didn't even glance towards it so much better than last time.  We ended the session going through the door to the yard.  Then I stuffed the remaining treats in a kong and went back inside to retreive the chicks and return them to their main box.  

      Next time I will have Jedi outside while I bring the chicks in, so that he is better controlled and focused the whole time instead of instantly over-excited.  Then I can bring him in and slowly work him closer to the box.

April 2

Gave the chicks some acorn squash overnight.  At first they were just curious about it and would peck at it but not eat any.  Eventually they ate it all...I may have given them too much though because one of the chicks has looser stools today.  At least they haven't pasted up again.  When I got home from school they had filled their water dish with sawdust too :P So they couldn't get at the water.  I cleaned it out and they all came over and drank deeply.  

Observations of Jedi today.  When we went out to the car in the morning, my student Jake was there.  He went over to look at the chicks, so Jedi followed him over, but he didn't stand up on his hind legs toward the box and as soon as I opened the car door, he ran over and jumped in without me needing to call him.  

Upon return from school, going out to the car for OB apt, returning from OB apt, going out to the car for a haircut and returning...he looked toward the box but followed us without any prompting.

Around 6pm I took him out to the garage with some stale cheese.  We worked on sit/stay, down/stay, weave between my legs, sit/stay at the door until released, touch, shake, walking through a ladder and paws up.  He was very focused on me except a couple of times when the chicks trilled and cheeped.  Even then, he did not break his sit/stay but he turned his head towards the box for a few seconds before returning his focus to me.  Upon returning to the house, he did break his sit/stay at the door to run into the house...but I returned him to his spot and had him do it over.  All in all a positive day.  

Tomorrow is cleaning the chicks box day though...so we'll see how that goes.  I may need to pull out some raw turkey to keep his interest for that.

April 1

Jedi only glanced towards the chicks as we went through the garage to the car this morning.  A good start.  Hopefully we can do some training when we get home...if I have any energy left :P

Partridge Rock Hen

Barnevelder Hen

Golden Laced Wyandotte Hens

We're also still in the breed identification adventure...the chicks are either Golden Laced Wyandottes or Partridge Rocks or Barneveleders.  The latter two have single combs the first a rose comb...so we've just got to wait and see what kind of comb develops.  Either way, they're all 3 good layers of brown eggs and they're all  beautiful chickens.

6pm.  Took Jedi out to the garage.  Again, he glanced towards the chicks box several times  but was happy to stay focused on me and doing tricks for cheese.  Never ran towards the box.  Had him do some stepping through a ladder to work on his gait a bit.  He's a good dog.

Oh and here's a picture of the chicks from today:

5 day old chicks

March 31

12:49     Took Jedi into the garage.  Chicks were back up on their shelf in their box.  Used chicken jerky again because...I was lowering the difficulty so thought maybe I could use a lower reward.  Jedi was happy to go into the garage with me.  Sat politely at the door and waited until I said "ok."  Definitely more interested in the chicks than when I used cheese but did not run straight over to their box either.  We did tricks, starting with "sit" which he has down pat.  Started farther away from where the chicks were and worked closer to them.  He broke one sit stay (had him at the back of the car, coming towards me standing near the chick box)  I just took him back and put him back into it.  He glanced towards the chicks box maybe 3 times during the training session but I never lost his attention completely like when they were in the living room closer to his level.  He did every trick I asked him to and stayed very focused on me, then we came back into the house and did two more tricks and he did not return to the garage door to sniff and scratch, he is now laying at my feet. A good session.

2:55    While out working in my garden, Jedi went over to the door from the garden to the garage several times...he is definitely interested in those chicks.  I only called him away the one time he scratched at the door, and he instantly left the door and came to me.  He also wasn't stuck on the door.  He roamed the yard as usual, he just made regular stops at the door which he didn't do before the chicks were there. 

Going out to the car for groceries, he went straight into the car and ignored the chicks.  Returning from groceries, while both Caleb and my hands were full of groceries, he went back over to the shelf with the box of chicks and was trying to see in, but he came right away when I called him.

8:21    He's been good about not going to the garage door all evening, instead doing his normal bad habits of trying to see what it is I'm cooking for dinner, and doing his good habits such as curling up at my feet while I fold laundry or waiting on the rug in the kitchen for a scrap.  Took him into the garage with some shredded cheese.  He glanced at the box a couple of times when the chicks cheeped but that didn't cause him to break any tricks.  The cheese was a huge motivator...but it did make him a little too excited, he broke a sit/stay, not to run to the chicks but to run to me...I just put him back. We're also still working on the leg weave but he did very well and again followed me right out of the garage at the end.  This time he did not return to the door to sniff.

The adventure begins.

   This week, spring break, my husband and I decided to take the leap and buy some baby chicks.  We have had a chicken coop built for just about 9 months but there weren't baby chicks available to buy until now.  I want chickens because they're entertaining, they're great at composting your kitchen scraps, their manure is good for the garden, and the best way to get healthy eggs is from your own chickens.  Just one draw-back to chickens...I have a very active, intelligent klein poodle named Jedi.  He loves to chase animals, large and small.  He chases critters as small as butterflies and as large as cows.  Not only does he chase animals, he has killed ground squirrels, mice and moles at my school.  I should also add that as a puppy, he caught one of my moms chickens for me...I was trying to catch one, he figured out what I was doing and he caught it and pinned it until I retrieved it.  So he doesn't exactly have a great background for living peacefully with chickens.  However, he is very intelligent and easy to train for a lot of things...but with the busy-ness of teaching...I've slacked a lot on reinforcing his manners and training.  My students continue to keep up his tricks and retrieving...but I've only worked with him maybe once a month...so this blog is going to contain the adventures of me working on making him chicken safe...and maybe even a chicken defender.
    My minimum goal:  that Jedi will be able to be let out into the yard, with the chickens safely in their coop, and  he will not spend his time running around the coop and hounding at the chickens.  My ultimate goal:  that Jedi will be safe in the yard with the chickens loose in the yard, calmly ignoring them or even enjoying their company, and will even chase off possible chicken predators.  I do realize that goal may take ages.

   So Thursday March 28th we got 3 baby chicks from our local feed store.  They were sold to us as Welsummers but I could tell when we walked in the store that they weren't Welsummer chicks.  So I did research and determined that most likely they are Golden-laced Wyandottes.  Which I am happy with.  They are beautiful birds that lay a nice golden-brown egg and lay about 200 eggs a year.  Of course I won't know for sure what they are until they are adults.  They were sold to us as pullets (young hens) and I hope that is correct because it's illegal to keep roosters on residential property in Paradise and I would hate to give a chicken away after I've spent a lot of time bonding with it.
  Anyways, we got the chicks set up in a box in the garage.  I did not introduce them to Jedi at that time because we also had my sisters dog, Evi, for a few days and I didn't want to have to work with both of them at once, plus I wanted the chicks to have a chance to settle into their new home.  It wasn't a problem, with Evi around, even when Jedi was in the garage he never even looked in the direction of the box.  We never had him in the garage on his own but we did some work on the drip system and, of course, going to and from the car he went through the garage.

   Last night, March 30th, we returned Evi to my sister.  On returning to the house, he immediately ran over to the shelf where the chicks box was and started going on his hind legs trying to get to them.  So I decided to show him what was there.  I had him sit and I took out a baby chick in my hands.  He started to break his sit but I put him back into it and held the chick and talked quietly to it for about 5 seconds while he watched, then I put the chick back and praised Jedi greatly and took him inside the house.  He was still very interested and stood at the door to our garage with his nose against it for about a minute before coming away and calming down.  About an hour later I took him into the garage with some cheese...and the chicks might as well have not been there.  Cheese is a very high value reward for him and we played games with the laundry basket and did tricks and such and he didn't even glance towards their box.

  Today, March 31st, I had to clean out the chicks box.  Jedi definitely wanted to go into the garage with me.  I kept him out and cleaned out the chicks box, but then brought their temporary box into the house with the chicks in it.  I had some chicken jerky for working with Jedi.  He was very distracted.  Without their heat lamp the chicks were peeping very loudly, plus the box was closer to the ground (I had it on the hearth of our gas stove).  In other words, I raised the difficulty but lowered the reward (cheese is a much more valuable reward to Jedi then jerky...although he loves that as well).  He was able to sit close to the box, but "down" and "touch" were out of the question on his own and I would have to pull him into the position if I asked for it.  So I moved him into the sun room, where he could still see the box through the glass doors but we had increased the distance.  Now he would sit, down, and touch but he kept his eyes on the box.  I did the game where you don't get a treat until you look at me...and it would take about 10 seconds for him to look away from the chicks...but he got jackpots when he did.  After about a minute of that we put the chicks back in their home box.  I think for our other two training sessions today we'll go back to just working in the garage with the chick box up high and see how he does.  And the next time I bring them closer to his level...I'll definitely make sure I have higher value treats on me.  I plan to blog about each training session so it will help me monitor what I've done and what's worked and what hasn't.  Maybe it will help others who have dogs and chickens and maybe it will help me in case I need to train other dogs to be around chickens in the future.