The Education of Ben

[Beekissed]

A pic from a couple of weeks ago, during a chicken butchering session...

And today...both dogs were pouting a little over not being able to come in the garden while we worked in there.

 

[goatgurl]

love the stick of shame. lol i had to put a yoke on my last lgd pup to keep him out of things. it worked till he figured out he could get ahold of one end and chew it off and go thru anyway. went thru 3 cedar tree forks before he grew enough to not be able to get thru. he is growing like a weed and i love that face.

 

[Beekissed]

That stick of shame is going to be converted to a triangle of shame later on this week. He's still forcing that stick to one side and slithering into the door. Won't be able to do that with a triangle. It's a shame to have to wear such contraption but he can't keep eating all the eggs and I don't want to tie him up.

 

[Beekissed]

Thinking of creating a wire tunnel on the back pop door to see if that keeps the pup out...he may just crush it or tear it down in his willful efforts to get in the coop, but I'd like to try it. I hate to keep devising more and more contraptions he has to wear around his neck. It looks awful and it can't feel too comfy either, though that doesn't seem to hinder him at all in his daily life. Of stealing.

 

[goatgurl]

try the triangle, i used a Y shaped stick and duck taped it to both sides of his collar. worked really well. good luck

 

[Beekissed]

I added another side to the triangle this morning, will try to complete that tomorrow. Then, later on I'll try to give the chickens a tunnel to walk through so that he can't get in there. It's a shame to have all that hardware on his neck but I don't see another way until I try to build this tunnel...even Jake wasn't this persistent on stealing eggs as a pup.

On the other side of the coin, he laid down for food this morning and waited...I placed his food in front of his paws and waited. Drops of saliva hit the ground but he looked away from the food and waited. I told him "Okay" and he started eating like a gentleman. I gave him much love for his great progress on being mannerly at feeding time. I'm impressed!

He seems to love his new "house" and Jake sleeps there with him on mild nights, so he has good company. He's still quiet....no barking at all, except a few woofs when playing with Jake. I hope he stays a quiet sort of dog, only barking at real threats and not to just hear himself speak. I love our peaceful nights here.

 

[babsbag]

I used stock panel and a row of hot wire. I had goat kids getting into the coop so when I fixed it so they couldn't get in it stopped the puppies too. The chickens went right over or under the hot wire, didn't bother them in the least.

 

[Beekissed]

I've got a piece of cattle panel that I'm going to incorporate into a tunnel to the back pop door...hope to get that completed tomorrow before I go out of town for a couple of days.

I'm tired of seeing that pup with all that stuff on his neck. I hate how uncomfortable it looks and must feel. Except for the coop raiding, he's an excellent pup and, with time and his own growth, this will pass, but I've just got to keep him out of there. Will let y'all know if this works.

 

[babsbag]

I don't know if you have an fence charger but what if you basically set him up to get zapped? Let all the chickens out and then put some rows of wire across the opening, just for the day. When he sticks his head in there he will get bit by a nasty fence. It was easy for us as the hot wire for the goats was only a few feet away so I could tap into the easily. The fiberglass step on fence posts for hot wire are cheap and quick to install for a temp. fence.

What would really be nice would be to put the invisible fence around the coop too. Of course I have all these ideas but have no idea of your setup so none of them may be practical for you.

 

[Beekissed]

I no longer have a fence charger on hand...sold it. It sure would be nice to be able to zap him, though it took him several, several hard zaps to learn to stay in the fence boundary, so it wouldn't be just a temporary thing. He's pretty tough about pain.

I can't put my fence boundary where it would exclude the coop, as Jake's dog house is attached to the back of the coop and they need to be able to guard around the coop also.

Great suggestions, though! I'm all for the lovely usefulness of a hot wire or electric persuasion in times of extreme stubbornness.