More lessons in self control

 Our new chicks have been home a week.  Each night, I take the dogs down to the basement where the chicks are living until they have their feathers and can live in the coop.  I make sure they have enough food and water and that all are within the fencing and accounted for are are doing well.  The dops get very excited when I tell them it's time to check on the chicks.  

Now that they are getting a little bigger, they scurry around when I try to catch them - and those buggers are FAST!

While Boxers don't tend to have extremely high prey drives like some other breeds I have found that Boxers really like to chase.  I'm not sure if they would kill something small if they caught it, but they could certainly do some damage even if they are just playing.

Sisko has a very strong prey drive.  When off leash he will go after squirrels and chipmunks and even will chase seagulls and geese when we are near the water.  It's has taken quite a but of training to not take off when we are running when he sees a chipmunk so that I don't end up in a faceplant!

So far, Booker doesn't seem to have a very strong prey drive. 

Today it has been cold, windy and pouring rain.  The dogs have been bored.  So this was a perfect opportunity to get in some training and wear them out a little mentally.  So I brought up a couple of chicks and we settle into the bathroom (where baby chicken poop could be easily cleaned up!

We let the chicks run around and practiced with the dogs letting the babies walk around and on them.  We want to always have dogs that will not kill any other animal.

Sisko has been around babies and is very good, but, we could feel that his whole body was tense and he was very excited.  So we made him lie down to calm him and make it less likely that he would react.  Even if he just stepped on one it would likely be lights out.

Booker was interested, but was much calmer.  Since he is so young it was kind of a surprise.  He mostly wanted to smell them and couldn't quite figure out what they were.

This was a great way to train them to be respectful of other animals.  It was also a way to challenge their self-control that helps wear them out!