Dogs and chickens don't always mix.

So these are our dogs, Etta and Belle.

Etta is in the front...Belle in the back.

They're Brittanys, so naturally, they are waaaaay into birds.

And occasionally, they even get one now and again...and  I'm pretty sure it becomes their best day ever when they do.

They don't eat them, they just enjoy catching them...and then running around the yard with them in their mouth...most likely thinking how awesome they are.

Well, earlier in the year our neighbors got chickens...8 of them to be exact.  They decided to put the coop against our sharing fence.  Our dogs know they're there, but really can't do anything about it....they just stare at them longingly through the slats.  

All is well...and had been for the past 6 months or so.

So the other night while we were putting the kids to bed Ryan noticed Belle sitting in the front yard!!  In a panic (because our dogs are known for taking off) he opens the front door to get her back in the yard only to stumble upon a dead chicken laid out right against our front door!

Turns out, one of the chickens didn't make it back into the coop before it got dark.  So, in an effort to roost, she decided to perch herself in a precarious spot on our fence.  Belle saw that and probably wasted no time...the evidence (feathers) were everywhere in that spot.  And with her charging the fence she broke a couple of boards out allowing her to escape our yard.  Our neighbors yard however, is not all the way fenced so Belle was able to get into our front yard and leave us a little gift on our porch.  I think she was pretty proud of herself as she politely waited in the front yard until we finally opened the door.  Our reaction however, was probably NOT what she thought it was going to be.

We felt so bad telling the neighbors what happened.  And of course this particular chicken just so happened to be their best egg layer.  Darn.

Now, I know that some dogs can live very cohesively with chickens...in fact our Black and Tan Coonhound shared a backyard with two chickens in my childhood home.

I have never actually done this, but I have heard that a quick way to train your dog NOT to hurt chickens is to catch the dog immediately after it kills one and then use the dead chicken to whack the dog several times yelling and screaming "NO, NO, NO, NO...!!!".  

They'll never go near another chicken again...actually, they'll probably never go near you again either since they'll think you've gone completely nuts...that's the downside.  Plus you may scare your neighbors...so I don't actually recommend this method.

So...long story short...dogs are naughty.

Have a great weekend ya'll!