Chickens With Attitude, Or How to Challenge Assumptions

If you haven't heard, urban chicken farming is hot—especially here in Portland. In my neighborhood alone, there are nearly half a dozen coops that my mom has to avoid when she takes me on my daily walk. No matter how hard I try, I can't control the urge to go on a chicken chase…

That's why I thought it was funny when my friend Kyoko Nakayama Johnson, owner of Waialua Doggies, told me about a series of chicken workshops that she helped organize for fellow dog trainers on the Island of Oahu. Led by dog trainer and author Terry Ryan, workshop participants use reward-based clicker training to shape the behavior of chickens.

Why chickens? Supposedly, they are faster than the average dog which helps the trainer improve his or her timing and coordination skills. They'll also balk if they don't like the way that they are being treated. More important, since most dog owners or dog trainers don't have any experience working with chickens, they don't bring the same emotional baggage to a training session as they do with their pets.

According to Poultry in Motion's Terry Ryan, "If you can do wonders with a chicken, you can do wonders with your dog." (Click here for a Honolulu Star-Advertiser article about the workshop.)

To me, the underlying message is this: Stay curious and playful. Open your eyes and find new ways to look at old problems. Set aside your old assumptions. Approach each relationship with a clean slate.

This doesn't mean you have to start breeding city chickens in your backyard (please, no more cocky chickens who taunt me from across the sidewalk). Look to your loyal, four-legged friends instead. A dog can walk the same route a hundred times and we'll still stop to sniff whatever catches our fancy. It's like we've never been there before.

There is a saying, "In the beginner's eye there are many possibilities, in the expert's eyes there are few." Fortunately, we dogs see ourselves as perpetual beginners. We see everything as new, so everything has possibilities—even if it involves chasing chickens down the street.