The Grace of Golden Retrievers

Gracie sometimes chases chickens. 

We let Gracie and Mya run around off lead- its great to watch them play. We also let our chickens roam free in the yard which makes Gracie very happy.

When my eldest brother was home, he took a video of her chasing Donavan, our Buff Leghorn rooster. The video starts off with Gracie trotting back and forth between the hens which are walking around free in the yard -this part is a bit confusing because she's looking for something you just don't know what.

Nose to the ground she walks behind our shed, and down the hill disappearing from view; completely ignoring the hens. For a time the cameraman films unattractive areas of our yard, and you forget about Gracie. Then you hear the faint distant squawking of a chicken.

The cameraman moves around the shed to locate the source of the noise. First you see a rooster flying up the hill toward the camera, then you see Gracie fast behind it. The chicken is obviously tired of the game. so he sticks his head in a bush. Gracie trots up and noses his backend, but he apparently dosen't want to play anymore. She gets the message and leaves him alone.

The roosters are usually more aggressive than the hens. Gracie never chases hens- only roosters, or very light breed hens.  There are two reasons why we find this funny. #1 she does not harm the chickens even though she certainly could, #2 She is selective in her chicken chasing. She is also selective in her car chasing, but thats another story.

If Gracie had a chicken philosophy it would be this. "it is better to chase no chicken than a slow chicken"