What is a one-sentence summary of the following article?
Though some believe a muzzle to be inhumane, many trainers regard it as a suitable tool for a suitable purpose, just like a dog collar or a leash. If you have trouble with your dog pursuing chickens with the intent to kill or eat them, a muzzle will make training safest for all of your animals. If your dog is especially excitable, you may want to keep him on a leash until he becomes calmer around your birds. Take him with you on your feeding chores to help him become even more accustomed to the chickens and the chickens more accustomed to him. Exercise simple commands like the compound sit-stay. You may want to practice this while entering the chicken coop to fetch your eggs, which has the added benefit of teaching your dog not to invade the boundary of the chicken coop. You can do this by rubbing down your chickens with damp cloth and putting that cloth in your dog's bed or pen. Dogs have a powerful sense of smell, so the scent of the chickens, when unfamiliar, can cause a strong reaction. While outside with your dog, you may see your chickens and/or roosters fighting. This is not especially uncommon, but can leave a valuable member of your egg laying team out of commission. With your dog on its lead, run towards the fighting animals and break up the scuffle. Once you have pulled the birds apart, practice one of your basic commands, or, if you've trained your dog in it, use the safe command. By showing your dog what to do in the event of a chicken fight, and rewarding him for helping you break it up, you will begin to teach him to run to help whenever he hears a chicken in distress. Your dog already has a keen sense of some wildlife predators, but crows and chicken hawks can be just as dangerous to younger birds and chicks as a fox. Together with your dog on his lead, shoo away crows or any other birds of prey. After you have successfully chased away the birds, praise your dog and feed him a treat. This will positively reinforce the behavior to protect chickens from birds of prey. As your dog becomes more trustworthy and proves he understands your commands and also your expectations of how he should act around your birds, you should allow him to patrol for critters. Thanks to your training in how to break up a chicken fight, he will race to the sound of a chicken in distress and help. You can't expect your canine companion to keep the chickens in line if he's out of shape. Go for regular walks, continue short, rapid fire training sessions, and show your dog he's a beloved part of your pack.
Consider a muzzle. Introduce your dog to chickens in the coop, gradually. Familiarize your dog with chicken scent. Teach your dog to break up rooster fights. Raise awareness in your dog of chicken predators. Allow your dog to patrol for raccoons. Exercise your dog.