raising Chickens is for the Birds

[Pescadoman66]

Well I am just about ready to put a bullet through my puppy's head but I think my wife would kill me. We have a 5 month old Rat Terrier mix puppy that seems to think that the chickens are toys. Yesterday (my fault) I left the door to the coop open after cleaning it and let the chickens free range through the yard. My wife takes the dog to work with her so there was no problem. After she came home and I had put the chickens back in the coops pen area, my daughter had let the dogs out. After realizing the Murphy was outside and we could not find him, he had found his way into the coop and managed to attack two of my hens. Granted this is my fault for this little mishap but it is his third time attacking the hens and I am not happy about it. Now for all you who think I would actually put a bullet in him, well that just would not happen but it sure has made me quite unhappy about the instances. I love my chickens and I love my dogs I just need to find a happy medium and be a bit more careful.

 

[swamperkk]

lol,i know the feeling,i have a dachshund 7 months old now he thought chickens were toys until a rooster jumped on him,now he walk with the chickens without running to them,i dont know what happen but i guess the rooster explained it to him,lol

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

It's all a matter of training. You might start with letting the dog be around them as much as possible through a fence. DO NOT allow the dog to get excited by them, it is best if you scold the dog for even looking at them. It is all about conditioning. Treat the dog if it properly ignores the birds and scold for too much attention.

We own a Border Collie that killed 7 guineas in 3 min. I was especially concerned when we got chickens for the first time. The first few weeks I did as stated above, now my dog comes with me for feedings every day!

 

[Jynuine]

You know, there is an old remedy for dogs who are chicken killers. You can look it up too- farmers swear by it.
It requires your wife and family to be on board though, and a good family meeting with gentle words so they understand this isnt about being mean but about using the dog's own natural dynamic to teach him not to kill chickens. This mentality would go for ANY dog and the general practice of "You are boss- not the dog" should be a constant.
You would need to have his kennel or an outside place prepared asap (because you will NOT want the little guy anywhere near you).
You take the dead chicken, and you tie it to his neck good. Leave it there for a week.
Not kidding.
The rotting thing will get really really old and yucky and he will NOT like it. He will earn that chickens are yucky and you dont mess with them.

Now- many people say this doesn't work for all dogs. We dont really know how efficiently these people followed through or how they did it, but I know some people are more stubborn than others and dogs are the same way.
The issue is that dogs are not people- as much as people try to believe they reason like we do. They understand through trial and error, through pain through lack of the things they enjoy and through rewards.

There is a huge thread on this here you might just peruse through, because ultimately if it comes between a bullet/getting rid of a problem dog vs a dead chicken for a week- I wouldnt see how it could hurt.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...u-tie-a-dead-chicken-to-the-dog-who-killed-it

This is also a really good thread on it: http://www.kountrylife.com/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?bd=forum&th=7217

After a nice bath, some hugs, and training the puppy around the chickens that when he goes after them you grab him firmly with a NO! around the collar (like a head dog might when a subservient dog is overstepping his boundaries) the puppy will learn fast chickens are NOT okay to mess with.

Now maybe you have some ideas for me how to keep a 3 yr old out of the chicken coop. He is all but incapable of leaving them alone unless we have him in our sight 24/7 and we live on a 12 acre farm. As I type this my 8 yr old said he stuck our Sumatran rooster in a gopher hole.
Im not kidding, this kid has a thick skull.
He already broke the back of one of our cornish throwing him up into the air to watch him fly as we were getting ready to go to bible study and loading the car. We had to process the poor chicken while the kids waited in the car to leave. We have 4 doors to the house, a fenced in backyard, he gets past all the gates and locks- Im just thanking God we dont live in the city anymore.

Typing a dead chicken to his neck just wont work in this situation. :/

 

[6of6chicks]

I've worked with dogs all my life, and my guidelines for training start with this question: Does what I'm doing treat the dog humanely and with respect? If the answer is no, then I don't do it.

Tying a dead, rotting animal around a dog is disgusting and abusive. There is no evidence that the dog will connect the dead chicken with the live chickens running around the yard. You can't "retroactively" punish a dog - they simply don't understand. The ONLY way to effectively stop a dog's behavior is to catch him in the act and correct him. How you choose to correct is a matter of experience, knowledge of the dog, and personal preference.

In the OP's case, "catching him in the act" does NOT mean waiting for him to kill a chicken. It means exposing the dog to the chickens in a SUPERVISED setting (such as on a tightly held leash) and correcting any unwanted behavior (such as lunging for the chickens, barking, or getting excited) - and at the same time rewarding behavior that you want (staying calm, ignoring the birds, etc.). It takes weeks, sometimes months, of working with a dog to 're-train' his natural instincts - and that takes dedication on the part of the owner. For the OP that's an uphill battle - both because the dog has learned how 'fun' killing is and because rat terriers have a high prey drive. But the dog CAN be retrained with patience, consistency, and structured training.

Tying a dead chicken around a dog's neck is about as effective as spanking a puppy two hours after it piddles on the carpet. It's cruel and unfair, and worst of all the dog isn't going to connect the punishment with the crime. Please do NOT do this to your dog. There are far more humane, effective ways to train a dog.

 

[Diannastarr]

I have raised dogs for over 30 years & your dog is way to young to understand, and so it must always be under control...! thats your real problem,keeping it under control..! plus most puppies will chase and try to catch things ,& that breed is always up for some good fun & ive heard they are pretty active...??? i almost bought one my self until i heard that they are like trying to nail jello to the wall..????

 

[chickenbloomers]

I feel for you, it can be extremely frustrating dealing with a dog that likes to chase. A couple years back we got are dog Annabelle from the humane society, she is saint Bernard mix we got her as a playmate for are pyrenees mastiff, Patch. Annabelle turned out to be a chaser, big time. We came home from church once and found her chasing are cows, they were sweaty and foaming at the mouth so we're guessing she had been chasing them for quit a while, my dad went and got his gun and shot at the ground to scare her and it worked that was the last time she chased the cows. Another time she chased are chickens and my mom got the gun and shot at the ground to scare her and that was the last time she chased the chickens. Now she gets along with the other animals really well she likes to chase rabbits instead of them. I don't know if shooting at the ground would work for your dog because it's a puppy, but it might be worth a shot.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I've worked with dogs all my life, and my guidelines for training start with this question: Does what I'm doing treat the dog humanely and with respect? If the answer is no, then I don't do it.

Tying a dead, rotting animal around a dog is disgusting and abusive. There is no evidence that the dog will connect the dead chicken with the live chickens running around the yard. You can't "retroactively" punish a dog - they simply don't understand. The ONLY way to effectively stop a dog's behavior is to catch him in the act and correct him. How you choose to correct is a matter of experience, knowledge of the dog, and personal preference.

In the OP's case, "catching him in the act" does NOT mean waiting for him to kill a chicken. It means exposing the dog to the chickens in a SUPERVISED setting (such as on a tightly held leash) and correcting any unwanted behavior (such as lunging for the chickens, barking, or getting excited) - and at the same time rewarding behavior that you want (staying calm, ignoring the birds, etc.). It takes weeks, sometimes months, of working with a dog to 're-train' his natural instincts - and that takes dedication on the part of the owner. For the OP that's an uphill battle - both because the dog has learned how 'fun' killing is and because rat terriers have a high prey drive. But the dog CAN be retrained with patience, consistency, and structured training.

Tying a dead chicken around a dog's neck is about as effective as spanking a puppy two hours after it piddles on the carpet. It's cruel and unfair, and worst of all the dog isn't going to connect the punishment with the crime. Please do NOT do this to your dog. There are far more humane, effective ways to train a dog.

I completely agree.

Wondering if a kennel area in the yard for the puppy to go in when they cannot be supervised would help.

 

[6of6chicks]

I completely agree.

Wondering if a kennel area in the yard for the puppy to go in when they cannot be supervised would help.

I'm a huge believer in crate training. All of my dogs are labs & lab mixes, so for me the "puppy" phase generally lasts until they are about 2 years old. My dogs spend the first year of their lives on a strict training schedule. Every moment with me is a training opportunity, whether it's formal training sessions, training through play, or training through quiet activities (such as tethering). If they aren't with me they are crated. As they grow up & calm down, they earn more trust, start learning how to behave, and gradually the crate is phased out. Generally by the time they are around two the crate gets packed away and isn't used anymore. But I NEVER let my girls run around outside unsupervised until they are at least a year old - not even for a quick 5 minute potty break. Labs are notorious vacuum cleaners and will eat anything and everything in sight. For the first time ever I had one end up at the emergency vet for an obstruction surgery a few months ago because I got lax about supervision and my 1 1/2 year old lab ate a bunch of mulch. $1200 later she was fine and I was fuming mad - at MYSELF - because I knew she wasn't trustworthy yet but I got lazy.

If a puppy can't be supervised then it needs a safe "home" - a crate, kennel, or dog pen. Somewhere where the puppy can't get into any trouble or develop bad habits. At the same time you are crating you are also housebreaking and teaching the puppy how to accept alone time (thus preventing separation anxiety later). A kennel in the yard would definitely help prevent future attacks on chickens - I would just hesitate and say that an outside kennel shouldn't be used as a place to dump an unruly puppy. Kennels should be used as part of a training regimen and not a babysitter.

But the more this puppy is exposed to the chickens in a controlled setting, the more he will get used to them (and vice versa). Once my chicks got used to my dogs they actually helped train them to behave properly. A few sharp pecks to the nose taught my dogs that chickens are to be respected! But I had to socialize my dogs and train them first to get them to a point where I could trust them to stay calm around the chickens.

 

[patvetzal]

I've had many dogs since I got married and got our own home. Three years ago we got a golden retriever puppy and shortly after bought an electric Dogtra training collar for him. Wish we had bought one thirty years ago. It is THE BEST training aid I have ever seen. The dog and chickens can both free range in our unfenced yard now.