Well, this thing was SUPPOSED to be protecting the chickens.. not the other way around :/ - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by chloezoebob101 

We never let him run with the chickens, its just the little chicks that can squeeze through the wire go to her, she doesn't go to them. :(

Last night My dear Jersey giant, Neon, got in with her. We don't know how, but she didMy dad heard squeaking all the way from the garden and ran to save her. He was screaming at Belle the whole time, then all of a sudden, there was silence, he thought she was a goner. But when he got there, neon was in shock, standing there in the middle of his pen, and Belle looked SOOOO guilty. Usually, Neon is timid, but when my dad reached down to pick her up to get her away from there, she just stood there, frozen. If Belle had even laid a FINGER on her, I would have sent her back

Maybe do some work on the fencing on either the coop or the dog pen to keep everyone separate.  Work on teaching your dog the "leave it" command.  Once they know what that means it helps a lot when you are training them to leave the chickens alone.  Pup's have to learn their basic training (come, sit, stay etc.) and then some specific commands in addition so that they begin to understand what it is you want from them. 

She's looking guilty/scared in the moment because she knows whoever is coming after her and yelling right then is MAD.   The most important thing I'd do right now if I was you would be to make sure she can't ever get to another bird.  Having that experience of catching and playing with them and maybe killing them in the process is only going to hinder your training of her.

What breed is she?  Sorry if you already posted that info and I missed it. 

So how did your puppy do in obedience school? Was he first in his class? My point is, they require training and it sounds like this one doesn't have it. While my dogs were being trained, I kept the chickens in a pen. And while I tested their training, I kept the Bassets on a leash. Now, they all hang out together without pens or leashes and its been years.

I have two Basset Hounds. Ultimate predator dogs of small things that run around close to the ground. They are excellent flock guardians and have never killed a chicken because they are trained. Instead, they protect the flock from other predators. Exactly the way we need them to. Haven't lose a single chicken to a ground predator. Also, they make **** good walking brooders while I clean the real one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chloezoebob101 

We never let him run with the chickens, its just the little chicks that can squeeze through the wire go to her, she doesn't go to them. :(

Last night My dear Jersey giant, Neon, got in with her. We don't know how, but she didMy dad heard squeaking all the way from the garden and ran to save her. He was screaming at Belle the whole time, then all of a sudden, there was silence, he thought she was a goner. But when he got there, neon was in shock, standing there in the middle of his pen, and Belle looked SOOOO guilty. Usually, Neon is timid, but when my dad reached down to pick her up to get her away from there, she just stood there, frozen. If Belle had even laid a FINGER on her, I would have sent her back

Why would you have sent the dog back?? It's not her fault that the chickens can get in with her, setting her up as has been previously stated, for failure. Put some hardware cloth around the bottom 2' of wire to keep the little ones in. Put a cover over your run to keep the big ones in. Fix the dog fence so they can't get to her. Fix, fix, fix! I also agree that she looked "guilty" because the screaming told her she was in trouble - not that she felt bad about the chicken being in HER TERRITORY, and that she may have been thinking of playing with it. What's she supposed to do when they go to her, when she hasn't had any training? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by chloezoebob101 

Thank you, and she is a great pyrenese. :)
 

 

Ah, very large breed so.... puppy minded for a very long time!  She certainly can become a very good LGD but they don't just automatically do so just because they are a GP.  Especially as a puppy.  So that simply equal's lots and lots of training using positive reinforcement and making the situation one in which she cannot continue to catch and "play" with chickens.  Obedience classes would get you off to a great start.  If you want her to grow up to think of them as her flock that she needs to guard then you will also need to house her right next to them but securely so they cannot get out and she cannot get in. 

You have your work cut out for you, be prepared to invest lots of time in her.  All members of your family need to be on board with her training so that there is consistency no matter who happens to be out with her at any given time.  If she came from a breeder are her parents working guard dogs?  And did that person offer any advice on raising and training her?

Livestock guard dogs are great dogs to have, provided they've been raised and trained right.  Otherwise you can easily end up with just another chicken killing dog.  If it sounds like putting in all the time and effort may be too much then you might want to consider other, less time intensive ways to protect your chickens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by americana-lover 

thats weird, what kind of puppy? Sometimes its the puppies natural instinct for them to attack small creatures. Spanials, Labs, or other large breeds, or hunting dogs do this. My chihuahua and medium mutt dont attack my girls, but theyre older, so dont want want to bother with em!

Not if they are properly trained....
 

I had two dogs long before I got chickens.  Sheba, lab mix 7yrs old and Breanna, a sheltie 14.  I started with 6 chicks from TSC and had the brooder in the house.  I've had many hatches brooded in the house since then and I guess the dogs thought they were part of the pack..  I recently started keeping the dogs outside because of predators and prowlers, I live way out in the country.  Neither one of them showed any interest in the chickens when free ranging  but will bark and carry on if any thing strange comes on the property.  Breanna even barks at hawks that fly over head.  They do get into the chicken feed once in awhile.