Exactly what these posters said.. I have a border collie (my avatar) who has a strong prey drive.. she also came to be hyper-dog aggressive. Never raised a tooth towards a human, but any dog within sight wasn't safe, on or off leash (She dug a prong collar into her own neck until it was bleeding to get at another dog). A year and a half of training taught her impulse control. Now I can have her off leash at a dog park without any problems.
However, she still has her prey drive.. no bunny, squirrel, or wild bird is safe in our yard and they've learned it. But at the same time, she won't chase or harass the chickens or my parrots. How did she learn? Training. I nipped the issue in the bud when the chicks first came home. My parrot (a cockatiel) had already taught her not to bother parrots by biting her right on the nose. I popped her on the butt for trying it too. When I brought the chicks home and put them in the brooder (a large plastic crate), I saw 'that gleam' come back in her eye. The lips raised in a silent snarl and her body lowered, readying to pounce. Oh no! That was not going to happen. Grabbing her by the collar, I made her look me in the eye and told her firmly, "These are mama's.. You do NOT touch. That's a NO!" The ears went back and she looked again at the crate and backed off.
After that, we took the chicks out to the yard and brought her on a leash, letting her see them, but the leash made sure she couldn't touch them. A ball was also used as a reward/distraction. There was another attempt at her 'predator' behavior that was firmly corrected. What works for her is to break her eye contact on her target and make her think of something else. Break the train of thought, so to speak. Soon, she was laying at ease within three feet of the chicks and even sniffed the bum on one with a curious. The chick turned around and cheeped at her, and she looked away towards us. Immediate praise for not harming the chick in any way.
Now, I can trust her alone in the yard with them. She protects our little flock of 9 hens from hawks (the only predator that can really get in our yard). She has even intercepted a hawk mid-stoop and saved our silkie from certain death. She also learned what I think of as an important lesson.. Chickens are not food. They are the path TO food. We often give our chickens kitchen leftovers as treats.. plain rice, corn, oats, spaghetti, etc.. pretty much anything that isn't slathered in spices or sauces. Diamond gets to share in the treats when the chickens are done. When they get corn on the cob, so does she. The only tooth she's offered to our chickens since was a warning snap at our Polish who was trying to get a bite of Diamond's corn. But Diamond was only reacting as she would towards any dog that was too close to her treat. Just a warning snap of "back off", not a true attempt to bite.
Our chickens do not fear Diamond. They can often be found grazing within inches of her (I've even caught our bantam cochin eating grass between Diamond's front paws). They are wary of her when she's running, but only because they don't want to get stepped on. When they've gone broody, they have even attacked HER. Diamond is praised for backing away and letting us intercept the broody.
You need to learn your dog's quirks. Their stances, their moods. What do they look like when they're playing vs "I'm going to kill that thing and tear it to shreds!" vs "Oh man.. I screwed up.. I'm in so much trouble now.".. Eventually, you'll be able to tell when they're not in the frame of mind you want them in.
However, she still has her prey drive.. no bunny, squirrel, or wild bird is safe in our yard and they've learned it. But at the same time, she won't chase or harass the chickens or my parrots. How did she learn? Training. I nipped the issue in the bud when the chicks first came home. My parrot (a cockatiel) had already taught her not to bother parrots by biting her right on the nose. I popped her on the butt for trying it too. When I brought the chicks home and put them in the brooder (a large plastic crate), I saw 'that gleam' come back in her eye. The lips raised in a silent snarl and her body lowered, readying to pounce. Oh no! That was not going to happen. Grabbing her by the collar, I made her look me in the eye and told her firmly, "These are mama's.. You do NOT touch. That's a NO!" The ears went back and she looked again at the crate and backed off.
After that, we took the chicks out to the yard and brought her on a leash, letting her see them, but the leash made sure she couldn't touch them. A ball was also used as a reward/distraction. There was another attempt at her 'predator' behavior that was firmly corrected. What works for her is to break her eye contact on her target and make her think of something else. Break the train of thought, so to speak. Soon, she was laying at ease within three feet of the chicks and even sniffed the bum on one with a curious. The chick turned around and cheeped at her, and she looked away towards us. Immediate praise for not harming the chick in any way.
Now, I can trust her alone in the yard with them. She protects our little flock of 9 hens from hawks (the only predator that can really get in our yard). She has even intercepted a hawk mid-stoop and saved our silkie from certain death. She also learned what I think of as an important lesson.. Chickens are not food. They are the path TO food. We often give our chickens kitchen leftovers as treats.. plain rice, corn, oats, spaghetti, etc.. pretty much anything that isn't slathered in spices or sauces. Diamond gets to share in the treats when the chickens are done. When they get corn on the cob, so does she. The only tooth she's offered to our chickens since was a warning snap at our Polish who was trying to get a bite of Diamond's corn. But Diamond was only reacting as she would towards any dog that was too close to her treat. Just a warning snap of "back off", not a true attempt to bite.
Our chickens do not fear Diamond. They can often be found grazing within inches of her (I've even caught our bantam cochin eating grass between Diamond's front paws). They are wary of her when she's running, but only because they don't want to get stepped on. When they've gone broody, they have even attacked HER. Diamond is praised for backing away and letting us intercept the broody.
You need to learn your dog's quirks. Their stances, their moods. What do they look like when they're playing vs "I'm going to kill that thing and tear it to shreds!" vs "Oh man.. I screwed up.. I'm in so much trouble now.".. Eventually, you'll be able to tell when they're not in the frame of mind you want them in.
