How do I get my dog to stop attacking?

[Karrie13]

I have a male mini schnauzer too and had the exact same issue you did. he got and killed 7 chicks of mine when they were just a week old. He didn't eat them, just killed them. I have a couple of silkies in a dog proof brooder in the house right now and he will sit and stare at them for hours just shaking. I have tried various behavior modifications without any luck. He isn't nutured yet either. They only solution I came to was to keep him separate from the chickens. My son's yellow lab goes out to the coop to help me take care of the chickens everyday and have never had any problem with her. She just ignores them as does my rotti. Must be something in the schnauzer breed.

 

[possumqueen]

It is. Schnauzers are terriers with a high prey drive.

krawphish (gotta love the spelling!!) Don't let him sit there and stare. It won't hurt the chickens but it might make him a little crazy.

I've got a poodle with that kind of prey drive, and I take him "hunting" a couple of times a week. We find a weed patch with rodents living in it, and he spends a very happy half hour or so hunting through the grass. Sometimes he'll catch one, but it seems like mostly the hunting itself that he enjoys. Then he comes home and ignores the rabbits that run around the yard outside his fence.

I would never EVER trust him around chickens! But, like your schnauzer, my poodle is a great dog, so, no, he ain't goin' nowhere.

 

[krawphish]

He's always been really needy. My g/f says we're made for each other. Constantly needs attention, will push the other dog out of the way to get petted, but knows when I go to the recliner that it's time to CHILL OUT!!! and he'll lay in my lap all evening. he cannot contain himself, and that's just him. He's my buddy and we all have our faults, he'll just have to learn to get over it.

Got this from http://www.canismajor.com/dog/schnauz.html

Bearded face cocked, large, expressive eyes reflecting his merry character, the Miniature Schnauzer is a mischief-maker bent on bringing joy to his world. Actually, his lighthearted air belies his stolid Germanic origin and camouflages his tenacious devotion to his family.

One of three modern breeds with schnauzer in its name, the Miniature Schnauzer is descended from the Standard Schnauzer and the Affenpinscher, a toy dog with a terrier-like attitude, with perhaps a dollop of Poodle thrown in. The Standard Schnauzer, itself developed from a combination of German Poodle, gray wolf spitz, and wirehaired pinscher (the German "pinscher" is the British "terrier"), was a versatile farmer's helper, in turn guarding the produce wagons at market and the roadside inns, watching over the farm yard, and catching rats. The Miniature Schnauzer inherited his ancestor's courage and resolve as well as the job of rat catching on the family farm.

The Giant Schnauzer also derives from the Standard Schnauzer by mixture with several extinct varieties of sheep guarding and herding dogs and black Great Danes. Today the schnauzers are three separate breeds rather than a single breed that comes in different sizes. The Standard and Giant breeds are part of the American Kennel Club working group, but the Miniature finds a home with the terriers. However, unlike the other terriers, the Schnauzer -- the only dog in the group to originate outside the British Isles -- does not "go to ground" after its quarry.

The first paragraph KILLED me. Schnauzer owners will understand completely.

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
Shock collars are an excellent way to train dogs. It works very well if you work with your dogs consistently. And the goal is not to shock the crap out of the dog until he/she is too scared to go outside. You use it as a behavior modification tool. They need to associated the shock with their interest in the birds. You'll probably have to work with one at a time. I'd start out with leash corrections and "NO!" when she shows interest in the chicken. He needs to know they're off limits, yours and part of their landscape. Then gradually work to shocking in replacment of the leash corrections. They have systems that have a remote control. You don't want you dog associating the shock with you, just his interest in the chickens. Just slapping a shock collar on him and shocking it whenever he looks at a chicken will only scare and confuse him, not teach him. He needs to associate the shock with the behavior you want him to stop. That's why you start with leash corrections and "NO!" when he's in the act you want corrected. So that when the schock comes with "NO!", he's already knows he's not supposed to go to the chickens and the shock will reinforce his training.

So when you walk him though the chickens, and he behaves, that would be a time to praise, play with him or give him attention. As soon as he gets interested in the chickens, you leash correct or shock. It will take a few weeks and you have to be consistent and dedicated.

But some dogs have strong prey drives and you may just have to keep them completely separated. Neutering your dog isn't going to work. Testosterone is associated with aggression, but aggression isn't always assoicated with prey drive.

 

[Cetawin]

I have not read the 4 pages of replies but you are going to have to keep them separated or choose between them. The reason they were not torn up and merely grabbed and killed was because the dog was "playing". Dogs play with the cute feathery falpping thing and suddenly it is not moving anymore so they go on to another one or something else.

 

[mdbokc]

If you are going to keep both, not only will yard sharing have to take place, I would use electric fence to protect the chicken run from the dogs while they have the yard. Inexpensive and it works.

 

[DWH]

GOLDEN RULE *SPARKLE SPARKLE!*dogs and chickens DO NOT go together well, if you like your chickens and of course who would have a membership here without liking chickens? KEEP THEM SPERATE!!!!

 

[chookchick]

Quote:
Yep and add electric fence. Having the dogs and chickens alternate yard times does not work. Can't tell you how many times I've read on here about that situation, and somebody messed up, and now all the chickens are dead. It WILL happen again. Don't put your chickens through that--keep them in a run!

 

[CamsCluckinChicks]

We had to build our chickens a dog proof yard for just them. Having said that, we did train our BIRD dogs to leave our Cockatiel alone. We used Cesar Milan's technique of holding the dog down and rubbing the bird all over the dog until the dog stops showing any signs of prey drive (ie shaking, trying to lift head). We did this about 5 days in a row & then at least once a week for over a month. The other day, Daizy (the cockatiel) flew off her cage and landed right on Charlie. Charlie is my baby. She's a 4-year old German Shorthaired Pointer with a very, very high prey drive. Charlie froze in place & waited for me to get Daizy. I have no doubt she would have ate Daizy if I hadn't been right there, but still. None of my dogs (I have 4 females & 1 male) ever even look at the cockatiel, but they do stare at the chickens. I never leave any of the birds alone with the dogs - and never, ever do the chickens & the dogs come in contact...it happened one time & that chicken is now buried in our woods line.

You can have both. Just give the chickens their own, dog safe yard.

 

[flowerchicks]

You have a dog bred to hunt little creatures, and I doubt very seriously that unless it is actually raised by a chicken, a dog bred to hunt or chase or herd other animals can ever be trusted with your chickens.

My chickens don't have free range, but my two dogs were determined to torment them none the less. My husky, of course, liked to dig under the fence (concrete pavers on the inside, so no danger), and my cattle dog would run back and forth, throwing herself against the fence. My husband put up obsticals to deter her, but I wanted her to NOT want to go near the chickens. We got an electric fence kit, cost about $40, and ran it around the coup/run. The cattle dog got shocked about 4 times before deciding chickens are not fun anymore. The husky, apparently learned by observation. The wire isnt even turned on anymore, but they don't know that.

Not sure how you can impliment an electric fence with free range chickens, though, but if you can think of a way, it's worth the money and the effort. Good Luck