Tip/Advice while we continue training her?

[KikiDeAnime]

Back on July 21 2018, we drove 2 hours to pick up a German Shepherd/Lab mix puppy that we named Mika(Me-ka). Despite the man selling them a week early than he should have, we still brought her home. I was the one who mostly took care of Mika for the first 3 weeks we had her.
Because of her high energy, we knew we needed to start training her to stay away from the chickens early on since we like to let them free roam a few times a week. These past few months, we had a hard time training her.
Now she knows to stop chasing them if we move forward a step but she still chases them whenever she gets the chance. She actually managed, two weeks ago, to swing one of our escape artist Cochin bantam hens around before I stepped in and saved it from death.
Mika is 6 months old as of Dec 4th in case you needed to know her age.
1 Week after we got Mika, two of our hens attacked her but didn't injured her at all. Somehow that didn't deter her to stay away from them.

What are some tips or advice you can offer on training her some more to behave like the other 2 dogs we own?
Ruby and Mooshu know not to chase them even though Ruby has killed some in the past. Actually, if anything our cat Moses behaves better than them when he goes outside and is around the hens despite hunting a lot of mice and baby rabbits.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Oops! Forgot to include a picture of Mika.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Work on teaching her "leave it". You can than use that command in reference to your birds. I would start out perhaps with a toy, than work my way up to food than live animals. Also work on sit, down and stay. All these will put you in control of her. I personally like using treats like tiny bits of hotdogs to train.

Some pups can take up to 2-3 years before you can expect them to listen without constant reminders. So keep at it.

Many go through a teenager stage around 8 months, so keep at it and it will pay off in the end. Don't let her fail by letting her run free or chase chickens. Don't use harsh corrections of any physical punishments. Positive reinforcement is best.

Just drill those obedience training, and maybe sign up for some classes. Raising a pup right takes time and patience.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh and she's adorable.

 

[JaeG]

Time, patience and lots of basic training, as oldhen has said.

I bought a training harness off a dog trainer when our pup (Lab x English Pointer, no doubt with other breeds mixed in there too) was about 9 months old. She said to me our Honey would be 2 and a half to 3 years old before she would mature mentally. Honey was the first dog we've ever owned and I nearly cried when she said that. I felt like I'd put so much effort in already because I wanted so badly for her to be a good dog. It does take forever but all that effort is worth it in the end.

Maybe practise being with the chickens for short periods only so you are setting her up for success (rather than waiting for her to get overexcited) and get her focused on training while with them so that her brain is doing something that's directed by you (rather than being left to come up with her own entertainment). If she's too focused on your birds to listen to you move further away and slowly get closer over time. You have to build up her tolerance for excitement.

Every dog is different and I tried out many different techniques while training our very excitable pup (who is now 6 years old and still very excitable when people come to visit despite her age - she loves people). You just have to figure out what works for you and the beautiful Mika.