A fox just got one of my Barred Rocks...it was just a few feet away..

[ticker9400]

I am sorry you are having so many dog problems

I have a sheltie and a chuhahua mix (sp?) and they bark at birds flying over head they are both great watchdogs and dont bother with the chickens..
good luck
god bless

 

[Faverolle]

Quote:
I agree. This is why shelters are so full of unwanted animals.

This is a good question. We have worked with Saydee. I got her at a 6 week old. Took her out to the coop with me everytime I went out. All she ever wanted to do was to chew on and chase the chicks/chickens. When I wasn't looking she would go after the chick/chicken. Saydee is very smart, she chooses to do what Saydee wants to do. Saydee has never been hit..I trained my rott and chow..they both are dead. OLD AGE. I know how to train. Saydee as a pup acted like a coyote when people would come around. 10weeks and older. She never wanted any one to touch her except for who lived in the home. I would ask my brother or son to hold her hoping she would get use to others. Still to this day the family in the house is the only one she wants around. Saydee has killed my 1 year old hen and if she is left unchained she will go after the chickens..mine and my neighbors. I have to be fearful all the time that Saydee might bite some one. Would you keep a dog like this? I was dog bitten as a little girl. The dog bite my hip and pulled me off of my bike. These tempermented dogs need to be destroyed or caged for life. Lets talk about the dog shelter..I have always been a responsible dog owner. Female dogs is all I have owned and all have been spayed. We have taken in 5 stray dogs in the past 2years.That some irresponsile person dropped off. All have been spayed. One killed my tom turkey. The dog shelters are full because of irresponsible dog owners that won't get there pets spayed/neutured or because they drop them off so then they become other peoples problems. How fair is that to me or others. Our dog shelter will tell you..just destroy the dog. Do you think it would be wise of me to rehome Saydee knowing that she is capable of biting some one or killing others live stock? I don't think so. I would be irresponsible, wouldn't I? We can't ever get the breed of dog we want because we are always taking in others. Not fair. I have never taken a dog to the shelter. DJ

It sounds like a combination of poor genetics, improper training, and improper socialization, especially when she was a puppy. Unfortunately, especially with many of your very popular dogs like German Shepherds many of them should not have been bred due to various flaws like temperament issues, conformation issues, etc. Too many people are backyard breeders and have the mind set "I got a boy, you got a girl, lets breed them and sell the puppies" without giving any regard to whether or not either are suitable for breeding. There are plenty of people that only have a couple dogs that breed them that have decent dogs and I don't wish to direct this toward everyone but just like those of us that really try to work with certain chicken breeds for example and try to improve our lines we often times have to cull birds to keep to the overall standard. In the case of dogs many that do not conform or have various flaws should be spayed/neutered so that their poor genes don't continue.

I have 5 German Shepherds and they are all schutzhund dogs. Schutzhund in German means protection dog. In simple terms it's kind of like a more advanced version of a police dog. All my dogs have a very high drive but yet everyone of them is perfectly fine around my chickens, all 80 plus of them, many that free range. All my dogs will alert me to someone/something strange but yet with a simple command they are generally fine with others. They won't be as trusting with them as family for example, but I have no worrys that they will walk up and bite someone I am talking with just for the heck of it.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Quote:
This is a good question. We have worked with Saydee. I got her at a 6 week old. Took her out to the coop with me everytime I went out. All she ever wanted to do was to chew on and chase the chicks/chickens. When I wasn't looking she would go after the chick/chicken. Saydee is very smart, she chooses to do what Saydee wants to do. Saydee has never been hit..I trained my rott and chow..they both are dead. OLD AGE. I know how to train. Saydee as a pup acted like a coyote when people would come around. 10weeks and older. She never wanted any one to touch her except for who lived in the home. I would ask my brother or son to hold her hoping she would get use to others. Still to this day the family in the house is the only one she wants around. Saydee has killed my 1 year old hen and if she is left unchained she will go after the chickens..mine and my neighbors. I have to be fearful all the time that Saydee might bite some one. Would you keep a dog like this? I was dog bitten as a little girl. The dog bite my hip and pulled me off of my bike. These tempermented dogs need to be destroyed or caged for life. Lets talk about the dog shelter..I have always been a responsible dog owner. Female dogs is all I have owned and all have been spayed. We have taken in 5 stray dogs in the past 2years.That some irresponsile person dropped off. All have been spayed. One killed my tom turkey. The dog shelters are full because of irresponsible dog owners that won't get there pets spayed/neutured or because they drop them off so then they become other peoples problems. How fair is that to me or others. Our dog shelter will tell you..just destroy the dog. Do you think it would be wise of me to rehome Saydee knowing that she is capable of biting some one or killing others live stock? I don't think so. I would be irresponsible, wouldn't I? We can't ever get the breed of dog we want because we are always taking in others. Not fair. I have never taken a dog to the shelter. DJ

It sounds like a combination of poor genetics, improper training, and improper socialization, especially when she was a puppy. Unfortunately, especially with many of your very popular dogs like German Shepherds many of them should not have been bred due to various flaws like temperament issues, conformation issues, etc. Too many people are backyard breeders and have the mind set "I got a boy, you got a girl, lets breed them and sell the puppies" without giving any regard to whether or not either are suitable for breeding. There are plenty of people that only have a couple dogs that breed them that have decent dogs and I don't wish to direct this toward everyone but just like those of us that really try to work with certain chicken breeds for example and try to improve our lines we often times have to cull birds to keep to the overall standard. In the case of dogs many that do not conform or have various flaws should be spayed/neutered so that their poor genes don't continue.

I have 5 German Shepherds and they are all schutzhund dogs. Schutzhund in German means protection dog. In simple terms it's kind of like a more advanced version of a police dog. All my dogs have a very high drive but yet everyone of them is perfectly fine around my chickens, all 80 plus of them, many that free range. All my dogs will alert me to someone/something strange but yet with a simple command they are generally fine with others. They won't be as trusting with them as family for example, but I have no worrys that they will walk up and bite someone I am talking with just for the heck of it.

Both my DH, and myself have had shutzhund german shepherds. I've also had german shepherds that are therapy dogs. It all depends on their temperment, careful breeding, socialization, prey drives, and training. I also agree that some dogs should not be bred. They should be spayed/nuetered. Too many times I have seen german shepherd dogs bred for the sake of breeding them, and it breaks my heart to see it. The breed in general is plagued with health problems, and breeding them only compounds it. When bred properly GSD are excellent herding dogs, protection dogs, and therapy dogs.

That being said, Our most recent GSD was the only dog I trusted around my chickens out of the ones we have. He was always alert, and notified us if a blade of grass moved the wrong way. He would never ever bite someone if unprovoked. He was aloof with strangers, but never mean with strangers.

Bluemoon

 

[chickenchickenbulkbulk]

Quote:
I absolutely agree with you that it is not responsible to rehome a biting dog.

........ But didn't you say earlier that you have already given Saydee away twice?

I have..only to my son..he is the one who bought her for me...but, I changed my mind about it twice. Aaron knows what temperament she has and wanted her for protection. I don't feel comfortable giving her to him. I am afraid she will get loose and hurt some one or something.

 

[chickenchickenbulkbulk]

Bluemoon420/Faverolle..I have to agree with you about the genes. My son picked this pup out for me..his bosses wife bred there GS. My son's wife knows the parents of Saydee, she said that Saydee acts just like the mother. And the mother does have issues. About the training. I feel like I have done a good job training her. I trained my rott and chow. Very smart and intelligent, did everything I asked of them. Why do you think a pup wouldn't want to socialize with other people at such a young age. She would hide behind me or sneak around like a fox, barking at who ever came in the door. She should have greeted every one..I had to pick her up and have the visitor hold her..she still didn't want any part of it. I thought this would help her get over her shyness or help her with communicating with others. I have had 2 GS when I was a young girl. I could walk for miles with them by my side..with out a leash on them. They stayed right with me and was very easy to work with. I really agree with you about the genes and just breeding them because you hve a pair. Good point. Do you think Saydee's behavior can be changed? If so, how? DJ

 

[fargosmom]

If her issues are genetic I don't see how she could be trained out of them. It's hard to fight the hard-wiring. Our neighbors had two GS, a brother and sister, and the female had a lot of issues. She was really fearful of anyone other than their family, and never really got over it, even after years of working with her. The brother on the other hand was totally fine - a really nice dog. I took care of them from time to time and I have to say I didn't turn my back on her - just didn't trust her. If you can find Saydee a situation where she's with someone who understands her nature and can manage it, re-homing might be an option, but she should only go to someone who understands her and is strong enough to keep her from getting into trouble.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Yeah, if you're fearful of her biting someone else, try to find a german shepherd rescue that can find someone to work with her. Most GSD rescues have foster parents who are very familiar with the breed, and can handle them. She can be retrained it will just take a lot of time and patience.
I have one now that was severly abused, and neglected. It's taken him about 3 years to act like a normal dog. He still has his moments, but there was a good dog under there. Do I trust him with my chickens? Absolutely not! He would eat one if he was giving the chance. That you can't change.
I also wanted to say, I was by no means saying you were doing anything wrong

Especially, if she has a sibling or a parent with the same type of temperment. Foxes are sneaky little buggers too. I've seen them sneak up on even alert dogs.

Bluemoon

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

Quote:
I agree with the above poster. Dog training is in order.I am a dog trainer and this is a must. Also choose from working stock, not pet stock. Some dogs will instictually know what to do when a predator comes around. Other dogs have to be trained to understand what is expected of them. Good luck.

 

[chickenchickenbulkbulk]

you know, may I expect to much. My chow and Rott were the best dogs I have ever had in my life. Maybe I am looking for them in her. My chow was 15 and my rott was 12 when they passed. Lexus[rott] has been gone since Feb. 2004 and Cheyenne[chow] died in Jan. 2005. I will never in my life time have any thing mean more to me than my 2 girls. Maybe that is what I need is a working dog. I agree, I can't give Saydee what she needsand she is not what I am looking for in a dog. The chow I had was a reescue dog that had been beat and abused. Bluemoon420.. The fox taking the chicken was only 10 feet if that away from Saydee. I feel she should have taken notice that something was wrong. She did nothing. The hen was making enough noise for me to hear her in the house!! Again, maybe I just expect to much out of her. DJ

 

[Bluemoon420]

Quote:
Yeah, I know. Some dogs, even ones who are supposed to alert you, or protect what's in their yard do that. The GSD we had pass away recently, it came to him naturally. If it was in his yard, he watched it. There is no replacing him. What he did was how he was trained, and when he was being trained, it was very easy to do so. Sometimes dogs like Sadie need a job, but what we want them to do for a job isn't exactly what she was thinking of. I also have a dog like that now. He LOVES to sniff things out. If I tell him "find it" He finds it. It took me about a year to figure that out with him. He drove me nuts until I did.

We miss our GSD terribly right now, but when the time comes to get another one. I know what to look for. From day one he showed certain behaviors that most dogs wouldn't.

Bluemoon