Advice needed! How to properly discipline a dog.

[Cyprus]

My husky has always been a chicken killer. Lately she was getting better about leaving the chickens alone.

Today she bypassed me in my house and ran into my ICU room and started trying to attack/kill my chicken through the wire.

Not really thinking about discipline, just trying to save my chicken, I grabbed her muzzle -closing it- and bodyslammed her to the ground. It stopped her, as it should, and she is a big dog so she could take it. But doing so I accidentally cut her nose. I cleaned that up and had a good long minute with her by the chicken firmly repeating NO to her and not letting her look at the chicken. I just averted her gaze and gave another firm NO.

I dragged her out -she was really resistant- and put her in her kennel. Now she's doing the guilty dog look.

Room is now closed off with a board (room was open access).

How do I further teach her that attacking chickens is NOT OKAY. She was fine until she wasn't. We really need help because we are thinking of rehoming her since she likes to kill literally everything smaller than her that isn't another dog or human. Cats included. She tried to kill him for years.

Cyprus

 

[DobieLover]

My husky has always been a chicken killer. Lately she was getting better about leaving the chickens alone.

Today she bypassed me in my house and ran into my ICU room and started trying to attack/kill my chicken through the wire.

Not really thinking about discipline, just trying to save my chicken, I grabbed her muzzle -closing it- and bodyslammed her to the ground. It stopped her, as it should, and she is a big dog so she could take it. But doing so I accidentally cut her nose. I cleaned that up and had a good long minute with her by the chicken firmly repeating NO to her and not letting her look at the chicken. I just averted her gaze and gave another firm NO.

I dragged her out -she was really resistant- and put her in her kennel. Now she's doing the guilty dog look.

Room is now closed off with a board (room was open access).

How do I further teach her that attacking chickens is NOT OKAY. She was fine until she wasn't. We really need help because we are thinking of rehoming her since she likes to kill literally everything smaller than her that isn't another dog or human. Cats included. She tried to kill him for years.

Cyprus

You read the issues one member has been battling with her pit bull in your thread on least liked dog breeds.
Your husky is like her pit bull. That prey drive is super high. Without extensive training she likely would never be trustworthy around small animals. Even if you got her to the point she would not attack, there will come a day she will relapse and you will likely lose a pet.
I would either re-home her into a home without small animals and kids or keep her on leash at all times around your small animals.

 

[PirateGirl]

There are lots of different training techniques out there, however it does sounds like your dog has an extremely high prey drive and your chickens will always need to be in a run to be safe. I will suggest two different things here and say that you can do further research on either topic if you feel it may help your situation.

1. One dog I have went through work with a personal trainer, most specifically to deal with fear/aggression issues but the training works for many issues so I mention it here. Specifically we used clicker training techniques which is a reward based system that involves catching your dog in the act of doing the good/desired behaviors. Down the line I was able to use the clicker techniques to teach my dog not to eat my new cat (my dog had never lived with a cat at that point) and when we got chickens/ducks I was able to train my dog not to eat them as well. Today I had a chicken escape the run and walk up to the dog and the dog did not eat it (though she got quite excited). If you try clicker training, as with any training, you must be consistent. Also you will know based on how your dog is responding to it for more basic/less exciting behaviors if you think it could work when escalated to ignoring chickens.

2. Friends of ours had a husky that was known to have a high prey drive. It escaped/ran away on more than one occasion and killed a neighbor's chickens. There were court cases etc. and in the end the dog was not required to be put down however to be considered safe the dog had to wear a shock collar. There are different kinds of shock collars so here is where you must do your research and see if one sounds right for you. This particular dog had one that if a human pushed the recall button and the dog ignored it they could hit a button to shock the dog with enough force that the dog instantly stopped in its tracks. I know another person that effectively uses a different shock collar for training his hunting dog.

Good luck. It is extremely difficult emotionally when you fear you cannot trust a dog/pet that you have lived with and are bonded with. There is no right and wrong answer here. You must try the options that you think will work for you and your family. Sometimes the answer is that the dog is not a good fit for your and your family and although this is difficult, this is not wrong either. Whatever you decide, that is the right answer for you and your situation will improve and over time your situation will be less stressful either because the dog is becoming better trained or because the dog is in a home that is a better fit. Good luck.

 

[PirateGirl]

One more thing. Some dogs, regardless of training, still have too high of an instinctual prey drive to ever be trusted around small animals. This is not your fault. This is in their blood and it cannot always be overcome or trained out of them. You must be able to recognize this and decide how your wish to proceed and understand the inherent risks. Another story, my brother and his family did all they could for their dog, personal trainer, meds to keep it calm, always leashed when outdoors, etc. It helped, kinda, but like you said, the dog was ok until it wasn't, and one day it randomly killed their own pet cat (the cat it had lived with peacefully for years) inside the house while they were home. At this point you can predict that your dog's behavior is unpredictable around small animals and this may or may not be able to be overcome.

 

[Cyprus]

Thanks guys.
I think rehoming will not just be hard emotionally, but also practically.
Our local humane center does not treat their dogs well so we refuse to put her there. She will never be surrendered to a pound (just horrible imo).
We've called up localish husky rescues and they won't take her because they only take strays. And nobody around here wants her because of the high prey drive, lack of response to training and age. She is 5 and most people who raise Huskies here want them for sled dogs so a dog older than 1 is useless to them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Does she know the "leave it" command?

Sounds like she needs a lot of work and even then since she is an adult won't be 100% trustable.

Training starts young.

Even though my dogs are trained young they are separated from the birds 100% of the time.

The dogs have their part of the yard and the birds theirs.
Maybe that can work for you too.

 

[PirateGirl]

You mentioned a husky rescue, I would call them again and see if they can refer you to a trainer. They hopefully can offer someone reputable who is familiar with the breed as this is somewhat typical husky behavior.

I know it is not cheap, but also perhaps a chain link dog kennel on a concrete slab is needed for your dog. You cannot physically be with your dog 24 hours a day to keep it in check, having a safe space that is larger than a crate where the dog can be at times unattended may really help your peace of mind in the long run. While this may not be the perfect dog life, it is better than no life and huskys typically quite enjoy their time outdoors regardless the weather. A safe outdoor space for the dog could be good.

 

[Cyprus]

Does she know the "leave it" command?

Sounds like she needs a lot of work and even then since she is an adult won't be 100% trustable.

Training starts young.

Even though my dogs are trained young they are separated from the birds 100% of the time.

The dogs have their part of the yard and the birds theirs.
Maybe that can work for you too.

She does not know "leave it". She barely listens anyway. All she knows is her name, "no" and "sit". Wish I was kidding. And it's her, not the breed. Her full sister knows her name, "sit", "lie down", "take", "fetch", "up" (jump), "stay", "walk", "no", "leave it", and can be called back by name.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yeah, some dogs are tough to train.

I would really recommend an outdoor kennel that she can be in.
I don't like the tiny ones myself. I ran fencing in my yard giving the dogs a very large space.

Is she a climber?
If she is that will likely need addressed in the kennel design.

oh and taking her for walks/runs can really help too.

 

[Cyprus]

I know it is not cheap, but also perhaps a chain link dog kennel on a concrete slab is needed for your dog. You cannot physically be with your dog 24 hours a day to keep it in check, having a safe space that is larger than a crate where the dog can be at times unattended may really help your peace of mind in the long run. While this may not be the perfect dog life, it is better than no life and huskys typically quite enjoy their time outdoors regardless the weather. A safe outdoor space for the dog could be good.

Would you believe me if I say we have one and it doesn't work?

She literally chews through metal and escapes. She has done so at least 10 times. The kennel is on concrete and fortified with extra wire. Does nothing to stop her. Nothing. There is now wood planks screwed on in several places because she alone has chewed through the wire so much. Panels were flipped even, that's how much she does it.

Her sister doesn't even do anything. Just her.

And when she gets out she either attacks my chickens or runs across two highways only to be found by some random stranger.