After 4 months of watching my dog killed my rooster

[XtremeRooster]

After 4 months of watching my chickens my dog killed my favorite rooster. I've had the German Shepherd female for 10 years and I've only had the chickens 4 months. I just don't understand why she waited 4 months before deciding to kill one. Anyway I have reintroduced her to my tri-tronics sport 60 dog collar for some remedial chicken training. So far I think electricity is more powerful than her urge to kill chickens.

 

[cafarmgirl]

No telling why it took four months. Many German Shepherds have a high prey drive but so do a whole lot of other dogs. I doubt I would trust this dog alone with chickens at any point from here on out. Maybe in your presence and with lots of training, maybe, but never alone.

 

[XtremeRooster]

This is the picture of my favorite rooster my son took the day before my dog killed him.

 

[centrarchid]

Four months is inside my window of worry as my guardians will sometimes do it then, especially with dogs under 2 years. Make certain dog was actual killer. I have blamed dog on occasion when something else was cause like wife backing over bird with car. Something that will set dog of is a set bird that dog feels inclined to pack around. Also if dog is older and not feeling good it may snap at a bird getting into dog's personal space which a chicken not very resistant to like another dog.

 

[4 the Birds]

A lot of people will swear that their poultry guard dog will never harm a chicken; Yet, it does happen on occasions that the dog will revert to its instincts. I personally think that chickens should be in a separated fenced in area apart from a dog or dogs. They can still act as a guardian but not have access to the birds.

It is rare but sometimes tiger and lion trainers fall into this same false sense of security. Living with the cats and interacting with them daily (even hugging and playing) for years until one day the animals instinct kicks in and kills the trainer/care taker.

 

[XtremeRooster]

I think centra pretty much nailed it. This rooster was the pack leader everywhere he went all the other chickens went. My dog is old and she had seemed to be helping me herd them up when I put the chickens up. I guess her predator or pack leader instincts took over and it is possible this rooster confronted her, he was'nt afraid of anything. My wife and daughter were checking the temporary coop / run to make sure all the the birds went in when she found my dog chewing on the rooster. She had chased him into the edge of the neighbors yard. I was actually more worried about the neighbors dog getting them then her. I guess I was wrong about that too.

Anyway since I put the shock collar back on her and gave her some DC therapy she has not gone near a chicken. Only time will tell, I know in the past the shock collar has broken every bad behaivior that both my shepherds displayed. The tri tronics has six levels of shock and two different sets of interchangable probes it will work up to 1/2 a mile away. I bought it to train my lab for duck hunting. He was doing very well retrieving until someone shot him. He liked to hang out with my neighbors dog and they would cross the creek below my house and run ducks, deer, or whatever. Someone on the other side of the creek shot them they killed my dog and broke the jaw of my neighbors dog. The vet told him it was a high power small caliber round like a .223 or .243 .

There is a hunting club that has all the land leased on the other side of the creek about a mile down to the Altamaha River. When it is not deer season there is somebody over there shooting regularly and you can tell it is a high power rifle. When I built a small range on the side of my property and started shooting back in there direction they stopped. I guess they figured out that there was neighbors closer than they thought.