always a chicken eater???

[spell]

Does anyone have suggestions for controlling/preventing a chicken eating dog?
He is my son's favorite dog so getting rid of him is NOT an option (although, some days I would love to).
The dog is about 9-10 yrs old and has an incredibly high "prey drive". He loves to chase things! We know that he did eat a chicken or two when he was a young pup but, nothing since (that we know about). We have the chickens fenced in and the coop is secure. We keep the dog tied if the chickens are in their run. A friend recommended taking the dog out to watch us tend the birds in hopes that he would come to understand that the chicks are part of our pack. Well......he was tied nearby but could barely contain himself. He was shaking uncontrollably. I could just tell that he would love to snap one of the ladies up. If the birds started flapping or moving quickly, he would lunge on the tie - out. We knew this would be a challenge but, I really can't bear the thought of him eating my boy's chickens and what will ensue. I also feel bad that the dog is not able to get his free time. He's an excellent defender--how can we encourage him to defend instead of slaughter?

Soooo--once a chicken eater, always a chicken eater? Any ideas?

 

[CoyoteMagic]

adversion. Get a shock collar if he gets too close, zap him.

 

[bakerjw]

I doubt if you can ever train the dog to lose its behavior. Especially if it lunges as you described.

 

[NYREDS]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Dogs are preditors, chickens are prey. Sounds like your dog is clear on that. The best way to keep any dog from killing chickens is to keep them seperated.

 

[wannabe_goatmom]

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[DTchickens]

I will say, yes. They can be trained not to eat chickens, no matter what dog, no matter how old, how many they've killed etc.. Being in his old age, it will take longer to train him, but it can be done. There is a lot of advice on how to train a dog not to mess with the birds, try using the search at the top to read all of the threads. A shock collar could probably work too, I was debating getting one for my German Shepherd since I had tried everything else but after his last correction he seems to be OK with them now.. He is still under watch though.

-Daniel

 

[spell]

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these were my thoughts as well....too bad for the dog, I guess.
we're just worried what may happen if (when) he escapes my clutches.
thanks for the advice. i'm open to any suggestions