Any hope for a poultry "aggressive" border collie?

[OurWildHeart]

Adopted this guy when he was a puppy, cute as can be but now that we're trying to live a bit more "off the land", raising poultry has become a problem with him.

After an incident with several pullets last year, I am unsure of where he stands as far as "defender" or "problem child" goes. He seems to leave my new stock be if they are in a tightly buttoned up chicken coop but that's only supervised as far as I know.

What would you suggest, keeping in mind that he was around before the birds, in order to tame and expose him to the animals or at least expel the energy he has pent up that caused such an incident in the past? I just hope it doesn't end with him stuck in a small run or a new home.

((Hope this category works since it relates to me starting and managing my new flock, and hopefully including them in the activities and protection under my dogs))

 

[chfite]

How old is the dog? How well trained is he? Can you call him off the chickens and have him stay and wait? Border Collies are natural herding dogs and herd by intimidation from a distance. It is not their nature to approach the herd or flock directly as is the case with Australian Shepherds.

Chris

 

[centrarchid]

I have had problems during training of my bird dogs as well when bred in tendencies conflict with desired neutrality with respect to birds. My dogs can have the "prey drive" or "herding drive" but is not to be directed at poultry. Get with dog and concentrate on control when birds are close and causing dog to get excited. Suppress undesired actions of dog quickly when it does something involving chicken as a target such as moving towards or looking at birds. You will have to challenge dog under a range of conditions to get it across that chickens in general are not to be messed with. Avoid looking at birds yourself during process and try to get dog interested in other targets while it is close to birds.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I think there is hope for basically any dog (barring really extreme circumstances) if you can make the time commitment to training but it may take a a lot of time on your part. How well trained is the dog in general? I would work on overall training and impulse control training to start. Make sure you work with the dog every single day. Consistency is the most important thing so don't skip.

When I want to work on overall behavior and impulse control I turn every single thing the dog does into a training opportunity. "Wait." and "Leave it." are the things I focus the most on. I make the dog wait before eating anything at all. Then, part way through the snack/meal I make the dog leave it and wait again. The first time you work on this dinner might take an hour. Don't give in. Tomorrow it will be shorter, the next day even shorter. Hand feed them one kibble at a time if you have to, to get the point across.

I make them stop and sit and wait in every doorway. Anytime they pick up a toy they want I make them drop it and wait. It is all about teaching them that they do not get to do whatever pops into their head -- every single thing belongs to you and they do what you want them to do even when it's not the thing their doggy brain is excited about.

Once you feel like you have overall impulse training under control I would work on the chickens using these same skills. I generally introduce the dog on a leash. Only completely calm, ignoring behavior is acceptable. Everything else is a no. Repeat over and over and over again, everyday, until the behavior is perfect every time.

Also make sure the dog is otherwise well exercised and stimulated. That makes everything easier.

 

[Chickens R Us]

Take your Border Collie for a nice loooooong run before each training session it will be easier to train without all the pent up energy. I'm talking about tongue hanging out the side of mouth I need to lay down run,and of coarse give it fresh water before the training session.