anyone got any tips to break a dog from eating eggs

[blucoondawg]

we have actually used a shock collar also and we had it turned up all the way and zapped him when he had an egg in his mouth and he just sat there looking at us with his neck just twitching and that was the only indication that it was working was his neck twitching

Well then you've either got yourself one tough bull headed dog or you have a cheap pos shock collar. I use a tri tronics brand, it is made for hunting dogs, it is waterproof and will reach out a long ways and nail the dog, I used to have a Petmate from the local farm supply sporting goods section, it was garbage, something for people to use on their lap dogs who never wander more than 20 feet. If you turn up my collar the dog will know he's getting bit and jump and yelp not just twitch, also possibly the contacts are to short for his fur or the collar isn't tight enough to give him a good zap. I would make sure your collar is sufficient then nail him whenever he even looks at an egg, don't even let him pick it up first. Do that enough times and he should learn, but you need good equipment and a dog that is capable of learning.

 

[maransfan16]

ours is a innotek that we picked up at TSC for like 50 bucks or so also the dog is a bit of a dead head as we joke that he can't even chase cars right he took off after one and instead of getting behind the truck he just plowed into the side of the truck door and left a dent in the door

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Nothing a good smack or two on the nose won't fix.

 

[jeepgirl13]

You could always get a low powered bb gun and git him with it everytime he goes near the eggs... or start cooping your chickens at night, not letting them out till the majority of them lay. This is what we do at my ranch and I hardly ever find eggs in the hay cart or hay stacks anymore. Or perhaps creating a large fenced run for the dog? Electrifying the top would discourage jumping.

 

[blucoondawg]

Ya those 50 dollar innoteks aren't much, they are very similar to the one I had, pretty much junk. If you have opportunity to upgrade or borrow a better unit from a friend or a hunter in the area you will see a huge difference between the cheaper collar and a serious training collar, they won't harm the dog but they will certainly make him take notice. The bad part is the good collars are expensive, innotek used to have good ones but lately all I see from them are the cheapo ones, it seems tri tronics and sport dog are the only 2 decent ones around anymore.

 

[bugglesmommy]

The only guaranteed way is to control the dogs access. Physical punishment as suggested may only result in a sneakier dog and in the grand sceme could do more harm then good. You could try substituted filled eggs but if the dog is particularly stubborn it may eat them anyways. We had a lab that would eat anything. I held a habanero pepper to teach him not to snatch....it took him 8 hours but he ate it out of sheer determination.

 

[maransfan16]

thanks everyone for your help i'm going to see if i can borrow a shock collar from my friend that goes coon hunting alot and try to drain some eggs and do that also

 

[bugglesmommy]

If you don't want physical boundaries have you considered the invisible fencing with the collars? The kind that shocks if a dog tries to pass through? The birds could still be free range with that around where they lay.

 

[oceanjean]

My neighbor's dogs do the same thing, only with chicken eggs. What I suggest is get some fence and a gate the dog can't get through and make a nighttime shelter for your fowl. Every morning when YOU wake up you unlock the gate run in get the eggs get out and watch your dog the rest of the day or just let him/her inside every night so he/she can't get out there to eat the eggs while are sleeping. You can wake up earlier, you can make a spot for your fowl to lay that is higher than the dog can reach. I have a couple more ideas if you want them.

 

[Eggsoteric]

ours is a innotek that we picked up at TSC for like 50 bucks or so also the dog is a bit of a dead head as we joke that he can't even chase cars right he took off after one and instead of getting behind the truck he just plowed into the side of the truck door and left a dent in the door

I guess I'm missing something. You don't want to keep your dog up when collecting eggs; you don't want to make sure that his access to the nests are blocked. Whatever happened to good old fashioned training? Now, I realize that teaching commands like a decent recall or using the "leave-it" command takes a good deal more time and effort on one's part than say an e-collar, however, the benefits of good, solid training are many.

If your dog continues with the above-mentioned behavior quoted, it's only a matter of time before you'll never have to worry about him stealing eggs again.