breaking dogs from killing chickens/tying dead bird to neck?

[woodmort]

This is one of those myths about training dogs--trust me, it will work as long as the dog can't get to live chickens.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I would not trust my two Springers around loose chickens, they would kill them while playing with them. I do not let chickens & dogs out at the same time. Flushing dogs are not supposed to kill birds. Fence one or the other. I prefer to fence the chickens. I had a Lab years ago & she went running for a chicken once and after I yelled no, she never went towards one again. They were always loose with her. Getting rid of a dog for killing chickens seems a little weird to me. Just keep them separated. It goes humans (most anyway), dogs & then chickens at this house.

 

[Hillbilliology]

I have two dogs. One is a German Shorthaired Pointer mix and is nuts about any bird. I used to have ten pigeons but thanks to him, I only have one left. He caught the rest of them over the course of a year. The one that is left is too smart for him I guess. My other dog is a mountain cur which is my squirrel and coon dog. She doesn't care too much about birds. She'll go to sleep in front of the brooder while the bird dog just licks his chops.

But you never know what these dogs will do. Her uncle (the mountain cur) was owned by the dog breeder I got her from. He was a world champion hunting dog and won lots of bench shows as well. One day the dog breeder came home to find that his trusted mountain cur dog had killed all of his chickens. The problem was he had 150 meat chickens. The dog had killed them all and stacked up the bodies in a nice heap in the middle of the yard and was soooooo proud of himself and was fully expecting to be petted up for doing such a complete job of killing all of these chickens for his owner. Instead the owner grabbed a dead chicken and whipped the tar out of the dog, and never had another problem with him killing chickens.

I don't believe you should whip on a dog but I think there is a lot of good you can do with a well timed and frightening "NO"

 

[chickened]

I admit I have not read all the post but whether the method is cruel or not aside it does work on some dogs some not. I personally will go to extremes with my dog to break it from undesirable habits as the alternative is to be put down or get shot by a neighbor as they do get loose sometimes.

 

[mtngrl812]

Quote:
Exactly! There comes a time when the discipline for the dog must be severe enough to keep the dog out of trouble that could ultimately lead to their demise. I'd rather discipline my dogs harshly, than someone complain and my dog be banded from an area, put down at a shelter, or shot by an angry neighbor.

 

[secuono]

My big dog would teat off the dead bird, the little dog would eat the dead bird...Only the little dog has an issue with killing birds, though..

Guess you can have the dog on a leash near the birds and if it gets alert, goes for them or anything, whack it's bum with a stick and say 'no' or w/e your word is. Kinda similar to shock collars but far cheaper and you have to be with the dog all the time...
If you have the time for positive reinforcement training and the patience, you can try that.

 

[memiller123]

Our blue heeler killed a chicken once. My husband took the dead chicken and beat him on the head with it while yelling "no" to him. He understood and has never killed a chicken again.

I have since introduced him to the chickens and have trained him not to kill them. He has learned that they are part of the family and are to be treated as such. I started with a leash and walked him up to them. If he did a bad behavior (such as trying to bite their tail feathers) I sternly stated no. If he did a good behavior (such as trying to herd them with just his nose) I gave him a lot of praise. Also, I daily have him come with me to feed and water them, so that he gets used to them. I have since advanced to having him herd them off the deck, giving him lots of praise. This training really didn't take a lot of time, just a few minutes a day. He is now trusted to be alone with them. He gets a little rough sometimes (grabs them by their tail feathers) and I have to occassionaly provide reinforcement to his training. He's happy with his new job and I feel safe to leave him alone with them.

 

[emvickrey]

We rehome any dog that goes after the chickens. We where lucky enough to have 3 fantastic dogs. Our lab would lay around with the chickens and let them sleep on her. The other one just avoided them. She would watch them and when I was tending to the chickens she of course followed me around right along with the chickens. The small dog would herd them back to the yard when they wandered out and chase all dogs, big or small, out of the yard that didn't live there. Now that was funny to watch.

 

[cooper38]

Dogs are a pack animal. The human should be the head of the pack and any other pets should be higher in the pack or equal to the dog(in the dogs mind). I f the dog sees a chicken as part of the pack they wont bother them. The dog has to see you as the head of the pack first then you can train them to accept the chickens, and while training them you have to be stern and consistent. It may take a little time but can be done.

 

[Theapplechicks]

I haven't read all the posts so ignore if this is now irrelavant! My dad raised labs for hunting but he only wanted them to hunt certain animals. This did not include chickens and rabbits so the first time that the dog would hunt down and bring him one, he would beat the dog w/ it (more like a spanking not a severe beating) and leave it in it's cage overnight. I know this sounds cruel but I promise it did not hurt the dog. THey are big and hard headed and tuff and the best part..... they never ever went near them again. It worked w/ every dog he had. SO i wouldn't let him kill one to try it but if he did, it might be worth a shot.