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

[birdygirl123]

We have two Irish Setters, and two Black Labs. None of them had been around Chickens growing up. The setters are natural hunters, and of course this was a problem. I had raised Buff's, and one of the Setters got ahold of one. Killed it, and by the time I reached them.. the Labs were in on the situation. I wanted to beat them all!.. Non the less, I brought each dog, one by one.. back to my now dead baby.. I made each lay, (they knew how ticked I was), but each laid on their backs, feet up in the air.. . I pushed my bird over towards them, they wanted no part of it. I then brought one of my other birds over, and let the bird down.. The labs got the message very quickly, the setters, thought I was bringing another for dinner. As soon as they would show interest, I would tap them with my fingers, kinda like a quick motion, so their attention was back on me. I only had to do this that day.. .. now they understand that the birds are part of the pack.. My setters still kill wild bunnies, but will not even look funny at a chicken.. That’s what worked for me.. I'll see if I can find something on youtube that explains..

 

[birdygirl123]

Here ya go!..

Now, I didnt so much hit as I did just a quick correction.. hardly tapping..

 

[Zaxby's2]

Thanks for all the replies, and I've decided to definitely not go with the dead bird thing. Here's my situation. Both have killed chickens before(including numerous animals from the woods near our house). They both are obedient, but if they see a chicken they're in a whole new world and I can barely(if at all) control them, not to mention how strong they are. Has anyone had success with a situation like this? Everyone I know says that once they've killed there's no stopping them. It seems my dogs would be an exception to all of the success stories so far.

 

[jeepchick]

Dont know if this might help but this is a you tube video of the Dog Whisperer addressing chickens....I tried it with my dogs and it seemed to work but i still have to be very attentive of the dogs when around the chickens....hunting is their instinct after all

 

[Peck Johnson]

Wive's tale. In all but a few cases, it does not work. And in cases where it does work, it is probably not so much the dead bird as it is the owner that is teaching the dog to behave. A dog does not mind a carcass.

 

[schellie69]

Quote:
This can and does work, but you must be the dominate one. Our husky weighs the same a I do but I can use this submissive training on her and she does submit even to the 2 year old grand daughter can make her submit, It takes time patience and practice I would never leave the dogs and the chickens unsupervised even after all the training to much temptation for a high prey driven dog.

 

[mtngrl812]

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I tried with one of my Schnauzers. He killed the very young rooster, to tied what was left to his collar and stuck him in a kennel. When I went back to check on him, he had finished eating the rooster. Only feathers were still tied to his collar. I read it in a Jack London book, White Fang, but it didn't work on a Schnauzer. I found a good shock collar worked best to get the dog's attention, after that it only required my voice. I couldn't keep him on a leash beside me at all times, so a shock collar was like an extension and I could control the degree and timing.

 

[Flannery Eau]

A year ago, my German Shepherd mix and Dutch Shepherd mix killed a young pullet. I'm not sure which one started it, but they fed off each other and got out of control. I thought that since they had killed, it was going to be really hard to train them to leave the chickens alone. I live in the city with a smallish back yard and allow my chickens to free range.

With consistency and patience, I would take George (my German Shepherd mix - the other dog has since been re-homed for non-chicken related reasons) on a leash around the young birds. If he "locked in" on them and starting seeking/predatory behaviors, I would scold him strongly. I think an electric collar would also be very helpful in this type of training because you could use it at a distance. Over time, I allowed George to be outside with the chickens without supervision for longer and longer amounts of time. He ultimately accepted the adult chickens into his "pack" and generally just ignores him. His prey drive for squirrels, rabbits, and cats is still extremely acute.

I thought maybe I would have a rough patch when I brought out a new round of young pullets this spring and would have to go through the training process again. He ignores them, even avoids them if they start flapping around. It works really well - George keeps the squirrels out of my garden and the hawks away from my chickens! The training simply takes a controlled environment where you give the dog increasingly more "privileges" around the chickens and for at least a month or so can watch and scold whenever the dog even THINKS about chasing a chicken. Over time, they accept them and then lose interest.

 

[mamabahre]

Quote:
I tried with one of my Schnauzers. He killed the very young rooster, to tied what was left to his collar and stuck him in a kennel. When I went back to check on him, he had finished eating the rooster. Only feathers were still tied to his collar. I read it in a Jack London book, White Fang, but it didn't work on a Schnauzer. I found a good shock collar worked best to get the dog's attention, after that it only required my voice. I couldn't keep him on a leash beside me at all times, so a shock collar was like an extension and I could control the degree and timing.

shock collars are not appropriate training tools for anything except instilling fear in a dog. 99% of any trainer/behaviorist worth their salt will tell you this.

 

[annep]

Our Great Pyr got one, one time..We tied the chicken around the neck, put her in the garage, and come morning, she'd eaten all of it...So, then we did the dog whisperer thing...Put the chicken on her, and told her it was not hers..If she gets near them, I tell her "Not yours!" and she backs off..Now, she's out laying in the yard, with the chickens pecking at the dirt all around her, and she's not budging...So, it worked for us, but, she's a pyr too...