Brother letting pup chase poultry

[HumbleAmerican]

I'd be tempted to use the business end of a shotgun and chalk it up to 'skeet shooting practice'

What he's doing to your chickens is just as serious. Fido wanders onto neighbors place and 'herds' their chickens..... it may be reality.

Not the dogs fault. The owner needs a t-post wrapped around his neck.

 

[cluckingheck]

The thing that possibly makes this worse is the fact he has a red heeler/lab mix that we had to take the shock collar to when I first got my chickens because she has a high prey drive. But for some reason it’s funny when it’s his new dog chasing them? Granted, the older dog is terrified of cows and he never mentioned anything about training her for herding in the years he’s had her.

I just don’t understand, really. It’s not any different because the pup isn’t going to be a pup for much longer. It’s easier to prevent bad habits than to break them of it.

 

[HumbleAmerican]

I have English Springers that I actively hunt with.

My chickens steal her bone.... while she's gnawing on it

It's the owners responsibility to train the dog on what is acceptable to chase.

 

[chickennuggt]

Dogs shouldn't be allowed to chase chickens even if they are a puppy the chickens can get hurt because dogs can get very energetic/aggressive and kill your chickens

 

[Lizzy733]

There's a reason trained herding dogs cost thousands of dollars. They have to be trained to the degree of a service dog. It takes like 2 years and they absolutely cannot be treated as a pet. A herding dog is a tool, not a family pet. Its entire life should be 'work' and absolutely nothing else.

Chasing of any livestock should be discouraged unless he wants it killing other animals too (like newborn calves). There is such a thing as bird aversion training and I think it involves a shock collar. Pretty popular here in NZ cause it's all about protecting native birds.

I've not owned a herding dog nor been involved in any training, but I'm sure there are resources out there. I do know people who have them though and they pay the extra and don't do the training themselves.

You will end up with a dead bird eventually at this rate. Even if it's unintentional on the dog's part, it will happen.

 

[Lizzy733]

Oh, not to mention the stress its putting on your flock. Wouldn't be surprised if they went off the lay. Too bad a roo hasn't run up and kicked the pup in the face.

My head hen did this to my mother in law's griffin when she tried to trot over and make friends and she now ignores the chickens when she's over. Lucky she didn't lose an eye for that one, honestly. (And that was a monitored introduction with a dog known to be non-aggressive with poulty btw otherwise she would not have been allowed anywhere near them).

 

[Geena]

Yeah, I think my brother just thinks it’s funny and he’s using training as an excuse. I have noticed that if she’s so far away from you, she won’t listen at all. If she’s close, she’ll actually somewhat listen. I think the only thing she knows is to ( mostly ) come to her name & sit but that’s it. My dad is on my side about the whole situation, thankfully. I think that’s because he’s a sucker for the chickens too and my silkie, Pumpkin, is his little buddy ( his words, lol ).

I was able to bring it up to my mom and I mentioned what you said about chickens scatter instead of herd together. She seemed to agree with me more than she had yesterday, but I also went through this site looking for pictures of what dogs do to chickens and showed them to her. I’m not playing around with this shit, if she doesn’t knock it off I’m putting a shock collar on her and my brother can suck it.

I know it seems like I have to answer to my mom but my brother and I are both in our 20s. I mean, I do still have to listen to her but she doesn’t seem to quite grasp just how bad letting a pup chase chickens and ducks is. Though, she also doesn’t care a whole lot about the chickens anyways.

Oh, sorry, the way your post read I thought you were a child. If you are in your 20s, go buy some fencing and posts and make a nice pen for your poultry and put a padlock on it if necessary, problem solved.

 

[CoconutCoffee]

So, I have an issue that I’m not sure if I’m blowing it out of proportion or not. My brother has a blue heeler pup that he’s letting chase my chickens and ducks. I told him not to but he claims he’s training her to be a cattle dog ( we also raise them ), but I don’t think using the chickens is a good idea. Especially when he’s not teaching her any commands, he just lets her chase them. To me, she’s chasing them to chase them and she’s going to end up catching and killing them because she thinks it’s fun. I yell at her when she goes after them but she continues to do it and my brother is encouraging it.

Definitely not blowing it out of proportion. The dog needs to stay away from the birds.

 

[Knellie]

Sorry you and your chickens are having to deal with that, you are definitely not blowing things out of proportion. It's difficult to give you any training advice since it's not your dog and you don't seem to have much say in the matter.

One thing you might want to bring up to your family is that chickens should never be used to train a dog to herd, because chickens don't herd, they scatter and the puppy will develop very bad habits that will be extremely difficult to train out of him.

Herding is NOT chasing, it's gathering together and moving animals in a specific way to a certain area. If all he learns to do is chase, then he will only chase and scatter the cattle around as well. The exact opposite of what you want him to do.

Most importantly the pup should have all his basic training, (stay, down, sit, come, leave it etc) down pat before he is introduced to any animal for herding purposes. You can't possibly teach him what you want him to do if he's running around out of control.

Really good suggestions. I had to quit free-ranging because of irresponsible neighbors’ dogs but having to deal with family members in the same house is a whole other mess.

 

[DickMidnight]

you’re in your 20s…move out.

then your brother and his dog aren’t your problem anymore.