Can I just vent? Dead chicks.

[sommrluv]

We've actually tried electric before...the results are almost funny.

The electric for livestock...doesn't seem to bother her. The radio electric collars...they have a warning beep before the shock. Cookie would hold her head at the place where it would activate the warning beep and run the batteries dry. Than she would take off. Determined dog!

Not my husband's first terriers, but yes they are my first. I have a therapy dog I trained, and have helped with others, but I don't believe there were terrier's in that bunch either. I know different things work for different dogs.

I did find where the fence failed and repaired it. I'm curious if Cookie broke it...we have chicken wire, and because the pen is in full sun and we have a prevailing wind, we put up snow fence on the exterior of the pen. It has a few good benefits...blocks the sun, helps block the wind, and Cookie can't always see what they are doing. We re-purposed what was left here at the house by the previous family.

There is a section of broken snow fence that is the only portion not covered. I'm surprised the chicks could fit through it, but it wouldn't be impossible.

 

[Vermontmaple]

I'm so sorry to hear about the chicks. I can only imagine what that feels like. Good luck!

P.S. Would the dog benefit from one of those underground dog fences?

 

[IcarusSomnio]

My dog's (Boxer x Great Dane) the same when it comes to rabbits, which she's trained for. Unfortunately she doesn't know the difference between a domestic and a wild so the bunnies have to be kept locked up tight.

I find that a strict training regimen works best, especially for my girl who's high energy-high intelligence-high naughty level. I do obedience training with her nearly every day. Sit, lay down, heel, and stay. I usually work on two different commands, and never the same ones every day. One day it could be sit, stay. Another it could be sit, stay, then heel.

I also do 'Leave It' on an as-needed basis as it's a bit hard to teach by itself. If I see her going after one of my buns or harassing them I give her the 'Hazel, LEAVE IT!' command. If she doesn't listen the first time she gets whacked across the butt and told, much more up close and personal, to leave them alone. Normally she leaves them on the first note, but if she doesn't, she definitely does the second time around.

Other commands I teach are for hunting, those are 'seek' (go find and flush) and 'retrieve' if I want her to bring me something. I also started work on 'left' and 'right' so I can work her from a distance.

Another good way to work a high-drive dog is Agility training. Hazel LOVES it, especially the jumping part. A big plus of it is that you'll have an awesomely fit, awesomely healthy dog. I built a set of jumps out of saplings we cut down, they work great.


It's hard at first getting them going and used to working on command, but once they do and find out it's enjoyable, it's really awesome to watch them just light up. Hazel gets totally excited when I ask her if she wants to play with her Jolly-Ball, her favorite toy in existence (originally bought for horses xD). I usually work her over jumps with it, she just about leaps over everything.


Cookie sounds like she would get along great with Hazel

I got Haze a 'friend', a four year old Weimaraner, but he's more of a couch potato than a 'Lets go RACING and JUMPING and LEAPING through the woods and CHASE things!' dog like Haze is. Hazel frequently plows him over when she really gets to running and can't stop in time.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Honestly I would try really hard to rehome her. We had a beagle who was the holy terror from hell. The neighbors hated us because of her and we tried everything. I mean everything. In desperation I put an add on craigslist looking for a hunter who might want to turn my little barking at all hours, hyper, jumping, killing everything smaller than it terror into a hunting dog. We got lucky. A guy who trains hunting dogs took a look at him, hung out with a bit and felt he could probably put this dog to work which is what those hyper holy terrors need. I have never regreted it. He went where he could be trained to do what he was good at and I got to sleep at night and not get neighbors yelling at me when they saw me in the morning.

 

[drumstick diva]

I would re-home her. The fact that she attackeda rabid animal and you required rabies shots - would be the last straw for me. Some day she may have another encounter with rapid animal and you won't know it and not have shots. Her behavior is just downright dangerous. If it's been escalating lately, it will very likely get even worse. It's not fair how she torments your lab etc. Terriers are a handful even to people who raise them. Her behavior sounds well beyond the average terrier hijinks and energy. Maybe she has some physical condition since she is getting worse at an age she should have begun to mellow. Maybe she's hyperthyroid,etc.

 

[schellie69]

Sounds like that she needs a job, she is a very high energy dog and needs someone who can use that energy to help she should be calming down at this age not getting worse, it sounds like she is bored and needs a job or something to release that energy maybe like on person said a course of some kind of training or hunting course anything to get her busy and working good luck and sorry about your chickens.

 

[sommrluv]

Thank you so much for all the replies & advice!

I don't want to say "she's normally a good dog" because I guess everyone has a quotient of normal. I should probably say "she's an angel in the house" LOL

She's currently asleep at my feet, looking quite innocent. She's terribly smart...I've trained her when I trained my lab...she knows commands like "put your toys away" and she will literally pick up everything in the house and put it away. She will "clear" the stairs or anything of an object. She's calm enough when there's not a living distraction...twice now she's gotten marrow bones stuck in between her teeth at the roof of her mouth (You guessed it...no more marrow bones!) and just sits and calmly lets one of us poke about in her mouth for a bit.

I have to wonder if I'm part of the problem with all the squeeky balls & other toys we have given her. She's a pro at taking a tractor supply squeeky ball and tearing it apart until it's silent. We have jolly balls here too! Two of them...Well, they have significant holes in them, but they work just fine.

We've tried the underground fence, Vermont, and she would either ignore it or run her collar batteries out.

Agility training might be a good option...she is absolutely a running, leaping dog! She's never really bouncing off the walls in the house, and all the girls are fabulous about barking. We give them one or two, and than we say "Good girls, That will do." And they hush. It's all of our neighbors that have the barking dogs!

I can say the rabies shots weren't as bad as I was led to believe...they put them in your shoulder now. The side effects are not a blast. I just had my last one Friday.

The only change in the last few months has been their food, which didn't occur to me until just now. We switched them from Native Level II (Kent) because Agway stopped carrying it here. They are currently on Taste of the Wild, a grain free 'natural' diet. Our lab has some food allergies and we free feed so giving them all a good food has worked best for us.

I did email some local dog trainers & I might take her to the vet. We loved her enough to adopt her and I'm going to try one last time.

I was "this" close to leaving her on the aspca doorstep last night though!

 

[sommrluv]

Drumstick, that is a really good point that has already entered my mind. I'm curious how many times in the past this might have happened.

I had no idea that a dog current on shots would carry the virus in their saliva for a few days, and you need to not handle them. That's what I get for growing up in suburbia.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I wanted to ask if she is spayed? If she isn't, you might want to spay her as it sometimes can calm a dog down, not having the distraction of hormones. It doesn't change thier personality, my doxie was spayed at 6 months and is still a little spitfire. I wonder how crazy she weould be if i hadn't gotten her fixed? lol

Terriers are often really hyper and have a loooonnnggggg puppyhood. My bro has an english bull terrier, and the thing that works for him is treats and rewards. Anything else and it is like someone gave him some sort of stimulant drug. He can't focus without treats, he is 4 years old. lol

You know what, the post about the dogs diet is really relevant. My bro's dog has food allergies (common in terriers) and before my bro started making him homemade dog food, the dog was really impossible and had health problems. He acted like he was crawling out of his own skin before we switched him to homemade.

 

[bobbi-j]

She sure is a cute little bugger! In your OP, you mentioned that the dogs had been in the house for 5 hours. Maybe she has too much pent-up energy? Is there any way that she could be outside in a run during the day?