Cocker Spaniel Puppies attack chickens and ducks

[h2oratt]

Believe me , it is very difficult to train out. Make sure bothe sets of animals are in secure spots. Neutering will not help.
Most dogs and chickens just don't mix.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Believe me , it is very difficult to train out. Make sure bothe sets of animals are in secure spots. Neutering will not help.
Most dogs and chickens just don't mix.

yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Although I do think there is some hope for one of the pups because he seems to be able to relax a little around the birds after a few minutes when his brother isn't there causing mayhem. I'm gonna keep working with them but I know it isn't likely I'll get very far.

 

[h2oratt]

Also both of them together will really set in a pack mentality. Can rehome the one ?

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Also both of them together will really set in a pack mentality. Can rehome the one ?

Yeah, that's true. No I can't re home one, my mom won't let us only have one of any animal she thinks it's unfair to the animal if it's "all by itself" :/ I'll just have to make everything work.

 

[h2oratt]

That is not true with dogs. The dog should bond to you, not its littermate.

 

[JaeG]

It's actually better to get one puppy at a time so that it is fully trained by you before adding another into the mix. Puppies will attach to each other rather than to you if there are two of them, and as you have found out, they are almost impossible to train unless separated. There are exceptions, but that's usually the case. Puppies are hard work and it is essential they receive the correct training to turn them into well behaved dogs.

You must never let a dog out with chickens until you have assessed how they will cope with that situation. It's like taking an untethered toddler and expecting it not to create mayhem in a china shop.

Puppies are puppies until their brains start to mature; for a small dog it would be around a year old. You cannot trust them not to hurt your birds until you have put in the hours, and hours of training it looks like your pups will need, and they have matured enough not to make mischief where ever they can (as puppies do). And some dogs can never be trusted around birds or small animals.

With training them don't throw them in at the deep end. You'll have to work with them individually. Start far enough away so that they will pay attention to you and not be distracted by the birds. You want to teach them to ignore the birds and pay attention to you. Reward them for their attention and if they glance towards the birds have a command such as "Look" or "Eyes" that means they have to look at you and treat/reward immediately when they do. Do not let them go anywhere near the birds when they get off leash time as that's when they will pick up bad habits of stalking, chasing them etc.

Another thing you can try is keeping them on a leash attached to you the whole day (weekends are good for this) so that whereever you go, they must follow and they can't just do whatever they like. They need to understand that freedom is a privilage and not something they are just allowed - it's controlled by you.

Here's a website with many fantastic articles about how to train your dog:
http://www.training-your-dog-and-you.com/

 

[Lamaremybabies]

That is not true with dogs. The dog should bond to you, not its littermate.

I know that but it was her decision and they are brothers that we got from a rescue place so she insisted.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

It's actually better to get one puppy at a time so that it is fully trained by you before adding another into the mix. Puppies will attach to each other rather than to you if there are two of them, and as you have found out, they are almost impossible to train unless separated. There are exceptions, but that's usually the case. Puppies are hard work and it is essential they receive the correct training to turn them into well behaved dogs.

You must never let a dog out with chickens until you have assessed how they will cope with that situation. It's like taking an untethered toddler and expecting it not to create mayhem in a china shop.

Puppies are puppies until their brains start to mature; for a small dog it would be around a year old. You cannot trust them not to hurt your birds until you have put in the hours, and hours of training it looks like your pups will need, and they have matured enough not to make mischief where ever they can (as puppies do). And some dogs can never be trusted around birds or small animals.

With training them don't throw them in at the deep end. You'll have to work with them individually. Start far enough away so that they will pay attention to you and not be distracted by the birds. You want to teach them to ignore the birds and pay attention to you. Reward them for their attention and if they glance towards the birds have a command such as "Look" or "Eyes" that means they have to look at you and treat/reward immediately when they do. Do not let them go anywhere near the birds when they get off leash time as that's when they will pick up bad habits of stalking, chasing them etc.

Another thing you can try is keeping them on a leash attached to you the whole day (weekends are good for this) so that whereever you go, they must follow and they can't just do whatever they like. They need to understand that freedom is a privilage and not something they are just allowed - it's controlled by you.

Here's a website with many fantastic articles about how to train your dog:
http://www.training-your-dog-and-you.com/

Thank you so much, this is very helpful. I do work separately with them when it comes to training, on stays in the kennel while I work with the other and after about a half hour I switch. I'm going to go read the article you linked for me, they're really smart and super sweet so I hope I can make letting them in the yard a little easier.

 

[JaeG]

Puppies are naughty and everything is a game to them until they are taught what is acceptable and what is not, and you still have to keep reminding them every now and then! Our dog is now almost 5 years old and if you give her an inch she will take a mile. But she's a good dog because we are consistent.

I had no idea how much work a puppy was until we got one. Thankfully I had a grouchy old cat who put the fear of God into our pup when it came to animals smaller than herself! There are heaps of training websites and videos on YouTube so try out different techniques until you find what works for you and your pups. Good luck and keep up the training as that is what makes for a good dog.

 

[Dogue]

I have a cocker spaniel and chickens too. There is absolutely no way, short of intense aversion therapy (like shocking my dog for getting close to the chickens), that my dog would ever be trustworthy around fowl. And I'm not going to shock her because her breed is bred for bird hunting... to use aversion training to make my dog terrified of poultry, when every ounce of her DNA was designed to go after birds... well, that's cruelty IMO. So I keep them separate.