Dog attack

[sfgwife]

Thanks. I have to be honest . . . I don't have the time or money to engage a dog trainer. If this is going to be an on-going issue, I'm just letting the pups go. I don't mean to sound irresponsible, but I think it would be more irresponsible to keep them with the hopes that they can be easily corrected. I have two other dogs, both Aussies. They are sweet with the chickens and I would trust them to sleep together.

If you don't have time to train pups then they need find a new home. Esp lab pups. They are awesome dogs... but.... they need a LOT of attention and manners and obedience training. And trainin is not something that you have to have a trainer for either. With a lot of patience it can be done. But everyone in the home has to be on board and consistent. Do the pups have a kennel or stay in your home? they can be walked on a leash every single time they are out until they listen to commands consistently always.

We have done this with every dog we have ever had. I have an irish wolfhound which is a HIGH prey drive beast.... and when i tell him to come he comes now right now and sits or stands beside me no matter what is flippin his "must chase" switch. But we have worked a TON with my boy. He is also my service animal so we have a strong bond and working relationship and have been working on it for his five years of life and still do even though he is very very well trained. It is something that if not used they will "forget" because it is convenient. He has stopped dead in his tracks and come to me when i called when he has started off after a deer. We only moved to the country in march of this year (hubby retired from the army and we came home to 150 acres). Before that Poseidon was mostly on leash but from day one here he has been off. And we were quite afraid of his prey drive makin it hard for us all... but trust and consistency has paid off a lot here on our farm with him.

If these are your childrens dogs they can bond with each dog to a child and that child can train the dog. Neither is to young to learn since you are sayin your children are devastated thinkin of losin the pups. You can show the children the command and how to make the pups do it and the kids can take it from there. But it is something that has to be done every single day. A new command is not introduced until the pup does the first consistently every single time. Some commands take only a few days others a few weeks. Just depends on the dog. Treats are a great tool. Even small kibble can be used as a treat. And as you add a new command still enforce the ones before. Lab pups are nutty usually until about two then a switch flips and they calm down and are great dogs!

Good luck.

 

[JaeG]

Our dog is a chocolate Labrador crossed with English Pointer. She was a dream when introduced to chickens at around a year and a half old. She was well trained by our very old, grumpy cat not to mess with things smaller than her and I was always strict with her (still am) and put in hours and hours of training to make sure she knew her manners. So she knows a growly "No" means "don't even think about touching that". She will steal an egg given half a chance though!

Puppies are naughty. They just are (to our human brains anyway). Everything is a game to them. It takes a long time for them to mature into reliable dogs who can be left unattended around small animals.