Dog is killing chickens.

[graeber]

Help please. My 6 month old Akita puppy chases and kills chickens when I am not looking. I try to keep them separated but one got out of the coop and she got it. She doesn't eat them, but she does play with them to death. I would love to find a proximity collar that would shock her for getting within a few feet of the chickens. All I can find are remote collars and perimeter collars. I want something I can put on the chickens like a collar or ankle bracelet that will shock my dog if she gets near it. Is there anything like that out there??? Help!!!

 

[DianaMallory]

I don't know about anything like that. The only thing I have seen are the shock collars for training. I am not sure of the breed of dog you have. But our neighbor years ago had a Husky and it killed our little Pomeranian. The vet told me that she raised malamutes and like the husky's once they get the taste of blood they will continue to kill. Chickens,cats, and anything they can. I would check into that there may be nothing you can do to prevent this, other than keeping your dog locked away from them.

 

[Folly's place]

You need to keep her physically away from your birds 100% of the time, and do a lot of training. And realize that she may never be safe with the birds. Training collars work great as part of a serious training program, not as a quick fix. You've got a breed that is aggressive and prey oriented, and that will run your life if you let her. My terriers think chicken tastes great; they are securely fenced away from my flock at all times. She has discovered that torturing chickens is fun, not a good start if you plan to have her around your birds. mary

 

[Howlet]

You need to keep her physically away from your birds 100% of the time, and do a lot of training. And realize that she may never be safe with the birds. Training collars work great as part of a serious training program, not as a quick fix. You've got a breed that is aggressive and prey oriented, and that will run your life if you let her. My terriers think chicken tastes great; they are securely fenced away from my flock at all times. She has discovered that torturing chickens is fun, not a good start if you plan to have her around your birds. mary

x2

 

[bobbi-j]

Even a dog that has killed chickens previously can be trained not to continue to do so. Generally, the dogs that keep killing "once they taste blood" belong to people who can't or won't spend the time to train them properly. Yours may be a tough one to train, though. If I remember right, Akitas are pretty prey driven and potentially aggressive. Have you had them before? Are familiar with the breed? I will have to admit that I am not. While a collar could be a tool in training, I don't think it should be used as the only means to prevent her from killing your chickens. If you're not familiar with the breed, maybe you can find someone in the area who is, who could help you train her? I don't know. Until you figure it out, you really do need to keep her separate from your chickens at all times. It won't stop if you don't.

 

[islandgirl82]

Akitas are Japanese bear hunting dogs, incredibly intelligent and and quite independent which can often times make them difficult to train (you have to be the most interesting thing around to get their attention) Consistency with training is a must and absolutely keep her away from your birds as others have said, especially when you are not in complete control over her. I would recommend getting in touch with a local dog trainer asap. You definitely won't want a full grown Akita that you can't manage.

 

[graeber]

Thanks for the tips. I am familiar with the breed. We have had them before. They are smart dogs but very stubborn. She is in obedience training and hopefully that will help. We do keep them separate but our baby chicks managed to get out of their coop while we were gone and I know she got one. The thing is she doesn't eat them as much as she plays with them to death. This one didn't even have any puncture wounds. The others she got she did tear up, but she did not eat them. We are working with a shock collar and realize that she just can't be trusted with them. We are hoping this is a "puppy phase" and she will lose interest( in case the chickens escape their coop and pen again. Would still love to find a proximity collar that would zap the heck out of her for getting within a couple of feet of them. Could somebody invent that please?!

 

[hennible]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...our-dog-to-leave-chickens-alone#post_10156894
I'm having similar problem with my 6 month old Aussie ( my fault completely ) I'm trying the method in this thread posted by " mountain man Jim"

 

[CrazyTalk]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...our-dog-to-leave-chickens-alone#post_10156894
I'm having similar problem with my 6 month old Aussie ( my fault completely ) I'm trying the method in this thread posted by " mountain man Jim"

That's a pretty great write-up, and helps enforce what people need to understand - this isn't easy, it takes a lot of time, and you're never really done.


For the OP, a 6 month old puppy is way too young to have enough training (or sense) to be off leash around birds.

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

I had posted some pictures of my 5 month old golden and the process I used with her to be safe around the chickens. I also used it with my older golden who did almost kill a wandering neighbor's chicken when she was young. Both the puppy and Lyla have medium-high prey drives. They will both chase any wild creature that moves. Lyla (at age 9) doesn't go after the grasshoppers anymore like the puppy does! My third dog Penny has no interest in chasing the chickens... but she is an amazing mouser.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/516351/how-to-train-a-dog-to-not-chase-chickens-help-asap/10

I did add some training with the puppy because she had to learn to be safe around chicks and adult birds. With Lyla we didn't have adult birds at first so our first peeps grew up with Lyla. The key for me was teaching the dog that the chickens are not prey. And also providing a breed specific activity for your dog every day so that he can release energy. I take my 3 dogs every day in the woods for a 1 1/2 mile run. They "hunt" for critters and run.... so they do not need to hunt my chickens!