Dog turned predator - how do I convince my husband to get rid of it?

[chickengeorgeto]

Dogs, all dogs are jealous of their food bowl and their other "doggie" possessions. This jealousy is also responsible for most of a dogs' guarding instinct. Breaking dogs like your husband's from killing chickens is often a drawn out and sometimes a brutal task. You can do it but it is often not pretty. Can you handle that?

If the answer is yes, start looking at aversion training regiments or methods for your husband's dog.

 

[Flock Leader]

Maybe some of those bones you had fed him in the past perforated his intestines. Never ever feed dogs cooked bones - only raw. Table scraps are not a suitable balanced diet for a dog.

We always took care not to give sharp little bones, only those we chewed on ourselves (and they certainly didn't perforate our intestines...). I, too, wouldn't give table scraps on a daily basis, but as we only eat chicken once a week, I didn't think it would hurt the dog. Could a young and healthy dog just drop dead out of the blue, because of a chicken bone from a week ago? I still think the snake was likely the culprit. We also had some otherwise inexplicable chicken deaths recently. To me it's obvious the snake must have bit them, then couldn't swallow them because they were too big.

 

[Flock Leader]

Dogs, all dogs are jealous of their food bowl and their other "doggie" possessions. This jealousy is also responsible for most of a dogs' guarding instinct. Breaking dogs like your husband's from killing chickens is often a drawn out and sometimes a brutal task. You can do it but it is often not pretty. Can you handle that?

If the answer is yes, start looking at aversion training regiments or methods for your husband's dog.

Please read the update. We suddenly and unexpectedly found the dog dead in our yard, and suspect a venomous snake we saw here some weeks ago.

 

[vehve]

We always took care not to give sharp little bones, only those we chewed on ourselves (and they certainly didn't perforate our intestines...). I, too, wouldn't give table scraps on a daily basis, but as we only eat chicken once a week, I didn't think it would hurt the dog. Could a young and healthy dog just drop dead out of the blue, because of a chicken bone from a week ago? I still think the snake was likely the culprit. We also had some otherwise inexplicable chicken deaths recently. To me it's obvious the snake must have bit them, then couldn't swallow them because they were too big.

Cooked chicken bones will splinter into very sharp pieces, and it wouldn't necessarily kill that quickly. Also, some dogs like to hide treats for later. Most snake bites would probably cause some sort of reaction in the bite zone, showing up as swelling. With the killed chickens, the snake sounds like a likely culprit.

 

[Diannastarr]

sorry you had such a bad time with this dog..? GOSH ,I raised English mastiffs for 30 years so I totally understand, sorry your dog died , but it seems best , your husband was right this breedmix is usually a good & easily trained dog...? but their is never any guarantees, so here is hoping you and your peeps are all ok and doing well.. I wish you all the best , kind regards Dianna

 

[SavageDestiny]

We always took care not to give sharp little bones, only those we chewed on ourselves (and they certainly didn't perforate our intestines...). I, too, wouldn't give table scraps on a daily basis, but as we only eat chicken once a week, I didn't think it would hurt the dog. Could a young and healthy dog just drop dead out of the blue, because of a chicken bone from a week ago? I still think the snake was likely the culprit. We also had some otherwise inexplicable chicken deaths recently. To me it's obvious the snake must have bit them, then couldn't swallow them because they were too big.

Any cooked bone will end up sharp. As the dog crunches on them, they splinter into extremely sharp shards. Raw bones do not splinter, but any kind of cooked bone absolutely will. Cooked bones are never safe for dogs, unfortunately. And yes, a cooked bone could kill very quickly if it perforated the intestine. Not saying it definitely wasn't a snake, but the bones could have been the culprit.

 

[Flock Leader]

Most snake bites would probably cause some sort of reaction in the bite zone, showing up as swelling.

To tell you the truth we didn't really check, as she was found, and buried, in the dark. On my killed chickens I didn't see any external injury or swelling, but perhaps it was hidden by the feathers.

Not saying it definitely wasn't a snake, but the bones could have been the culprit.

Well, of course for us it would be reassuring to think it was not a snake bite. It isn't too pleasant to know that a killer is roaming around our yard, while my daughters like to walk outside barefoot.

 

[ChookRanger]

I am sorry you had to deal with so much stress. I really admire your poise in the face of adversity. Your responses ( to your critics on this forum and your husband) were reasonable and intelligent. I personally do not think anything you did contributed to the death of the dog. As unhappy as you were with the situation I am sure you didn't want it to end like that. However, if you start a thread called "How do I convince my husband not to get another dog" I will not have anything to contribute. Stay strong , I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Flock Leader]

As unhappy as you were with the situation I am sure you didn't want it to end like that. However, if you start a thread called "How do I convince my husband not to get another dog" I will not have anything to contribute. Stay strong , I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you. No, of course I didn't want the dog to die. I was hopeful that in a couple of weeks, she'd go to a new home where she would be happier. I don't think I'll start another thread on how to convince my husband not to get another dog; I believe the topic had been covered here.

 

[abserbean]

What a mess, I am sorry for what you and your family have gone through with your pets (chickens and dog). And hopefully you don't have a large, venomous snake roaming around, you have had enough stress lately. Best wishes to you and your family, praying your husband is willing to give the dog idea a rest for a while.