DOG

[pampa]

this has never happened before but my dog attacked my nieghbors chickens. i was told that tieing the dead chicken around the dogs neck helps. but i know a great deal about dog beahvior and i can't figure out how this would help. does any one have any suggestions as to what i should do to make sure that this never happens again?
this wasn't a viscous attack, more of a chase and jump on, but its still bad. i really want to avoid this. i have been keep him under close supervision but i know i wont always be able to.
any help will be great.

 

[speckledhen]

Were the chickens on your property or the neighbors'? If they were on yours, no problem. If your dog was on theirs, you owe them some $$. And you owe your dog a fence. Usually, they can't be trained to quit killing chickens and since the chickens aren't in your dog's usual routine, it'd be hard to do anything except restrain him, as he should be.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Usually, they can't be trained to quit killing chickens and since the chickens aren't in your dog's usual routine

yikes!

first - yes run right over to the neighbors, apologize profusely work up a tear and have your checkbook in hand

two - fence or they are probably able to legally shoot your dog... and even if the chickens were on your side... good fences make good neighbors. this is the kind of thing that ends in a feud.

three - from above - yes you CAN train them but its hard, takes time, you have to catch them in the act.. and you have to be the type of person that has control over your dog - they can't be your 'baby' or rule your roost. email me and i'll tell you exactly how.

i would NOT tied the hen around your dog's neck. if anything it would be horrible for them to watch their little feathered friend rot around your dogs neck.
:-(​

 

[dbone]

i think that once they have blood...it is tough.
my friend has a pit bull, they got chicks and she leaves them alone...but when she comes over my house, i am terrified...but my buddy has control over her so she doesnt do anything to my baby turkeys.
get some chickens...raise them around your dog.

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
Boy, oh boy... You may not realize it yet, my friend, but you just stuck your head in the lion's mouth..

To everyone about to jump his hind end, let me just point a few things out:

The chicken killing dog's owner came here looking for answers..how often do you see that? The owner is also obviously pretty upset that his dog killed someone's chickens, and has clearly taken responsibility for his dog's actions...how often do we see that? He's come here looking for ways to keep this from happening again, instead of saying "dogs kill chickens, it's what they do!"...how often do we see that?

To me, just the fact that he's sought out our help speaks volumes. If the owners of every chicken-killing dog were as pro-active as this owner, chicken owners probably wouldn't have NEARLY the problems they do now..

Now, back to the OP...

i really want to avoid this. i have been keep him under close supervision but i know i wont always be able to.
any help will be great.

First, what you absolutely need to understand that the usual advice to owners of killed chickens is something called SSS -- shoot, shovel, and shut up. That is, shoot the offending animal, bury it, and let it go at that.

You should consider yourself lucky that you still have a living, breathing dog.... If a dog came around and attacked any of my livestock, it would be dead -- and I'm a dog lover. We have six dogs, in fact, and they're like children to us, so it's not like chicken people are inherently anti-dog people.. We just can't lose chickens left and right, it's as simple as that. Moreover, most laws are on our side provided that the chickens were on our side...of the fence.

So, basically, if you want your dog to live and your neighbor keeps chickens, you'd do well to keep the dog fenced in. If you can't keep it fenced in and you don't want it to up and disappear one day -- because it probably will -- you might consider finding it another home..

I know that sucks, and it's a tough pill to swallow, but breaking your dog from killing chickens -- using your neighbor's chickens as test material -- simply isn't going to work.

Best of luck to you, and I mean that in all sincerity. I wish more dog owners were as concerned as you seem to be.​

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

You should consider yourself lucky that you still have a living, breathing dog.... If a dog came around and attacked any of my livestock, it would be dead -- and I'm a dog lover. We have six dogs, in fact, and they're like children to us, so it's not like chicken people are inherently anti-dog people.. We just can't lose chickens left and right, it's as simple as that. Moreover, most laws are on our side provided that the chickens were on our side...of the fence.

thanks for saying this - and i think we need to make sure that we give kudos to the OP and call out to everyone that they are looking for help and not meanness.


but to 2nd cmjust0 - i love my neighbors but their dogs had better stay on their property. i'm just fine with SSS.... and we fenced our yard b/c our dogs took off after theirs after he came into the yard. technically my dogs were doing their job by keeping predators out... but once they crossed the property line they were in the wrong. the $300 we spent on field fence has kept the friendship in tact with the neighbors.​

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Keep your dog fenced on your own property. I have 3 dogs and new chicken owner of 13.

I keep them fenced in their own areas. I don't believe in letting my dogs run even though I'm on 4 acres.

 

[phoenixmama]

I agree with everything that cmjust0 said.

I am also the owner of a chicken killing dog...in my case, he has only killed 2 of my chickens. I don't trust him around my birds, so I act accordingly and take pro-active measures. If he were to get some of my neighbor's birds, I would fully understand if he was dispatched. Luckily though, we have a cement block wall surrounding the backyard...so he hasn't gotten the chance to get any of my neighbor's birds.

Good luck with your dog, and I'm glad that you are trying to make it right with your neighbor.

 

[Suellyn]

First of all

!!! Like cmjust0 said, It is good that you have taken this seriously enough to have come to a chicken website for advice.

The "thought process" behind tying a chicken victim to the dog is that the dog will get to experience the hideous process of being unable to escape the burden of a progressively rotting carcass, thereby "teaching" the dog to hate/avoid chickens. NOT exactly sound or effective training methodology in my book... (!!!!). Not to mention gruesome...

Again: were the chickens on YOUR property, or did your dog go onto your NEIGHBORS property????

Bottom line: It is a pet owner's reponsibility to keep the animals (dog OR chicken) confined to their own property.

*Which critter was in the wrong yard?* Chicken or dog? That is what will determine responsibility/negligence.....

 

[speckledhen]

In this case, the training would be very difficult. The chickens do not live on your property so the intense exposure and correction is not possible. If they were your chickens, you could possibly do something, but not owning the birds, I'd say it's hard. I'm not on your case, like some seem to think, but simply stated some facts for you. Dogs should be restrained on their own property, period. I have fenced my property and have fences within fences for my dog and for my chickens, but if one of my birds somehow escaped and was killed by my neighbor's dog, my neighbor is not to blame.

We still dont know if your dog was on your property or theirs--that makes a huge difference.