Enemies in the gate: An awful puppy

[catballou]

We free-range, and my wife bought a full sized, 5 month old Labradoodle puppy. Our hens like to jump the backyard fence. I let the puppy out to go pee & she saw hens in the back of the back yard & took off like a sprinting giraffe. I was shouting "NO" and "COME" and running behind her to avert disaster, but she didn't stop chasing (honestly, she probably just wanted to play, not harm, knowing her now) until I got to her, and she KNEW she was bad wrong. (This dog is so smart it's scary) I kicked the living out of her a couple of times & told her to go lay down & stay there while scolding her. She hid under the table that evening like she was gonna die. The next time she saw a chicken, she laid flat on the ground & trembled. Two years later, she can walk among our flock with no trouble & they're not threatened by her at all. She would even play tag with our red rooster, it was a big game for both of them. So, I said all that to say that IF your golden doodle is trainable, and I'd bet good money that he is, all you have to do is let him know that when he goes for a chicken, he has messed up in a way that he doesn't ever want to mess up like that again. If that doesn't work, you know that there's a $0.15 solution to an $800 problem. At least at my house, anyway.

You never even think about kicking the living out of a dog or any other animal!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You never even think about kicking the living out of a dog or any other animal!

Agree. Easy to kill a dog that way..

 

[Dear God]

So my dad got a golden doodle puppy last April, so he's about ten months old now. As of yesterday, my flock of thirteen has slowly dwarfed into a flock of 4 because of him. We put up a fence, using garden posts and fencing, to let them range in our back yard. Today, the puppy, Biscuit, learned that he can jump the fence, and I caught him mid tossing my speckled sussex. She's alive, but sensitive right now.
He jumped over a portion of the fence that was beginning to lean over, it rained alot the other day.
I believe that he can't jump it now because I straightened it up, but that remains to be seen.

My question is if I should add an electric wire to the top of the fence so he doesn't jump, or if I should build a fully enclosed, smaller run and only let them range while supervised. Or both? I can't get rid of Biscuit, that isn't my choice, and he's imprinted on me and my parents.
I'm just afraid that I need to take action now, or else he'll get the rest of my chooks.
Any thoughts?

 

[Geena]

We free-range, and my wife bought a full sized, 5 month old Labradoodle puppy. Our hens like to jump the backyard fence. I let the puppy out to go pee & she saw hens in the back of the back yard & took off like a sprinting giraffe. I was shouting "NO" and "COME" and running behind her to avert disaster, but she didn't stop chasing (honestly, she probably just wanted to play, not harm, knowing her now) until I got to her, and she KNEW she was bad wrong. (This dog is so smart it's scary) I kicked the living out of her a couple of times & told her to go lay down & stay there while scolding her. She hid under the table that evening like she was gonna die. The next time she saw a chicken, she laid flat on the ground & trembled. Two years later, she can walk among our flock with no trouble & they're not threatened by her at all. She would even play tag with our red rooster, it was a big game for both of them. So, I said all that to say that IF your golden doodle is trainable, and I'd bet good money that he is, all you have to do is let him know that when he goes for a chicken, he has messed up in a way that he doesn't ever want to mess up like that again. If that doesn't work, you know that there's a $0.15 solution to an $800 problem. At least at my house, anyway.

Well, aren't you the big, tough macho man? Kicked the $hit out of a puppy and so proud of it too.

 

[bunysfun]

So my dad got a golden doodle puppy last April, so he's about ten months old now. As of yesterday, my flock of thirteen has slowly dwarfed into a flock of 4 because of him. We put up a fence, using garden posts and fencing, to let them range in our back yard. Today, the puppy, Biscuit, learned that he can jump the fence, and I caught him mid tossing my speckled sussex. She's alive, but sensitive right now.
He jumped over a portion of the fence that was beginning to lean over, it rained alot the other day.
I believe that he can't jump it now because I straightened it up, but that remains to be seen.

My question is if I should add an electric wire to the top of the fence so he doesn't jump, or if I should build a fully enclosed, smaller run and only let them range while supervised. Or both? I can't get rid of Biscuit, that isn't my choice, and he's imprinted on me and my parents.
I'm just afraid that I need to take action now, or else he'll get the rest of my chooks.
Any thoughts?

My Pitty and Dalmatian took my flock from 10 to 3 so i feel you.... I built a more fortified fence actually put chicken wire on both sides on the ground up the fence and garden spiked it into the ground so prevent lift up...then got thin bamboo privacy fencing and wrapped around whole thing they chase what they cant see...working so far..

 

[TheOddOneOut]

We free-range, and my wife bought a full sized, 5 month old Labradoodle puppy. Our hens like to jump the backyard fence. I let the puppy out to go pee & she saw hens in the back of the back yard & took off like a sprinting giraffe. I was shouting "NO" and "COME" and running behind her to avert disaster, but she didn't stop chasing (honestly, she probably just wanted to play, not harm, knowing her now) until I got to her, and she KNEW she was bad wrong. (This dog is so smart it's scary) I kicked the living out of her a couple of times & told her to go lay down & stay there while scolding her. She hid under the table that evening like she was gonna die. The next time she saw a chicken, she laid flat on the ground & trembled. Two years later, she can walk among our flock with no trouble & they're not threatened by her at all. She would even play tag with our red rooster, it was a big game for both of them. So, I said all that to say that IF your golden doodle is trainable, and I'd bet good money that he is, all you have to do is let him know that when he goes for a chicken, he has messed up in a way that he doesn't ever want to mess up like that again. If that doesn't work, you know that there's a $0.15 solution to an $800 problem. At least at my house, anyway.

Wow. That's really not good.
I once knew a family...friends of friends.
Their 7 month old rescue pup got into the trash. The dad was drunk and yelly. He saw the mess and kicked the living outta the dog...literally. Three months and over $1500 later, the dog was physically okay. Mentally? She would wail in terror if any man approached her.
Thankfully, the family got divorced soon after the near-pulping of the dog.
Beating the living out of an animal doing what its instincts dictate is no better than smacking your baby for crying. It's the same idea: hurting someone for something they can't control.

You can easily train a dog to be respectful of other animals without causing them harm like that.
But if you haven't bothered to train them, don't hurt them when things go sideways.

I'm not saying you're cruel to your dog. But there are much better ways.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'll say it. Kicking a dog or any animal is a cruelty.

 

[PhoenixinNevada]

Last year we got a new puppy a female Border Collie, she was about 4 months old. Right away she started after the chickens, mine are free ranging she killed about 3 but each time she did I scolded the crap outta her, you have to be right on it as it happens, so they know you don't like it and they aren't allowed to touch them, a shock collar could help if you want to go that way? I didn't have to, but a electric fence with a real jolt would definitely work, I put one up for coyotes a 12,000 volt around my whole property bottom and top.ive also heard about tying a dead chicken around their neck but never tried it either, I have older collies that helped in showing her not to touch the chickens , she does like eggs though so I do let her have what she finds, she just turned a year on December 1st and does not bother the chickens anymore. Took a couple months of getting after her but she did change or grew out of it. She is a high drive dog, she keeps busy herding my horses, maybe your pup needs something else to distract him also? Maybe try playing ball or something so he has his drive needs met. I wish I could tell you a sure fire way to stop it.

 

[Laura Anne]

So my dad got a golden doodle puppy last April, so he's about ten months old now. As of yesterday, my flock of thirteen has slowly dwarfed into a flock of 4 because of him. We put up a fence, using garden posts and fencing, to let them range in our back yard. Today, the puppy, Biscuit, learned that he can jump the fence, and I caught him mid tossing my speckled sussex. She's alive, but sensitive right now.
He jumped over a portion of the fence that was beginning to lean over, it rained alot the other day.
I believe that he can't jump it now because I straightened it up, but that remains to be seen.

My question is if I should add an electric wire to the top of the fence so he doesn't jump, or if I should build a fully enclosed, smaller run and only let them range while supervised. Or both? I can't get rid of Biscuit, that isn't my choice, and he's imprinted on me and my parents.
I'm just afraid that I need to take action now, or else he'll get the rest of my chooks.
Any thoughts?

I've never handled a puppy, but we trained our own 3 dogs plus three neighborhood free-roaming dogs to leave our chooks alone with a Nerf super-soaker with some lemon juice added to the water. They hate that thing! Our hens only free-range when we are out there. Now new neighbors have added a giant Great Dane/lab mix to the local dog community, so I'm getting out the Super Soaker again to be ready! So sorry about your losses.

 

[Cherishedchicks]

So my dad got a golden doodle puppy last April, so he's about ten months old now. As of yesterday, my flock of thirteen has slowly dwarfed into a flock of 4 because of him. We put up a fence, using garden posts and fencing, to let them range in our back yard. Today, the puppy, Biscuit, learned that he can jump the fence, and I caught him mid tossing my speckled sussex. She's alive, but sensitive right now.
He jumped over a portion of the fence that was beginning to lean over, it rained alot the other day.
I believe that he can't jump it now because I straightened it up, but that remains to be seen.

My question is if I should add an electric wire to the top of the fence so he doesn't jump, or if I should build a fully enclosed, smaller run and only let them range while supervised. Or both? I can't get rid of Biscuit, that isn't my choice, and he's imprinted on me and my parents.
I'm just afraid that I need to take action now, or else he'll get the rest of my chooks.
Any thoughts?

If you can't get rid of Biscuit because he is "imprinted on you and your parents", rehome your 4 remaining chickens. Isn't it bad enough that 9 chickens suffered a brutal death? If Biscuit is determined, his teeth will eventually be imprinted on your remaining chooks. They are live birds, not chew toys. Whatever you decide, I hope you do the right thing...soon.