Great Pyrenees livestock guardian

[watchdogps]

Actually chickefootduckbutt didn't omit all corrections, and I thought thww advice she gave was quite sound. Reward calm behavior, verbal correction for reaction. Especially if you are correcting before the dog launches into attck mode. This should be quite sufficient.

Misinterpretation of lgds is something that just kills me, because I have seen so many screwed up by it. They truly are sweet sensitive souls, who may not perform obedience exercises unquestioningly, but will be your partner in an almost human way if you only take time to understand them .

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

I don't know guys .... our Pyr was a pretty sensitive girl to physical negative reinforcement. Verbal commands and treats were all it ever took (once you got the puppies attention) but, then again we run a pretty tight ship; the dogs have rules and they work for their supper (well, sit at least). I found that you need to very precise with negative reinforcement. Do it wrong and you just confuse the dog. Do it at the spilt second the dog attempts the bad behavior and then you have something that works. Personally, I don't know if I would trust negative reinforcement if is not performed by an experience trainer. For me treats were always preferred, by the dog and me.

Jim

 

[MamaManda]

Quote:
Yes. This worked for us. We adopted an adult Golden Retriever a few months ago who became very interested in my quail. He got a hold of one when it escaped it's run. (my 5 year old's fault.) Our doggy chased it and 'swatted' it to the ground, bit it and killed it. I wasn't too harsh with him, as he IS a bird dog, and he seemed more curious than aggressive. But when it happened again (His fault this time) I was livid and very disappointed at the same time. I called my sister, who trains bird dogs, and she said if you want your dog (bird dog breed or otherwise) to leave your fowl alone, make sure he knows what he did was wrong, (Tell him NO in a stern voice while holding his nose to the bird, etc, as soon after the incident as possible.) then tie it to his collar until it starts to decay. He will grow to dislike the odor, and leave the birds alone.

Our retriever now drops his head every time he sees my hens free ranging and quickly trots by them to relocate himself. Good boy. My Mom said once they taste blood, they won't be able to stop. Don't think that's the truth for every dog, obviously. Good luck with your boy!

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
Yes, a verbal correction should, ideally, be sufficient. But all too often it is not. We don't know what kind of working relationship -- if any-- the OP has with her dog. I have also seen that LDG are sensitive dogs, espeically the rescues I have seen in the Shelter and rescues I have done behavior work with. You have good working relationships with your dogs, but many of these owners do not.

 

[AlienChick]

Someone else posted the exact same problem with their 5-month old LGD who killed one of their chickens.

Their post is HERE. Some helpful info posted there.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

it's called re-directing, he's still young, and being young, he is going to chase things that move, Livestock gaurdian or not, a dog is a dog is a wolf, and yes, the instinct is still there.

better now than never, have someone do this until you can, take him out on a lead, and walk him through a group of chickens, watch his reactions, if he's calm, reward him, if he stiffens, gets excited, whatever give him the proper disaproval, a gruff "AH AH" should work, continue until his attention is off of the "chase,maul,torture,kill" instinct. then when you can, take it up yourself, but keep to the program already established.

there are other ways to get a dog to behave and I do not believe slapping a shock collar around their necks is one of them, sorry

You can "believe" anything you like, but I KNOW what actually works​

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Jamie,
I usually agree with you, but when you say a verbal correction is ridiculous for an LGD, you are incorrect

It's been my experience that if you're near enough to GIVE a verbal correction, the dog already knows you are there, and will probably NOT perform the behavior you need to correct.

With a shock collar, you can be out of sight, and the dog is ALONE with the birds.

When the behavior takes place, and the correction comes, he associates it ONLY with the bird and NOT with you at all

Taking the dog out when you can't watch is counterproductive.
It's much like saying "Don't go into the water UNTIL you learn how to swim."

They can ONLY learn while they are with the birds/animals they protect

With most dogs it only takes one or two sessions with the collar, and anyone who thinks it's "cruel" has never USED one and doesn't understand how they operate​

 

[carolinagirl58]

tying a dead chicken around a dog's neck will NOT break it from killing chickens. Dogs LOVE to roll in decaying flesh so why on earth would they be bothered by a nice hunk of decaying flesh tied around their neck? It's a disgusting and ineffective training method.

 

[equinelyn]

Quote:
The thing to do now is get a shock collar and WATCH him.
Any time he TOUCHES a bird, give him a shock.

It won't take many to cure him

He may or may not stop forever, but most of the time the collar does the job

I'm sorry, but shock collars are cruel and should NOT be used on ANY kind of animal, even used as supposed to.

it's called re-directing, he's still young, and being young, he is going to chase things that move, Livestock gaurdian or not, a dog is a dog is a wolf, and yes, the instinct is still there.

better now than never, have someone do this until you can, take him out on a lead, and walk him through a group of chickens, watch his reactions, if he's calm, reward him, if he stiffens, gets excited, whatever give him the proper disaproval, a gruff "AH AH" should work, continue until his attention is off of the "chase,maul,torture,kill" instinct. then when you can, take it up yourself, but keep to the program already established.

there are other ways to get a dog to behave and I do not believe slapping a shock collar around their necks is one of them, sorry

I believe that in the right hands, and for the right situation shock collars do wonders. She said that she can't walk, so she can't take him out on a lead like you said. Besides, the dog will quickly understand that when you are watching he needs to leave the chickens alone ,but when he is alone nobody will know or correct him if he kills chicken. and shock collars are the best method for a dog to think that he caused the reinforcement "himself". If he chase the chicken and get a shock reinforcement, he will think that the chicken inflicted the pain as a punishment for trying to chase him..

I had a husky named Sadie that would escape out of our 6' stockade fence and run away.. I tried every training method to get her to come when called in an open area and it was hopeless. Then one day she ran out in front of a car and it came within inches of her... I then realized that I had to do something.. It was either a crippled or dead dog, or a shock that leaves no mark. After just one session there were instant results, she learned that reinforcement can happen without a leash, after keeping the collar on for only a few days she would come RIGHT back when called, no matter what the distraction was. I never had to use it again, and I could take her everywhere. Everyone was amazed at how obedient she was.

Sadie went from a dog that went from home-to-home in the neighborhood that nobody wanted because she ran away... To a dog that everybody wanted, and gave her whole heart. And made it to national television several times, and even starred in some independent films.. The shock collar saved her life, I back it up 100%..

 

[Zigmont]

I say the shock collar is a great idea and if you don't want him to enjoy eating chickens, I wouldn't feed him chicken. My dog would love it if I tied a dead animal around her neck. She would roll all day!