HELP- Pointer dog breed and backyard chickens

[ldirk7]

Hi all! I am trying to find help/advice in all places, and I figured there must be some cross over between pointer breed owners and backyard chicken owners.

We have an almost 8 month old german wirehaired pointer, and I am new to the breed. I do not hunt, she was purchased for personality and her energy levels- I regularly run far distances in the woods and wanted a companion that would keep up with me. So- we have been diligently working on obedience training but have had no hunt training. Everything was going very well, until we put our new backyard chickens outside. It has activated her prey drive and BOY I have never seen a prey drive like this. Being new to the breed, this far exceeds any expectation on what I thought "high prey drive" was. She is singularly focused on it, all she does is sit by the window and ring the bell to go out. We are struggling to get her to eat a meal because she is so focused on the chickens. We have stopped letting her in the back yard and are now just taking her out front to use the bathroom, which is not sustainable.

I am looking for advice on how to desensitize her to the chickens at 8 months old. I have been told by many people that I would have avoided this if I had already hunt trained her/introduced her to birds early but I haven't. I have reached out to some local gun dog specialist trainers and I hope to work that area of her to gain better control and understanding.. but in the mean time does anyone have any suggestions for this? Her prey drive is so insane (which is on par for the breed), and she is so neurotic about it, that we are currently miserable and really need to understand how to train this to solve it. We are worried that we have made a gigantic mistake.

Thank you in advance!

Edit to add puppy tax:

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

An electronic training collar with a remote would probably be very helpful, (but your obedience training, down stay, etc will be your best friend). Especially if you can keep telling her firmly that they are "my chickens" firmly when she looks at them like she is ready to chase, and give her a vibrate when she looks at them. You can teach her "watch me" and give her treats when she responds. I would start working with her on a leash in the back yard to maintain more control. I wouldn't hunt with her if I were you, especially birds. Chasing birds should be off limits, period. @NanaKat does an excellent job of describing how to train them to drop the chasing habit. I have 2 herding dogs, and have had to do similar work with mine. Do the chickens free range?

 

[ldirk7]

@Sooner Magnolia Thank you so much for your response- this is actually the strategy that I started last night, without knowing if it is a good idea or if I am making things worse:

We have completely stopped taking her in the backyard (where the coop is) for bathroom, only doing front yard on leash for that. I took her outside in the back (leashed) and we did commands with her facing away from the coop, directly facing me. Lots of watch me and downs, with heavy treats/positive reinforcement. I tried to inch closer to the coop but she broke her attention much quicker there and went into stalk mode, and we went right inside at that point and did a few commands inside to finish the session on a high note. When her attention breaks and she goes into prey mode, its like she is a totally different dog and she doesn't even hear a word I am saying.

To this point I have not used an e collar and have actually been against them, but I'm starting to realize that this is likely a reality for this breed (and sorry to all for my judgement on them prior to owning this breed). The gun dog trainers I have reached out to will hopefully help be able to guide me in training this, it is something that I do not look upon lightly and would like professional help rather than attempting it on my own.

The chickens do not free range. We had thoughts of letting them out periodically with the dogs in the house (our other dog seems pretty chill about them), but I am seeing now that is likely not an option. Thankfully they have a spacious run for the number of chickens!

 

[KelseyBoxer]

I hate to use a shock collar, but the drive in that dog is overwhelming. But, strict obedience training must be established. @Sooner Magnolia has some great advise! That is a beautiful picture. I would print and frame that.

 

[ldirk7]

@KelseyBoxer I agree, I am not thrilled about it. My biggest fear is what will happen if her prey drive is activated by a marmot up on a ridge/cliff situation. I think for this reason alone I will be strapping an e collar on her... it's better than death.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Things will get easier as she gets older too. I adopted a 2 year old border collie/heeler mix and she caught a loose chicken that had roosted in a tree the second day we had her(it lived). I knew I had to take major action as I free range my birds. I only had to shock her 2 times. Once when starting to chase and then when her ears pricked up to go again another time. She actively avoided them after that, and has been the perfect dog.

You don't have to shock at all unless you really can't get her attention. Most collars come with beep/vibrate/shock options and multiple levels. My young heeler will stop chasing and barking at the neighbor dogs through the fence after a vibrate or two. Those don't hurt at all, just gets their attention. I often just beep and vibrate when she ignores that.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Here is the links to my thread from 2015 regarding my sweet Sugar. Like I said, she hasn't chased a chicken since 2015. Thread 'Using a training collar on my new dog.' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/using-a-training-collar-on-my-new-dog.950370/

 

[ldirk7]

@Sooner Magnolia Thanks so much!

 

[McChooky]

My enclosed run has had to be redesigned more than once to fit my budget and protect my chickens from predators and now my dogs since I've discovered they both have a high prey drive .I'm sorry they have to get zapped a time or two before they learn to stay away from chickens but the smart dogs learn fast.Best of luck to you!

 

[RDchicken99]

I have what I think is a Pittie-Coonhound mutt. He has a crazy pray drive just like your girl! I eventually got him an E-Collar, because he is too strong for me to hold it he ever went off chasing something. Don’t feel bad, like @Sooner Magnolia said, you don’t have to shock your dog! E-collars have vibrate and beep options as well. I hope it turns out well for you! And that is a beautiful pointer! I’m a sucker for hunting dogs