Help!! Son's new puppy is eating my chickens!!

[Ivywoods]

We have a number of dogs. The boston terrier ignores the chickens. The chihuahua would sleep with them if they would let him. Hubby's hunting dog points them... and points and points and points. Our 3 great pyrenees dogs protect them, and our german wirehaired dachshund would kill every one if he could. He absolutely cannot be trusted around them, and no amount of correction has been effective in stopping him.

It kind of depends on the dog as to whether you will be able to break him of this. As someone else said, he should be supervised 100% of the time if the chickens and he are out together. Pups will chase chickens because the chickens run and it is fun. It is a very difficult thing to stop once it gets started.

Hope you can work this out.

 

[gryeyes]

When I first got chicks, and put them outside at the appropriate time, my elderly dachshund killed one. It totally surprised me.

It took a WHOLE lot of work over months to get him to understand the poultry is NOT his to chase down and catch. During that time, due to my inattention, I lost two more hens.

However, after constant supervision, a whole lot of early correction, some chaining him up when he wanted to be outside whilst I was working outside (he had never been chained in his life), and finally a good whipping from the rooster and then the drake, he has learned to leave the flock alone. He can slink, tail down, past or through a crowd of chickens to get to the back fence so he can bark his frustration at the neighbor's dog without problem. He won't come out the front door to go potty if the ducks are near it, but he will pass through chickens in a zig-zagging fashion.

My other, younger dachshund totally avoids the poultry. He witnessed all the troubles the older dog created and received, and just doesn't want to be anywhere near a chicken or a duck.

 

[M To The Maxx]

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I agree.

 

[TigerLilly]

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I started out having the same problem with my new 2 1/1 yr old aussie. She got one chicken & that's ALL she's getting the chance at. So far, she is doing a lot better when around the chickens...but not enough to be trustworthy yet.

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

My husband's dog is a certified chicken killer. And she's crafty, but he needs her for work, so there's no getting rid of her. We eventually had to buy a e-collar fence. It doesn't keep the dog in the yard. It keeps the dog out of the chicken yard and gives those adventurous chickens a buffer. It works well, but any wandering chicken is at risk.

 

[Davaroo]

I have a mantra that applies here, proven over and over. ...

"When it comes to chickens, never turn your back on the dog."

Train them all you want, work with them and always be present - and so on, and so on.
But sooner or later, what it has learned now at this early stage will rear up. You may not be home, and there may be just the right size chink in the fence for him to breach.
And it will be on, then.

Many dogs are good around chickens and other animals. Some are not.
Some no matter how good, seem unable to help themselves should the opportunity present itself. They are, IMHO, victims of their own appetites.

Youd be wise to keep my mantra on your lips.

 

[Chihuahuamom444]

I hate to say it but even with working with a trainer my dog will kill a chicken in a min, even with me Right there. My chickens are enclosed in a huge chainlink enclosure and all is fine, But someone still manages to get out and he kills them, last fall he killed 3 of my precious hens, Im afraid you may be in for a lot of headaches, some dogs can't be helped and I have one of them.

 

[bobbi-j]

Some dogs can't be helped, but others can. Don't give up on the pup. I have a registered lab - he loves to hunt pheasants - who has never in his 8 years of life killed a chicken. He will run through the middle of the flock now and then, just to watch them scatter. He also feels it's his duty to break up any disagreements between the roosters, but he's never harmed one. He was taught at a very young age to leave them alone. Just wanted to throw that out there so you know that not all labs are natural chicken killers. I agree with the others who have suggested constant supervision and separation if possible. Good luck! I hope you can make it work so your son doesn't have to give up his puppy.

 

[BHyder1]

I have a 7month old lab mix, got him in the spring, and we just trained him with the word NO! He has never done more than just run around my 30 chickens, that usually free-range. He does go in the coop and steal an egg every now and then!

 

[wsdareme]

My FIL was successful in rehabing a chicken killer by tying the dead chicken around the dog's neck and leaving it until it rotted and fell off. The dog never touched another chicken.

That said, our Aussie and Rottie were raised with chicks (the Rottie would sit and watch them in the brooder and her little stub would wiggle). But we have NEVER trusted them with the chickens. We have hawks, eagles, and other critters so we have a big enclosed run. The chickens stay IN the run, the dogs stay on the OUTSIDE of the run. No heartbreaks that way.

The only way to ensure that your dog doesn't kill chickens is to keep them away from the chickens. Period.