Help with a Great Pyrenees

[Verronicaa]

If someone here has any experience with Great Pyrenees I could use some advice.

I have 4yo purebred female Pyr who is one of the best dogs I've ever had. I've raised her from a pup and she's never killed anything before. Within the last month she's started killing baby chickens. I thought it was a snake killing them and that she was just picking up their bodies, but tonight I caught her with a baby duck in tow. Thankfully I saw her in time and the duckling is now safe back in the coop.

I'm distraught. This is not normal behavior for her. She was raised with chickens and ducks - she'll even lay there while they walk right by her. But for some reason she has an issue with the baby chickens and ducks all of a sudden.

My dad, who owns the farm, thinks she is irredeemable and needs to find a new home that doesn't have chickens. I'm terrified that he's right. Does anyone have any advice for a grown Pyr with this problem? Does anyone have any experience with this issue and their Pyr? Can a dog be successfully rehabilitated once they've killed a chicken? Is there anything at all I can do to help her?

 

[AidKD]

@Pampered chicken girl

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

If someone here has any experience with Great Pyrenees I could use some advice.

I have 4yo purebred female Pyr who is one of the best dogs I've ever had. I've raised her from a pup and she's never killed anything before. Within the last month she's started killing baby chickens. I thought it was a snake killing them and that she was just picking up their bodies, but tonight I caught her with a baby duck in tow. Thankfully I saw her in time and the duckling is now safe back in the coop.

I'm distraught. This is not normal behavior for her. She was raised with chickens and ducks - she'll even lay there while they walk right by her. But for some reason she has an issue with the baby chickens and ducks all of a sudden.

My dad, who owns the farm, thinks she is irredeemable and needs to find a new home that doesn't have chickens. I'm terrified that he's right. Does anyone have any advice for a grown Pyr with this problem? Does anyone have any experience with this issue and their Pyr? Can a dog be successfully rehabilitated once they've killed a chicken? Is there anything at all I can do to help her?

I'd definitely separate her for now, she might be able to be rehabilitated but it'll take time and patience. Don't let her around the poultry without you

 

[Verronicaa]

I'd definitely separate her for now, she might be able to be rehabilitated but it'll take time and patience. Don't let her around the poultry without you

Thank you. Will do.

 

[Somshine]

The longer you allow her to carry on like this the harder it will be to change. But yes you are just going to have to spend some time completely supervising when she is around the babies. And keeping them separated when you aren't there. I have 175 lb Pyrenees who's 8 years old now. He's always been wonderful with anything small. That is strange for her to just start that behavior at 4 years old. Might be worth thinking hard about what may have changed or caused this after her being good with them for 4 years. If you can pinpoint something it may help with getting her back on track.

 

[ShrekDawg]

The longer you allow her to carry on like this the harder it will be to change. But yes you are just going to have to spend some time completely supervising when she is around the babies. And keeping them separated when you aren't there. I have 175 lb Pyrenees who's 8 years old now. He's always been wonderful with anything small. That is strange for her to just start that behavior at 4 years old. Might be worth thinking hard about what may have changed or caused this after her being good with them for 4 years. If you can pinpoint something it may help with getting her back on track.

Very true. There must be a reason for this. Some sort of trigger or cause. Maybe a health issue even? Has she had a full work up by a vet?

 

[Somshine]

Very true. There must be a reason for this. Some sort of trigger or cause. Maybe a health issue even? Has she had a full work up by a vet?

Agreed! And if she gets a clean bill of health if you are not an experienced handler of these type of dogs I would recommend calling a trainer to come in and work with her a little bit and show you how. The quicker you can make this problem go away the more likely it will become a distant memory. They're extremely independent discerning and can be hardheaded but are very intelligent and learn quite well once you learn how to work with an LGD. They are typically not too worried about being people pleasers though. So training involves more convincing them it's the best thing to do for them instead of expecting them to be happy because you're happy

 

[Verronicaa]

Very true. There must be a reason for this. Some sort of trigger or cause. Maybe a health issue even? Has she had a full work up by a vet?

Oh, wow. She hasn't had a check up this year yet, but you think it could be a medical issue? I didn't even consider that to be a possibility. I'll 100% check into it! Thanks so much.

 

[Somshine]

And luckily they're pretty food motivated and policy driven with structure and routine.

 

[Susan Skylark]

This kind of behavior is very difficult to break and it is not likely to be a medical condition. There are dogs that for whatever reason once they start killing things they just can’t stop, around here porcupines are a big problem and no matter how often the dog is quilled they still go after them with a vengeance, and quilling is a lot more detrimental than any discipline a good dog owner is going to enforce. Your best bet is to rehome to a place without poultry/small animals or make sure it is confined away from potential victims unless under direct supervision. You also don’t want it to start going after the neighbor’s critters. If there is any aggression towards children, euthanasia is highly recommended because that is a tragedy waiting to happen.