Help with my dog who wants to eat my chickens!

[MilesFluffybutt]

Pixie, my 100lb Rottie/German Shepard, and Hawke, my 1lb cross-beaked Easter Egger, are besties. Even though Hawke is kind of a jerk to her, Pixie takes it. When she's had enough of the pecking, scratching, etc, she'll get up and leave and Hawke will look all dejected. I got lucky with Pixie.



Regarding training for your pooch, I echo the comments regarding condition training. Maybe add a little CBD oil to his diet. A friend of mine says it works wonders on her high-strung chihuahuas.

 

[Saaniya]

Just don't let him near the chickens or just tie his belt with when chickens are open

 

[Smr]

I don't have any training tips but I'll tell a story...

My mother's dog is a Yorkshire and has a high prey drive. He even caught a squirrel once. He was intent on catching one of my birds from the very moment he saw them. Whenever she came over she kept him on a leash (birds are free range so can go all over). She would try to keep him calm and would treat him when he sat down and paid attention to her. This was going pretty well and he was learning to stay calm. My dogs, on the other hand, are fine with the birds and always have been. This means my birds are not afraid of dogs.

So one day my mom had her dog right in with the flock. He was being good so my mom let him get close enough to sniff one. Well I guess he got too close. The hen did what hens do to tell their flock-mates to back off. The dog got a nice solid peck on the nose. Since that day he has had zero interest in the birds and gives them lots of space.

Last year I got a Jack Russell Terrier pup at 9 weeks of age. The first thing I trained him was that chickens were off limits.
I used the same training method as your mom.
I put a 6 foot leash on him and took him into my chicken run and let him explore and drag the leash.
If he started to chase a bird I stepped on the leash and let him self correct, and that followed with a strong NO command.
I did this everyday until he showed no interest in the birds.
It also helped that the chickens started to peck his nose if he got to close.
Be patient and give it time.

 

[Gilded Feather]

I would suggest a training collar. Preferably one that has the tone/vibrate/stimulation options. It sounds like your dog has a strong prey drive (it’s literally bred into him). So at this point I wouldn’t think normal leash conditioning would benefit him in the long run. You say he essentially ‘turns off’ his hearing and focuses in on his target. That is a no no. This is when a training collar will come into play best.

Put him on a leash and walk him by your chickens. When he shifts his focus onto them, tell him no and keep walking.

If he fails to listen, fights you on the leash, or shows any interest in the chickens at all, tone him and firmly say “no” while still walking him away from your flock. At this point ‘tone’ is only a beep emitted by the collar to grab his attention.

If he still refuses to listen and unlock his interest on them, give him a vibration and say “no”. This vibrates the collar in an effort to regain his attention.

If he still refuses after these attempts then you will need to implement the stimulation portion. Now, most find shock collars to be barbaric but in actuality they are extremely useful tools in training if used correctly. Most collars will have a dial with a number range on them. Starting at the lowest setting possible, send a short stimulation through the collar while telling him “no”. The dog should not jump, vocalize or bolt if the stimulation is low enough just to grab his attention. At most, all you should see is your dog’s ears prick up and his attention turn back to you.

If he doesn’t return his interest to you, bump the dial up one number at a time and repeat until it breaks his focus off the chickens and returns it to you. Remember the number that brings his focus back to you for future training sessions so you automatically know what his attention threshold number is.

Repeat this whole process over again, starting with just using a firm voice command of “no” and working your way up if need be until he instantly grants you his attention at “no” or completely ignores the flock. When he does listen and ignores your chickens, give him a small treat as a reward or pet and praise him.

Keep doing this type of training until he completely loses interest in your chickens when being walked by them and learns it’s not in his best interest to pay so much as the least bit of attention to your flock.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I have had labradors. Bird hunting labradors. Labradors are 'easy' breed to train I guess. But this last one is a dominant from the litter. She and I butted heads. And she is still a bit difficult due to the 'power balance' and kids meddling also-letting her get away with stuff.
First of all I think you need to be in charge that means if he's sitting on your lap at night on the couch...he's in charge. Lowering his standing in the house is a strategy. Physically and mentally.
Use low voice, low excitement when they are screwing up. You can say "MINE" low and deep/stern faced... instead of "NO" which is a word they hear ALOT. (That's from an Aussie trainer friend on here.)
I also believe you have the issue of him being a rescue. They seem to have trust issues for the first two years or so based on some experiences -Personal and with friends they never quite give a solid of a bond as they do raised as pups. So training might have this color to it as well.
Then as Sourland has said you might have to accept his Nature to Pursue and adapt your set up for chickens to deal with this domestic predator. It's such a pain for it to be that way though.
All efforts -which require time and patience and maybe a chicken loss-might give you the result you so much want. But time and consistency will need to be in place. I think in 2-6 months you would know I'm guessing if it's going to work.

 

[TheLaboratoryBF]

Not sure if this has already been covered, but how long have you had your boy/the chickens? I ask because:

A little over 2.5 years ago we adopted a 2-3 year-old miniature pincher (Finn) who the shelter staff told us had a VERY strong prey drive (we asked because of our chickens at home). He was very interested in the chickens through the hardware cloth of the run when we got him home but after a week or two, he seemed to be getting used to them and for the most part was ignoring them. We thought it was a good idea at that point to let the chickens out while he was in the yard to see how he'd react...BIG MISTAKE. He chased the flock until one bird split off and he chased her until he was in snapping range and got a mouthful of tail feathers (and nothing else, thankfully). We caught up to him at that point and separated everyone again and resigned ourselves to never being able to have them out together at the same time...until earlier this year when a rogue game bird hen flew into our backyard...our dogs (we also have an 11-year-old Jack Russell who tries his best to ignore but is otherwise scared of the chickens) were inside the house (and our chickens were penned up when this bird flew in), so I thought it a great opportunity to see how Finn would react. I let the dogs out and Finn didn't give that bird more than a tertiary glance. I was ecstatic! The real test came with our own birds the following weekend and he was even better with them. Not only does he not chase them, he is not phased when they are startled/excited by something, and he even gives them a wide berth if they start approaching him...I literally cried tears of joy the first time they were all out together.

LOOoong story short: time was the best trainer for our boy, and while I know that wouldn't be the case for every dog, if you haven't had your dog (or chickens) long, things may get easier when the newness wears off.

(Including a shameless photo of Finn on the first day he was outside with the chickens this past March. Ignore the "ferocious" look; he was mid-yawn.)

 

[silkie10]

my dog was like this. (She is a terrier mix as well) but now look at her!

how long have you had the chickens? For quite a while when she was first introduced to them all she wanted to do was rip them apart. in our experience it took time. lots of time. Just be patient and keep your chickens well locked up. he'll get used to them eventually.

 

[Sueby]

Thank you everyone! & especially thanks for the pics, I love pics!

He's doing great 90% of the time so that's a big step. We will to continue to work on being calm & I do think that time will help, as some of you have mentioned.

ETA answers for some questions asked: we have only had the chickens since April so it's still pretty new for him. He does not sleep with me, he sleeps in his bed on the floor.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My chiweenie is fine with our big girls, but, dear lord, chicks drive her out of her mind! So weird: once the peeping stops and the bawking starts, she couldn't care less about the chickens. She is super obedient unless she hears that peeping. Then she is like a dog possessed!

I'm going to try some (maybe all) of the suggestions. It would make my life - and hers - so much easier if she could be trusted around all of my birds. Thanks, everyone!

 

[onvirginiasoil]

I have no advice at all if you're wanting to keep the dog. I moved to the country a long time ago from a city, and I brought my city-type dogs, including a German shepherd and a terrier. Both were very well mannered and minded me perfectly where I had lived, but neither was ideal for country living with livestock.

However, a friend of mine in much the same situation installed an underground fence and put an accompanying shock collar on her dog. The dog learned quickly how far it could venture toward the chickens, which were free-range. Interesting enough, the chickens also knew how far the dog could get, and they would go right up to the line and not one inch farther.

So I doubt the chickens would be traumatized, and I doubt the dog would be traumatized; it becomes a game for them. The real problem is, as you say, he's driving YOU insane. So get some Rescue Remedy (the human version) and take some, and if your dog continues to drive you nuts, give him some.