How Do You Cure a Chicken Killer?

[turkeyguy1]

About 28 years ago we had a Pit Bull, not a bad dog and not a mean one, Im sorry its all in how they are raised. Well any ways, we had free range chickens but the dog was on a cable run and the chickens would eat all his food so everytime one would get in close enough he would kill it, well my mother was pretty upset with a dozen dead chickens when she got home from work one day. She took a dead chicken and beat that dog with it for what seemed for ever, about a minute realy, didnt hurt him at all but he never looked at a chicken again. I dont condone animal abuse but man was she mad.

 

[nzpouter]

from what you've written so far it doesn't appear that you have much control over the dog just yet... I suggest concentrating on training her recall response first before you try anything else... and of course reinforced the chicken coop.

 

[Totalcolour]

We have a dog similar to your, she's an Airedale rescue that we got almost a month ago. Yours looks like it may be one of the terrier breeds too. Very smart, but high prey drive. Also very easy to train with the right methods.


Here she is looking at the chicken pasture, the first day we got her!

She has enormous prey drive. She went after the chickens too. BUT, we have a four-strand hotwire around the pasture (for predator control) and after 2 zaps, she ignores them.

I can take her in the pasture and she stays right by my side now. I'm not saying this would work for everyone, but good training can work. LOTS of IT! Our girl was totally wild, and she is now allowed outside, off leash with me and I can recall her immediately.

Having said that, we did take her to one of the top trainers in the country (Schutzhund) to get some initial training. He told us that one of the things we need to do with a strong prey drive, is not to kill the drive, but REDIRECT it. By giving her something else to do instead of going after chickens, we are directing the drive where WE want it to go.

So, we train 4-6 times a day (she's only 9 months, so still a puppy) for short periods of only 5-10 minutes at a time, or at the first sign she is losing her attention. We are training with a tug-toy (for the urge to grab and tear apart) and chasing/retrieving. Also, lots of work on leash with the basic commands. Lots of long walks and lots of play.

Remember, these dogs have an enormous amount of energy, and they need a TON of exercise, so no amount of training will work until they have expended enough energy to focus on the work.

And while they can be trained to leave chickens alone, WHILE YOU ARE AROUND, I would not trust them alone. EVER. The drive can be too strong.

I'm lucky, I'm at home all day, and can spend big blocks of time with my girl - not everyone is so lucky. If you have a dog with a big prey drive, and you can't give it the time/training it really needs, please consider finding it a home where it has the attentions it needs.


This is what our dog did when we first got her - she had no training, and I almost sent her back. This kind of biting was mild compared to what she could have done, and it was all due to lack of training, frustration, and lack of impulse control. But, I knew that with some intensive and consistent work, she could be a great dog. In just short of a month, she is turning into the most wonderful dog I have ever had (she is sleeping on my feet as I write this

).

Good luck with yours!

 

[BlueCamas]

Thanks for the advice Totalcalour! Mia's a Labradoodle so no Terrier in her. Surprisingly she is very low energy, even when we go on walks she trots slowly along I've only actually seen her run twice since we've had her and boy does she have a long stride!

It's funny she's the total opposite of our other dog who is a also a labradoodle. Our other dog is low energy around the house, loves to run, has almost no bad habits, super smart, easily trainable, almost perfect recall, will "leave it" like no other, and loves to play. She may be 7 and a half, but she acts like she's 2. I'd say their only similarities are their breed (labradoodle), their gender, both un-spayed females, and their intense prey-drive. While she sprints around the yard Mia trots around either sniffing the grass or stares at the chickens.

I think I just need to work with her a lot more around the chickens, the chickens who were calm around dogs before we got Mia are now terrified and true to their prey insticts freak out whenever Mia trots up, which is what she wants a reaction from the chickens.

I've made some progress in her training; when I let her out she still starts to run over to the coop, but I can now call her before she gets their and she returns to me.

A small victory, but it's a start.

Thanks so much guys! That's why I love forums, you get advice from people who have experienced things first hand

 

[Totalcolour]

Peek,

after my response to you, I had a call from a client who wanted to buy a little week old duck to replace one he lost (he actually "lost" it, as in couldn't find it!). So, hubby brought up a little duckling, and as I was putting it in the box, the dog leapt and almost took my hand off. It didn't get the duckling, since my hand was around it. But, it just goes to show, that no matter how well behaved they are MOST of the time, you still can never trust a dog with a strong prey drive!

 

[Amanda Patrick]

i have a St. bernard that is almost there and he kills are chickens, knock down our first chicken coop. and killed half our flock. I cant hold him back because he is 170ish and gets really excited. I have tried the dead chicken to the neck for a week, beating with a chicken and tried making him not excited around them by having him exposed but contained. there is so little i feel i can do because to get to our chicken coop, he must go through our underground electric fence and he has two collars and it doesnt bother him. the fur is trimed and the fence is working bc my other dogs stay inside the yard.

 

[dainerra]

exposed but contained can actually make him MORE excited! That is the method used by Schutzhund trainers to ramp a dog up before going in for bitework.

The key is to be far enough away that the dog doesn't instantly focus on the chickens. Sometimes that will be with the birds not even in sight, if you have a super driven dog. Your dog has to be able to focus on you and have a basis to build on. You can even start inside the house teaching the dog to focus on you. After the dog is reliable and listens to you at that distance (time varies with the dog) THEN you move a bit closer. If the dog goes wild, you're too close. When the dog is reliable here, then you can move a bit closer.

Why doesn't the dead chicken method, the beating the dog method, and most other methods work? Yes, they work sometimes on some dogs. BUT they are missing an important element - the dog isn't told how it SHOULD behave. What if your boss took you to your cubicle and just stood there watching - punished you for doing wrong, but never told you what job you were hired for??? Also, most dogs LOVE to roll in dead things so it's not going to bother a lot of dogs. What actually scares them is the heavy weight that is on their neck that they can't get away from. If the weight isn't "in their way" then they aren't going to care. Beating your dog just shows him "OMG Mom is a loon! I don't even know what I did!!" I call it the Schwartz Affect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy56tazwmbk

It takes a lot of work and patience to train a dog to be reliable around birds. It goes against all of their natural instincts, even for herding/guardian breeds.