We recently got a new dog, Mia. She is a 70lb sweety with a monstrous prey-drive. She has killed 6 of my chickens, and had a close call with another the other day. At first it was the chickens that were getting out, so we covered out run. Then she broke into the run, so we secured the fence. Now she runs at them through the fence trying to get them riled up. I'm afraid something else will happen and I can't afford to lose anymore. We have tried tying the dead chicken to her neck for a day, she didn't care. We have tried smacking her with the dead chicken, she rolls over but obviously didn't get the message. I have tried scolding her every time she stares at a chicken. She is probably the most bone-headed dog I've ever met, not the smartest either. She doesn't seem to understand punishments and never seems ashamed even if we catch her in the act. I really just don't know what to do.
We have another dog who has a prey-drive as Mia, but she listens to us and knows to stay calm around the chickens and I can call her off of a chicken if she starts chasing them. I know it's a "dog" thing to do, but Mia just gets so worked up over the chickens that once she is after them, there's no calling her off unless you tackle her. I know I will never be able to trust her around chickens (or anything prey-like for that matter), but I'd like to be able to have some control over her and prevent any more chicken deaths.
Doesn't anyone have experience with chicken killing dogs? Training tips? What am I doing wrong? What might be a good method for training Mia in general, in the home where she was previously, she obviously didn't get a lot of one-on-one training time.
The chicken murdering doofus...
We have another dog who has a prey-drive as Mia, but she listens to us and knows to stay calm around the chickens and I can call her off of a chicken if she starts chasing them. I know it's a "dog" thing to do, but Mia just gets so worked up over the chickens that once she is after them, there's no calling her off unless you tackle her. I know I will never be able to trust her around chickens (or anything prey-like for that matter), but I'd like to be able to have some control over her and prevent any more chicken deaths.
Doesn't anyone have experience with chicken killing dogs? Training tips? What am I doing wrong? What might be a good method for training Mia in general, in the home where she was previously, she obviously didn't get a lot of one-on-one training time.
The chicken murdering doofus...