Husky dog and poultry, slaughtered chicken

[Morgank]

My Border Collie/Heeler mix (who I lost just recently, at over 14 years old) did bite me, one time only, many years ago.

He was out in the yard, upset about some neighborhood disagreement that was happening on the other side of our 6-feet-tall fence, and he leaped up (he was quite an athletic jumper) and somehow got his leg caught between two fence pickets. I heard the panicked barking and rushed outside - he was hanging in the air by one front leg, helpless, full of fear and I'm sure in pain as well. He was out of his mind with panic and struggling.

I tried to lift him up to free his paw from between the pickets, but he weighed 60 pounds (close to 30 kilos) and while I was trying to lift him above my head and twist his leg somewhat to get him free, he started biting me. Severely attacking me, in fact.

Finally I got him free from the fence, but by that time my hands and arms were bloody. I took him inside and put ice packs on his front leg as well as my own arms, and he was SO SORRY! Licking and sniffing my arms and staring at me with those gentle brown eyes. It's like he knew he had temporarily lost his mind, and was trying to make it up to me.

We blocked off that section of the fence where it was unsafe, and a few months later we moved away from that place, to our current property. Where our dog had more freedom to run around in the big field, and was always kind to our chickens, our tiny dog and the wild rabbits around here. Not so kind to the local possums, cats, rats or squirrels. From his obedience classes, he learned to understand what we expected him to protect and defend.
A smart and loving and kind dog. I miss him so much.

@Morgank, I'm not trying to say that my experience with my dog is the same as yours, with your dog. Only that dangerous situations can happen when a dog encounters new stressful experiences - they can lose their sensible minds, from no fault of their own. Training and trust is what's needed.
I wish you the best of luck with training your beautiful dog.
I wish you the best of luck wit your beautiful husky.

My Border Collie/Heeler mix (who I lost just recently, at over 14 years old) did bite me, one time only, many years ago.

He was out in the yard, upset about some neighborhood disagreement that was happening on the other side of our 6-feet-tall fence, and he leaped up (he was quite an athletic jumper) and somehow got his leg caught between two fence pickets. I heard the panicked barking and rushed outside - he was hanging in the air by one front leg, helpless, full of fear and I'm sure in pain as well. He was out of his mind with panic and struggling.

I tried to lift him up to free his paw from between the pickets, but he weighed 60 pounds (close to 30 kilos) and while I was trying to lift him above my head and twist his leg somewhat to get him free, he started biting me. Severely attacking me, in fact.

Finally I got him free from the fence, but by that time my hands and arms were bloody. I took him inside and put ice packs on his front leg as well as my own arms, and he was SO SORRY! Licking and sniffing my arms and staring at me with those gentle brown eyes. It's like he knew he had temporarily lost his mind, and was trying to make it up to me.

We blocked off that section of the fence where it was unsafe, and a few months later we moved away from that place, to our current property. Where our dog had more freedom to run around in the big field, and was always kind to our chickens, our tiny dog and the wild rabbits around here. Not so kind to the local possums, cats, rats or squirrels. From his obedience classes, he learned to understand what we expected him to protect and defend.
A smart and loving and kind dog. I miss him so much.

@Morgank, I'm not trying to say that my experience with my dog is the same as yours, with your dog. Only that dangerous situations can happen when a dog encounters new stressful experiences - they can lose their sensible minds, from no fault of their own. Training and trust is what's needed.
I wish you the best of luck with training your beautiful dog.
I wish you the best of luck wit your beautiful husky.

Thanks! Today I just read how to put a patch on a dog. All veterinarians warned that even a trained dog may bite if it is injured. And yes, stressful situation. As always, i take the time to think about why this happened. The electric fence didn´t work for a few months and the dog went to hunt small animals in the meadow once a day. We got the electric fence working a few days before he attacked the chicken. I immediately saw that the dog was unhappy - again I took his freedom! And I also have noticed, his hunting instinct awakens when birds do something unexpected. Like they suddenly fly out of the bush and screaming.
In our garden live every year two couples of White wagtail, they have been here for years. They are calm birds and they climb in front of the husky's nose. The dog does not respond. But when the blackbird flies out of the bush suddenly, the dog catches it in the air. I have read cases in my country where a husky has gotten out of the home garden. They has attacked a human because it has taken his little dog in his arms. This is a very dangerous situation because huskyes do not tolerate small animals, small dogs. And the person has suffered very serious injuries. Once again, the husky is not an apartment or a city dog. He is primarily a hunting dog, who needs freedom somewhere out of town.

 

[Morgank]

Hi there,
I've got a Jack Russell Terrier, he has been bred and trained to hunt anything from rats to raccoons. And has done so successfully.
I AM not a dog trainer or expert, but here are the steps I took when introducing any new bird or animal.

While keeping a hold on him I let him sniff the animal, this helps with curiosity.
My next step was letting the animal out around him, and distracting him with "stay" commands and treats. As long as he remained laying down without paying attention to the animal he got a treat.
This I repeat a couple times. While I don't trust him alone unsupervised with smaller animals due to instinct, I found that this eliminated his curiosity and he would in turn leave the animals alone as long as I paid attention to his triggers. I have done this several times to introduce him to my pets including several parrots, a gecko, and now a duckling

I recommend some basic training to start off with, probably some classes.

I'd like to reiterate I am not a dog trainer or professional. What worked for me and my dog may not work with you. It is about finding the balance and methods that your dog understands.

From my own experience, as long as he knows that the animal (chicken, duck, barn kittens...) is not prey, he's been great at leaving them alone. However there have been a couple instances where he's gone to sniff the animal and it's ran from him, or any other "prey" movement, triggering his instincts and I've had to call him over and away, or even physically restrain him. I have only lost one duck to him.
While I don't trust him unsupervised, this has helped a couple times if one of my parrots is on the floor or has tried to fly to the perch/whatever and hasn't quite made it.

It's important to remember they are animals with instincts. Yes, he's a great dog, I love him, but I also understand he has instincts.

Quick add: it seems he's also shown aggression to you, I'm not sure what advice to offer on that other than professional trainer and lots of training with him on your own. Do not try the dominance thing. That's a great way for it to escalate or to be bit.

Huskies are one of those dogs who need brain stimulation also.

Sorry for the word vomit, I was trying to make it clear.

Thank you! I don't even know why huskies aren't considered smart dogs. Yes at the level of the mind! Our second dog Jack Russell is already 8 years old. For the first years he hunted mice and moles. Now he's a bed dog that sleeps on my feet at night. I wrote more about husky here before.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Huskies are considered very intelligent dogs. That's why you're advised to not have one unless you can dedicate lots of time to training them properly.

 

[Morgank]

Huskies are considered very intelligent dogs. That's why you're advised to not have one unless you can dedicate lots of time to training them properly.

It was a great mistake to read the description of this breed when we thought of taking this dog. It was written that this dog is not a watchdog. Flags the tail toward any stranger. I don't know where this "story" comes from, I think somewhere in the english description. On the contrary, the husky does not want to be close to a stranger at all. When our dog grew up and I saw that the description was the opposite, my son said - these puppies must also be sold to someone!

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Hi there,
I've got a Jack Russell Terrier, he has been bred and trained to hunt anything from rats to raccoons. And has done so successfully.
I AM not a dog trainer or expert, but here are the steps I took when introducing any new bird or animal.

While keeping a hold on him I let him sniff the animal, this helps with curiosity.
My next step was letting the animal out around him, and distracting him with "stay" commands and treats. As long as he remained laying down without paying attention to the animal he got a treat.
This I repeat a couple times. While I don't trust him alone unsupervised with smaller animals due to instinct, I found that this eliminated his curiosity and he would in turn leave the animals alone as long as I paid attention to his triggers. I have done this several times to introduce him to my pets including several parrots, a gecko, and now a duckling

I recommend some basic training to start off with, probably some classes.

I'd like to reiterate I am not a dog trainer or professional. What worked for me and my dog may not work with you. It is about finding the balance and methods that your dog understands.

From my own experience, as long as he knows that the animal (chicken, duck, barn kittens...) is not prey, he's been great at leaving them alone. However there have been a couple instances where he's gone to sniff the animal and it's ran from him, or any other "prey" movement, triggering his instincts and I've had to call him over and away, or even physically restrain him. I have only lost one duck to him.
While I don't trust him unsupervised, this has helped a couple times if one of my parrots is on the floor or has tried to fly to the perch/whatever and hasn't quite made it.

It's important to remember they are animals with instincts. Yes, he's a great dog, I love him, but I also understand he has instincts.

Quick add: it seems he's also shown aggression to you, I'm not sure what advice to offer on that other than professional trainer and lots of training with him on your own. Do not try the dominance thing. That's a great way for it to escalate or to be bit.

Huskies are one of those dogs who need brain stimulation also.

Sorry for the word vomit, I was trying to make it clear.

I'm going to use that idea with the treats. I've been successful with my method for "out" and I don't have to use the hose.

My kids let Stella on the chicken side, by accident - they thought the chicken coop was closed. To my surprise, Stella was too busy sniffing that she didnt see the chicks. I freaked out trying to rush her back but I think she will be easier to work with than Shadow. Stella is my giiiirrrrl.. she once got out of her collar on a walk (it was too big but I didn't notice with all the fluff) and she ran right back to me with no hesitation. Shadow on the other hand... he can be all fine and dandy but the moment a cat runs, or a bird flies off he is in a whole new state and I truly believe if he was let loose, he'd run 30miles before stopping.
But I definitely need to do more with them than just "out" when it comes to the chicks.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Huskies are considered very intelligent dogs. That's why you're advised to not have one unless you can dedicate lots of time to training them properly.

Word.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

It was a great mistake to read the description of this breed when we thought of taking this dog. It was written that this dog is not a watchdog. Flags the tail toward any stranger. I don't know where this "story" comes from, I think somewhere in the english description. On the contrary, the husky does not want to be close to a stranger at all. When our dog grew up and I saw that the description was the opposite, my son said - these puppies must also be sold to someone!

It's funny how they can be. I have two and each of them either fit the description or they simply don't.
Shadow, my stubborn boy - when it comes to running, he fits the husky to the core. But at home, he is not hyper, not a digger, hates water, and you rarely hear a sound from him unless he's stretching. Stella, fits the high-energy part along with digging and chewing, the howling, her love for water and ice, but out on a run and she just wants to be with you more than running.

I personally believe they're a smarter breed of dog. That's why sometimes I think they understand these dogs were bred to run miles to a destination, while also following the commands of a musher - including to ignore distractions. They're very smart! That's why it's so crucial for them to be stimulated.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

My Border Collie/Heeler mix (who I lost just recently, at over 14 years old) did bite me, one time only, many years ago.

He was out in the yard, upset about some neighborhood disagreement that was happening on the other side of our 6-feet-tall fence, and he leaped up (he was quite an athletic jumper) and somehow got his leg caught between two fence pickets. I heard the panicked barking and rushed outside - he was hanging in the air by one front leg, helpless, full of fear and I'm sure in pain as well. He was out of his mind with panic and struggling.

I tried to lift him up to free his paw from between the pickets, but he weighed 60 pounds (close to 30 kilos) and while I was trying to lift him above my head and twist his leg somewhat to get him free, he started biting me. Severely attacking me, in fact.

Finally I got him free from the fence, but by that time my hands and arms were bloody. I took him inside and put ice packs on his front leg as well as my own arms, and he was SO SORRY! Licking and sniffing my arms and staring at me with those gentle brown eyes. It's like he knew he had temporarily lost his mind, and was trying to make it up to me.

We blocked off that section of the fence where it was unsafe, and a few months later we moved away from that place, to our current property. Where our dog had more freedom to run around in the big field, and was always kind to our chickens, our tiny dog and the wild rabbits around here. Not so kind to the local possums, cats, rats or squirrels. From his obedience classes, he learned to understand what we expected him to protect and defend.
A smart and loving and kind dog. I miss him so much.

@Morgank, I'm not trying to say that my experience with my dog is the same as yours, with your dog. Only that dangerous situations can happen when a dog encounters new stressful experiences - they can lose their sensible minds, from no fault of their own. Training and trust is what's needed.
I wish you the best of luck with training your beautiful dog.
I wish you the best of luck wit your beautiful husky.

Thankfully he was okay! But so sorry for your loss

Oh wow that sounds terrifying!!! I actually had a similar experience earlier this year. I was walking two of my brother’s dogs and one of them fell through a drain grate thing and got his leg caught. Snow/slush/ice was covering it and he couldn’t see it.

Anyway, he started freaking out, panicking, thrashing around much like your dog. I tried to pull his leg out but he wouldn’t let me help and bit me a few times out of sheer panic. So I backed off and thought about what to do since he wouldn’t let me help. I was kinda freaking a bit too. Thankfully though, while I was thinking, he somehow managed to pull his leg out on his own! Idk how he did it. And he was totally fine too miraculously

I was wearing gloves thankfully so not too bad damage but he still broke through them and broke skin on my hands. But he was so sorry too!

For clarification, this dog doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Sweetest, gentlest, “softest” dog ever. Zero aggression normally. And he absolutely LOVES me!! Maybe more than his owners like for real... idk why but he is sooo attached to me, seriously adores me, and would NEVER EVER EVER in a million years EVER intentionally hurt me so that’s how I knew he must have been scared pretty badly. He’s a pretty anxious dog so I think he was just scared out his mind. The other one that was with me I think would have let me help her but idk. You never know that they’re gonna do in an emergency. Thankfully we were all fine and no vets or ERs were needed LOL

That's pretty scary to imagine.
I've never had it happen personally but I've watched videos on YouTube - one with a deer stuck in the fence. Luckily he got out though

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thankfully he was okay! But so sorry for your loss


That's pretty scary to imagine.
I've never had it happen personally but I've watched videos on YouTube - one with a deer stuck in the fence. Luckily he got out though

Yeah it was definitely scary!! I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t gotten his leg unstuck himself cause he wouldn’t let me help him. I’ve never seen him like that. Poor guy was just like blindly flailing about and crying

 

[IttyBittyBirdy]

Thank you! I don't even know why huskies aren't considered smart dogs. Yes at the level of the mind! Our second dog Jack Russell is already 8 years old. For the first years he hunted mice and moles. Now he's a bed dog that sleeps on my feet at night. I wrote more about husky here before.

I've had experience with Huskies before, I can say that are definitely very smart dogs. They will test their limits which is exactly what yours is doing.

My jack russell is 12 and is barely slowing down!