i never thought my own dog would fall into this category (UPDATED PG.8

[greathorse]

I did have a heeler for a long time. I did not have poultry at the time. I beleive she could have been taught to leave them alone, of course I will never know. I do know that she was the smartest hardest working dog I have ever owned. If I had chickens at the time I would have involved her in every thing I did with them. First with a leash and later as voice commands were intact with voice. It would be a long time before I would trust her with them if she and the chickens were not in my sight.

It will of course be your choice, but in my experience heelers can be awesome dogs.

Big tough ole me cried like a baby when I forced to mercifully end her life.

Whew what a dog.

 

[Barnyard]

My rottie is a chicken grabber, but I would not rehome him for that. The thing with Max is that he only grabs when I am not outside with him, so I have started chaining him up when I go back inside and leave him out. I hate doing that, but that is what he gets for chasing my chickens. I think with a little hard work you can still train your dog. Afterall he is still a puppy. Come on mom, give hime a chance

 

[jholler]

My chicken killer is a dachshund, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to find her somewhere else to live, she tries hard, but her hunting instinct is too strong, she WAS bred to kill badgers, and she loves squeaky toys...chicks don't stand a chance.

 

[dottedquad]

It's dog's natural instinct to stalk and hunt smaller animals. I always inform people to read up on their research before picking a specific breed of a dog. Heelers are notorious for being stubborn they are also wonderful companions and work dogs. With training dogs you need to have patience and persistence. With that said, after the first few reprimands your dog may or may not listen to you. If you keep on correcting your dog with a leash snap and a voice command your dog will soon get tired of getting reprimanded and stop. I have two heelers and I resorted to using pinch collars. One quick snap of the leash and they stop. I still need to give them a reminder once in a while so they remember who's alpha. YOU NEED to show them 100% of the time who is the dominant one and never give in.

I noticed you live in the Arizona area. I live in Arizona city. If you have any other questions about training dogs drop me a message and I'll gladly help.

-Rich

 

[stephhassler]

I'll probably get flamed off the message boards for this - but here's what we did. We put the shock collar on the dog- our dog was 7 years old when we first brought home chickens. We tried without the collar at first and he killed a hen. So we put the shock collar on and we gave him one shock the second time he went after a hen and that's all it took. Never even had to put the collar back on him. He knew then that chickens were off limits.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey i'll just back in. is the dog YOURS or your husband's? this might make a difference. all dogs have something that is important to them - one of my dogs will do anything for food. the other couldnt care less but wants every opportunity to fetch the ball. find out what will be a good correction but you need to get his attention.

if the dog is your husband's - and even if he isnt - you might want to have him correct the dog. if the dog is his - he needs to be responsible for setting the rules.

the thing is - and wow am i going out on a limb here into 'un-PC' world here - dogs understand a physical hierarchy. they all want and need it. when my husband is at home HE corrects the dogs b/c he's the biggest.

it sounds like your pooch think that HE determines the rules. i'd highly recommend getting one of the training books by that Ceasar guy (dog whisperer) to help understand the pack thinking all dogs have. also check out The Farmer's Dog which deals specifically with herding dogs - great reference.

here is what i'd do. take your man and the dog out and let the hens out. as soon as Mr Hen Grabber starts to wiggle around, or snaps have your man grab him by the scruff, point his finger right at his face, and give him a DEEP VOICED no no no! while standing over him. make him lay down and show you his belly.

its not necessarily once a hen grabber always a hen grabber but it takes work. dont ever leave him out by himself, always have him beside you (i used the command: Stick Close), and dont give up. if he is being naughty make him sit somewhere by himself. later play or run with him until he's very very tired. keep a structure, keep him working, and dont take it personally.

i dont mind the shock collar suggestion at all - he might be very very stubborn and you need to get his attention.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

oh and hey lil chickies.. for your shepherd.. run dont walk to get The Monks of New Skeet's book on raising and training german shepherds. its invaluable.

you know... as an aside. i've learned more about men from my two male shepherds than in any issue of cosmo. geesh - i should have gotten them when i was 16... wow what different decisions i would have made
;-)

 

[sonew123]

oh he looks so sweet-I couldn't do it-maybe because i have a very small flock and i dont let my dogs-toy ones roam around too many predator birds looming above! Was that your daughter riding him? precious! Im sorry you would have to get rid of him! sorry about one of your chickens

 

[nzpouter]

re-train it, takes time and patience, but can be done.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Quote:
no its just a pirate chicken LOL

oh! im sorry!!

I thought that the old avatar looked like Homer, too!