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

[aberfitch]

Quote:
That's what I would do

 

[rooster0209]

I don't totally approve of shock collars. I did have to buy one and it broke my heart to use it. My lab/bc cross was adament about chasing the guineas. One afternoon and two shocks, he leaves the birds alone. I no longer use the shock collar.

It is a personal choice to have dogs and chickens. They can & do co-exist peacefully.

Your dog appears to be a young pup. Consider spending some training time with him, instead of just rehoming. There is alot of info on the net about training. Also there are BYC members who are heeler owners who can give you training advice.

Dumping a dog on craigslist is the easy way out. You took the responsibility of being a dog owner, now act responsible and train your dog. Just dumping this dog and looking for a different breed is not the answer, you will probably end up with another dog who will chase/kill your chickens. I cannot express training, training, training...enough

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

i did the same thing u did and everyone on here jumped on me

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

My red heeler tried killing my roo one night. Now she she goes on a leash near them. Solved my problem.

 

[idlingwild]

My Catahoula Leopard ate the neighbor's chickens - twice now; that was the deciding factor in my aquiring chickens finally. I showed him that the chicks were part of the family and kept him abreast of all their going on while they were young...He doesn't even look twice at them now. This all took place last year when he was two so not quite a pup but definitely still trainable. I think you still have a shot at keeping the family together...if that is what you really want.

 

[BellLisamo]

He got another rooster today.

I HAD 4 free range. I'm down to one. I caught him this morning with it, held it in front of his face and spanked him for it. I wish i had a shock collar. (Call me inhumane i dont care) But he was already punished for the other 1!!!! He DID NOT learn from a good spanking from that one.
Our dogs (we have 3) get the freedom of running on 4 acres. He took advantage of it by eating my roosters. Now he will be chained for a week straight. He will not get off the chain. He's grounded. After that he'll be on a leash when i go to the chicken pen.

 

[little_grey_bantam]

Quote:
I agree with the person above.... I am sure some of the people on here have had their dogs before chickens and in reality, when you adopt a dog, it's not just "a dog". Too many people are taking the easy way out nowadays... having a baby, moving, working too much, the dog outgrowing, etc. and the conclusion is always to get rid of the dog. Chickens and dogs do coexist and rehoming the dog should be a last resort if they cannot be trained to avoid chickens...

I love my chickens, but the way I see it...
chickens are naturally "prey" and we must be their protector...
dogs are naturally "predator" but they make US part of their pack, part of their familiy... and in return, we are offered and seen in high light and we should figure a way around it... Unlike a wild animal, we can and have the abilities to deter and train them...

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Heck at this point...do what my grandfather did with my black and tan coonhound years ago.

Tie that dead rooster around his neck...tightly so he cannot get it off, put the dog on the chain and shorten it so he can reach food, water, shelter but nothing else. Leave it till it decomposes off of him. The smell of it worked for her, after that she would run away from the chickens if they came near her.

It is worth a try...you are running out of options with him.

Good luck.

 

[lorieMN]

to OP..you said if the dog "eats" a chicken he has to go..technicaly he didnt eat it,just killed it..I am really tired of seeing people dump dogs for,oh my god, being dogs..if people are to busy,lazy,hateful,whatever the reason they have not to train the dog,then by all means get rid of it..but dont run out and get another,ever..and people that have herding breeds without something for them to herd..wth do you expect the dogs to do?..THEY NEED A JOB AND TRAINING !!!! dont get another dog,if you cant handle the one you have what makes you think you can handle another,and people wonder why there are so many dogs in shelters..this is a major reason why,

 

[NancyDz]

My dog ate two of my quail the other day. She knows they are part of the family, and when I'm holding them , I let her sniff them and she acts scared of them but I was cleaning their brooder, had them down on the ground with a screen set on top, went to another room when the phone rang, came back a few minutes earlier and she was chewing on one that
she had gotten out. Never found the other one that was missing. I scolded her and put both dogs outside but reality is , it was my fault for having them down on the ground. My dogs are only around my birds supervised. Tough decision you are facing but for me , my dog is part of my family and I'd rather have my dogs free ranging and guarding my property
than my chickens. Just because your dog was carrying around a chicken doesnt mean he wasnt guarding your property. In both cases it was a rooster, who's to say the rooster didnt
come after the dog and the dog just protected itself? Did you actually see him get the chicken or was it always after the fact? We all know how aggressive rooster's can get. I'd work with the dog, you've already stated how great he is with your kid's , that's not going to change with a dog.. but a rooster can turn in a day. Getting a new dog , then you start all over again with no guarantee how it is with your kids or your chickens. At least you know what you are dealing with here. Good luck!


Nancy