Killer daschund

[melissa508]

My daschaund has always been excellent with the birds

, on a couple of occasions she has even brought home a stray duckling..totally unharmed. She's been alone in the house with a brooder full of babies or nesting adults in totes on the floor - never a problem.

Well i HAD a pair of lionhead rabbits- she has seen them since i got them in march, they were loose in the barn with the birds- she always checked them out & did have more interest in them than the birds, but it didnt seem like anythig to worry over.

So DH's uncle was over & heared her making lots of yipping noises & when he saw her she had my male rabbit & was eating him- when he tried to stop her she was like a wild dog, growling & snarling & wouldnt let him get near her (NOT like her at all)
Since this happened she has been trying to get the female- obviously to eat her also.

Whats next?, will she be eating the birds?- is it the taste of blood thing now?. My inlaws suggested that it could be because her breed was bred to go into holes after badgers- (small mammals)- she is an odd mix, half mini daschund & half daschund- either way she loves chasing critters into holes.
She has always been able to roam the bird yard, but has been fenced in. We are on 39 acres now, so she just runs the property all day & is always chasing things- im wondering if the major freedom she has now has changed her?...is this just the beginning of her going on a killing spree?..i just dont know what to do. there is no way to dig down & wire like i have done in the past- my property is all ledge..it was a nitemare putting in a run off the barn

 

[jerseygirl1]

I'm so sorry, I don't know, but I'm so sorry for you to have to go thru that, I know how I'd feel if it were me and my babies....

 

[ozark hen]

We had one many years ago and I had chickens for the first time. I had a hen with baby chicks...lots of them...but I would find dead chicks scattered all over the yard?? One day I brought a gosling into the house and was on the floor playing with it and before I knew it ..Slinky had ran across the room grabbed the gosling and with one shake had thrown it across the room. The gosling survived, thank goodness, but after that I watched him...he was killing them all off. It is their nature to kill rodents and I think poultry fell into that category for Slinky. He would kill snakes even if they were poisonous. Best dog we ever had but I would never have another one now with all my poultry.

I am sure you will find exceptions to the rule here. They are a wonderful breed and we had ours for his entire lifetime.

 

[crazyhen]

Your dog was breed to kill small creatures. When they get angry or have a kill they will go crazy to get what they want. I saw one bite through hard ware cloth. Its mouth bleeding. No one could get close it for a bit. Then it was as calm and sweet as ever. My Mom had to find it a different home as it got to where it would kill all the small farm creatures. It is now in a city appartment with one person and does fine. Just as sweet as can be. It also was very jealous of any attention shown to other creatures and CHILDREN. Another reason it had to be re-homed. Good luck with your Docsey. Gloria Jean

 

[Dixiedoodle]

I have 3 Dachshunds and have had the breed for over 30yrs. I love them! BUT they were bred to hunt small rodents, including badgers(mean, nasty boogers) !

Mine will kill /have killed rabbits, squirrels, mice, moles, voles, snakes, lizards---anything that run from them!

When they have their 'prize' they don't want to give it up. I would not let mine keep the kill, if I was trying to get it away and they growled at me!!! The dog is telling you, he is the alpha dog and you better get back! Do your dogs know/follow commands? If they don't know the command "leave it", teach it to them. Dachshunds are head strong and will try very hard to try you,

I would NEVER leave one of my dogs unattended with small animals.. Not chickens, not rabbits, not hamsters, etc...Granted, each dog is different but the drive is there and it might strike at any second.

I am so sorry for your loss..

 

[Swamp Roo]

Quote:
Hence the breed name...

Swamp

 

[Germaine_11.20]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but dachshunds are hunters. The ones I had would pull my chickens through the wire and kill them. They ate them too. I put rabbit wire all around to stop it.
They are too small for shock collars I believe. I loved mine too. But i rehomed them because it was just too much stress.
You might think of getting an electric poultry fence. That might work.

 

[The Kibble Goddess]

Melissa, You said you didn't know what to do, but if you want to keep your pup and have a happy life with her, you need to take action. Here's what I would do:
1. put an end to the free roaming - she thinks she owns the place and you just live there.
2. incorporate her into your day so she goes where you go as much as possible and behaves while she's doing that.
3. refresh her obedience trainging, especially doing down stays and "leave it'. Make it a fun game.
4. practice her giving up high value items for higher value ones (say a toy for a special treat)

All of this will re-order her mind so that you are the Mom-dog and she is the Pup and it will reinforce that she needs to mind her Ps and Qs and do what you tell her, even when you are telling her, "No, you cant have that chicken; you can't even look at them like that." But you willl still have to be vigilant about not leaving her with any animals smaller than herself.

They do have small shock collars that are suitable for aversion training, but there are other methods you may want to try first.

Tip: when you HAVE to get something from your dog and she won't let you, throw a blanket, towel or coat over her then swaddle her up. Work just her mouth free, then putting a hand over the bridge of her nose and one hand up from the bottom of her jaw, pinch her lips down over her teeth and shake the object from her mouth. You can hold a small dog under your arm like a football to do this, but with mid and larger sized dogs you may have to someone hold them. I f you're alone, sit on the floor with the swaddled dog pinned under your legs while you work their jaws.

Just my two cents

 

[LarryPQ]

We used to breed minis and well...that is just what they do. We've had some that do well with larger poultry, but then try to eat the cockatiels. ALL of our minis were rabbit/mice/rat hunters.

I had a gosling get attacked by one mini--he lived. I made sure to keep the dogs seperate from the birds from then on, but they are determined dogs. THe same dog went after the (now full-grown) goose...and got its rear-end kicked. She never bothered any of the large birds again.

 

[melissa508]

I appreciat everyones advice, We have had for for 8yrs- i had no interest in the breed, but after my gsd was killed, her sister would eat- she shut down- so my mom got the doxi & it cured my other gsd of her depression..now i fear if i rehome the doxi..gsd will do the same.

Its weird how she just started this behavior after 8 years- it must be the fact that shes spending her days out in the wild. I think its time to put up a run, Im certainly not getting rid of my birds & i dont want them pegged off 1 by 1 either