My dog chasing chickens. --solved!

[Laney]

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I'd venture to say that this method wouldn't work on a lot of dogs. Mine have eaten things that made them sick (dead rats, poop, garbage) many times and have never been deterred from eating the same disgusting thing the next time they found it.

Not only that Ipecac is very dangerous. An overdose can have serious effects on the heart. Many bulimics end up with lifelong heart problems from prolonged use and poison control will ask you if you have used it on your child previously before they recommend using it in a poisoning case. It is that dangerous. Only less dangerous than the poison, and that is the only reason it is still on the market.

It would be very easy to overdose a small dog, we don't know how they digest the ipecac. I know the person who posted it had the best of intentions, but it could have disastrous results.

Laney

 

[lemurchaser]

I'm a dog trainer. Teaching him to be calm around chickens will be much more effective than teaching him that you are scary and mean when the chickens are around (by rolling him, throwing him in water, shocking him etc). It is well proven that positive reinforcement is a much more successful way to change behaviors. Punishment is likely to only suppress the behavior when you are actually present.

I would first of all block all his views of the chickens, so he never sees them until you are training. Sitting and watching them all day is just increasing his frustration at not being able to get them. Then when he has access he's way too excited. While in the house teach him a rock solid "watch", which means "look at me". This is really easy to teach, put a treat in front of his nose, bring it up towards your face, the second he looks at you, say "good" and give him the treat. Have him doing this for each kibble of his meal if you can. Slowly move the treat further away from your face, to make sure he's looking at you and not the treat. When this is a strong behavior, practice outside, but not in view of the chickens. When you do it in view of the chickens, use a much better treat (like tiny bites of hot dog, pea-sized or smaller). If he fails twice in a row, move locations until he's able to listen again. Your goal is to teach him that calm behavior around the chickens is much more fun than chasing them. This is the same method we use to work on dog aggression towards other dogs, skateboards, bikes, etc. It's slow, but by changing his attitude you'll have a much safer behavior, and a safety method you can use if any other issues come up.

 

[yomama]

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I really like to use the "look at me" command too, Though I say "watch me"Forgot about that one.

I taught it the same way, too. There is a ewe with some horses that we pass on our walks. One of my dogs was becoming too"interested" in her. The ewe sensed it too. She would stop grazing and start acting nervous. Because I have goats and a ewe myself, and this dog did help kill a goat years ago, I do not allow her to even look at it. As we walk, I tell her to leave it, at first, with a correction with her lead (she wears a pinch collar, but hardly needs any pressure with it all, she is pretty sensitive). Then if she looks like she is even going to turn her head, I say "watch me". I don't usually remember to bring treats on walks, but I do give lots of praise as a reward. I really agree with positive reinforcement as well. So much more effective, in my opinion. It took a number of times, but now all I need to do is clear my throat, and she looks at me, purposely trying to not look at the ewe.

 

[write2caroline]

My dog could not be trusted around the chickens when they were smaller chickens but they got bigger and once day the rooster decided to attack the dogs - now the dogs stay away from them and give them healthy room around them.

My dogs will still go for the bantams - but the bantams are still young.

Caroline

 

[floridamel]

Hi all,

I just wanted to post an update because my problem with my dog chasing the chickens is now solved! I attempted many of the tips everyone on here gave me using positive reinforcement (giving treats when she ignored the chickens, etc.). Each time, after a few days of progress, she would relapse into crazy dog and start chasing the chickens all over again.

So, I decided to use a new approach and spray her with the hose when she chased after them, and it worked like a miracle! I think it worked because 1) she hates water and 2) she is only 4 pounds, so a spray from the hose is A LOT of water for her. She has now completely stopped chasing the chickens. After the first few days, she had already learned that she would get sprayed if she chased them. A few times in the first week or two, she would start to chase them, but then stop and cringe. And after a few weeks, she stopped altogether (she still watches them, and sniffs them when they get near, but doesn't chase them anymore).

They are also significantly larger now, and they are no longer afraid of her, so we finally have a peaceful yard... well except for when I go outside without treats for the chickens and they peck at my legs!

Melissa

 

[dchickenman]

Congrats, good for you! I confess, I never thought of that. Sometimes the simplest methods are the best.

I see you also have a greyhound. No problems with that one chasing the poultry?

 

[floridamel]

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Nope, and she's the one we were worried about! But, we were careful when looking for a greyhound to adopt because we have minpin, and we didn't want the greyhound thinking the Minpin was prey and chasing her! So we found one of the rare ones that doesn't have much of the chase instinct. She ran toward the chickens the first few times they flapped their wings around her, but we told her "no!" and that was that!

 

[laughaha]

All my dogs have been taught the "mine" command. If a dog (or cat) takes something of yours you grab it, lean over them and say really aggressively "mine" in a super dominant tone. And then chase the dog away from the object that you have claimed. This will not work if you are not alpha. It will get to the point that all you have to say is mine and they will leave it alone. My rottweiler/dobe was super dominant, animal aggressive, food aggressive, etc when I adopted her 9 years ago. Now I just say mine and it's mine and she leaves it alone. About once a year she will need a reminder that a specific thing is still mine but that's it. Oh, she now lives with 2 chihuahua's, cats, rabbits, chickens etc and I have no problems.

 

[floridamel]

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My Minpin (the one that was chasing the chickens) was very well trained and always listened to all commands... until the chickens came along. That's why I was panicking and posted here. The hose spray worked much more quickly than trying to teach her with verbal commands!

 

[Roni]

Oh I so agree with these recent posts and am so pleased that you have it all under control now! My doberman, Amber, was waaaayyy too excited when i bought the chickens home for the first time last year, she was like, hey, new toys!!! But once she understood the 'mine' command and that all new additions to the family are just that, FAMILY, she understood that she was not allowed to touch! Now I'm not saying that she is not out in the garden at this very moment in time thinking about chasing that tasty little chicken but she also knows that as soon as I say 'No' (blimey, my neighbours must be sooooo p'd off with hearing that word!!!) that she is not allowed to touch it!!! (when she has actually 'got' a chicken she doesn't actually know what to do with it anyway or the chicken chases her!! - Such a sight, a doberman being chased by a chicken!!!) But, anyway, I digress!.... I am sooo pleased that you have it all under control now, harmony at last!!!! (and I do believe that the old hose trick works just fine too)