My Dog Got a Chicken!

[ChickenBuffs]

Help! My dog broke her chain and got a chicken. My oldest son tackled her to the ground and saved our hen (Yay for William the Warrior!!). We can't see any blood or even bite marks. She was acting strange - walking slow, staring off. Shock, maybe? What should I look for? My fear is internal injuries, but I don't know what signs to watch for. Any wisdom?

Also, I know there are many differing opinions on this, but does anyone have any advice on training my dog? She's a 3 year old German Shepard. She's on a chain because she can clear a 6 foot fence and is incredibly hyper. Other than that and apparent hen-snatching, she's a good dog.

Thank you!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens that have been attacked will frequently show signs of shock, and it is hard to tell if there are internal injuries or not. Crate her with food and water, and offer scrambled eggs is the way I would deal with it. My golden retriever got several of my pullets over a period of a month or two, after they learned to jump over our fence into the yard. Only one was killed, and she had the least of the injuries on the outside. I never liked shock collars, but we tried one on Opie, placing the dead chicken in the yard and shocking him each time he went near it (total of 3 times.) He avoided our chickens after that, and wouldn't go near one. About a year later, we started letting 3 chickens roam our large yard where our dogs are, and they all get along fine. Of course, golden retrievers are different than shepards, and each case is different. I wish you the best with your chickens and dog.

 

[ChickenBuffs]

Thank you. We've already been thinking about a shock collar. This may be the final straw.

 

[iwiw60]

Help! My dog broke her chain and got a chicken. My oldest son tackled her to the ground and saved our hen (Yay for William the Warrior!!). We can't see any blood or even bite marks. She was acting strange - walking slow, staring off. Shock, maybe? What should I look for? My fear is internal injuries, but I don't know what signs to watch for. Any wisdom?

Also, I know there are many differing opinions on this, but does anyone have any advice on training my dog? She's a 3 year old German Shepard. She's on a chain because she can clear a 6 foot fence and is incredibly hyper. Other than that and apparent hen-snatching, she's a good dog.

Thank you!!

So sorry this happened! With that said, you asked if there's any advice on training your dog. The simple answer, in my opinion only, is NO. Once a dog has a "want" to tackle/harm chickens it never...ever...goes away. Sad but true I'm afraid...good luck in your decision making.

 

[PensR1]

I hope your girl will be ok. A similar incident happened to me a few days ago. Our Chick was very lethargic and just slept in a corner of the brooder. I kept checking on her all night hand feeding and giving her water. She had no signs of damage but was panting for about 20 minutes. She was having trouble walking and just looked scared in general. She slowly got back to normal in a day. Now she is back to her old self. Like you I was worried about internal damage. I think if she makes it through the weekend she should be ok.

We have a 3 year old golden retriever who has a history of wanting to catch anything that flies. She chases every robin, black bird ect out of the yard. Once she got one of the neighbor's chickens. Luckily I was able to save her before much damage. Just lost a few tail feathers. I was against the shock collar at first, but we started using it to keep her in our yard. Her recall is reliable only if there isn't something to chase. We use it as a "fence". If the collar was on and we shocked her inside the fence area that would just confuse her. If used properly the collar is a wonderful tool, but you need to know how to use it. She is a very good dog with her collar on but now is collar smart. If her collar is off she is a naughty girl and chases squirrels ext, into the woods. Even with her collar on she will chase what ever it is until our stopping point for her. Then she will sit on that line. We don't even need to shock her. I know the collar will not stop her desire to chase after animals. We just never leave her and the chickens out together. Luckily the chickens will be at my Mom's in a few weeks. She has the coop. I'm just keeping them until they are big enough to be put in with the older pullets. Good Luck. I hope she will be ok.

 

[ChickenBuffs]

Your dog sounds exactly like my Pennie. She can be so stubborn.

 

[PensR1]

How is your chicken doing? I really hope she will be ok.

Yes that she is. If she doesn't want a leash or collar on or doesn't want to go somewhere, she will lay flat on her back with her legs straight up. Will not budge. It's nearly impossible to move her. If you do go with a shock collar read up on them. We didn't and now she is only good with it on. She even knows if the charge is running low. Not sure how but she does.

 

[coffeychicks]

I also own 2 gsd. One has a very high prey drive the other not at all.

To fix our problem we got the petsafe stubborn dog underground fence. They learned real fast where their boundaries are. Now hens have their place dogs have theirs. Sometimes hens come into dog yard but usually they can get over the line fast. Best of luck

 

[Duke6017]

So sorry this happened! With that said, you asked if there's any advice on training your dog. The simple answer, in my opinion only, is NO. Once a dog has a "want" to tackle/harm chickens it never...ever...goes away. Sad but true I'm afraid...good luck in your decision making.

I am sorry but this is simply not true. A E collar (shock collar) can and will train just about any dog to stay away from what us coonhunters call "off game". As I have mentioned in other posts, I have coondogs and I train them to hunt raccoons. Coonhounds dont know they are coonhounds, they are bred "gamey" to chase anything. Deer, fox, coons, bear, etc. They don't care what it is, if they can smell it they will run it. Its the trainers job to train them what smell/game you want them to go after. A few good lessons (done the right way) will break most dogs of "off game". In this particular situation the chickens would be the "off game". It may take some time, but you can certainly teach that dog that chickens are off limits. It just takes persistence and consistency. You cant allow them to get away with it at all, and eventually they learn that the chickens are not to be messed with.

Both my dogs have free range of the yard. The coop/run is in that yard and they dont even look at the birds in the run. But, if you put a caged coon in the yard you will watch two hounds loose their mind.

Its amazing what a dog can learn when just a little bit of electricity is involved.

 

[ChickenBuffs]

Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I meant by differing opinions, but it's good to hear everyone's mind on it. I'm of the mindset that most dogs can be trained. Although, at times I wonder if Pennie may have been dropped as a puppy.