My dog got into the chicken run...arggghh

[logansmommy7]

We have a 10 year old Jack Russell who is very smart, well behaved, but really wants a chicken. SOOOO...that being said, when we built our coop/run we built it thinking so he couldn't dig in. Well...we did a good job, it's been a month, and until now he hasn't gotten in. But today, he did. He has probably been looking for a week now for the weak spot in the fence, and he found it, digging under and getting one of our chicks. He didn't kill it, only wounded it, and we are currently trying to nurse it along. ANYWAY-is there any good ways to teach dogs not to go around the coop? He got in a good bit of trouble today as my mother gave him a little paddle or two on the backside...but other ways/deterrents. I have already added more stakes but I think maybe railroad ties or something all along the outside of the fence will be best, maybe even a strand of barbed wire buried in the ground. Suggestions? Teaching certain things to the dog so he won't do it anymore? I know it is in him since JRT is a hunting dog, but I still have hope.

 

[Judy]

You could try burying about 24" of wire at ground level around the run, and attached to the bottom of the fence around the run. Needs to be secured so diggers can't lift it.

 

[#1California Chick]

A little electric fence will keep him away from the coop and run.

Good Luck!!

 

[AHappychick]

yep get a piece of harware cloth (32 inches is good) and fold it in an L shape so that it goes from bottom of run out 24 inches like ddawn said. this will keep not only the dog but anything else from digging under. They make these things called lawn staples I know lowes has them they are big 4 inch U shaped pieces of metal that you can secure the harware cloth to the ground with.

 

[nzpouter]

what sort of training have you given it so far..?

 

[logansmommy7]

Well, we've had the chickens altogether almost a month. He has always been interested, especially at the beginning. When we first got them we kept him on a leash and walked him around the run telling him no...he is pretty smart and got the idea quickly. Although the last week he has started getting interested in them again. I noticed that he was barking at them earlier in the day and I said No in a very harsh voice and he always runs away. But this time, there was no alarm-my mom and I were in the garden and I heard squawking-I knew what it was_ and I went out there to discover that he had found a weak spot...

Any other training tips? Or is he just never going to be able to leave well enough alone?

 

[Boyd]

my Jack Russel is a confirmed chicken killer also.... that being said, I would NEVER trust her around my feathered friends. She's too much of a hunter for that. She has a lunge line with a 20' lead that she can travel... so she has a big area to run in, but doesn't share space with my birds.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

2 strands of electric wire around the chicken pen/run would be a sure fire deterrent.

Glad your chick was not killed. Sorry it was hurt.

 

[quiltnchik]

What about some ceramic tile blocks around the outside of the run? I saw this done by someone else on here and modeled my coop and run after theirs.