My dog is a chicken eater, don't know what to do

[NatJ]

Mine will eat them with feathers on. They know not to mess with them when still warm with life. To my dogs, the dead chickens involve a different set of rules compared to live chickens.

I pulled off the skin (with feathers still attached) because I didn't want a bunch of feathers blowing around the yard. Does your dog actually eat the feathers? Or does the dog pull them off and then eat the chicken?

I agree, live chickens have a different set of rules: only people are allowed to grab them and kill them (not dogs.)

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I feel I need to ad to this thread because I have a mutt doodle as well. She likes to chase the chickens. And the cat. And the other dog. That doesnt surprise me. I have been working with her more around the chickens (she's been around them since she was three months old but not unsupervised) since my husband left her out with them unattended for half an hour a few weeks ago and I caught her licking a chicken. Just in this short time she has stopped chasing them. Poodles are smart. Figure out what your dog's motivation is (mine likes praise but I've had very food-driven dogs that responded better to treats) and work with her but don't let her have access to the chickens ever again. In my opinion she can't be trusted after this

 

[centrarchid]

I pulled off the skin (with feathers still attached) because I didn't want a bunch of feathers blowing around the yard. Does your dog actually eat the feathers? Or does the dog pull them off and then eat the chicken?

I agree, live chickens have a different set of rules: only people are allowed to grab them and kill them (not dogs.)

Mine eat the feathers although they tend to reject the flight feathers of wings and tail.

 

[PioneerChicks]

I have and use one. Sport Dog brand. It comes with a training video and you rarely us the shock as it has a audible tone and two vibration modes as well as shock. Its a training collar and you train your dog. The shock is dial able and you use the lowest setting to "stop" very bad behavior. Sport Dog warns you to not use the shock but as last resort to like fighting, running into the road... Its a training tool to communicate your needs not punish. If my American Bull dog see a deer while walking off leash in the park, i can now stop her with just a word and vibration at the same time. Its all on the training CD that comes with it. Don't buy the $30-$55 cheap collars. They don't last long or work well. Sport Dog is water resistant, rubber plug seal. I had my dog at the creek all day today. My collar is two years old and battery still last 12 hours before charging. $125-$165 but you get what you pay for. They full support and will sell replacement parts. Professional training tool. Its the bomb if you will just follow instructions to the Tee EVERYDAY a few times a day for at lest three or four WEEKS. Constancy is the key. The method/ training is simple and anyone can follow. The hard part and key is to not miss a day what so every.
LOL After 8 weeks i was down at my friends pond and she was doing everything i told her to do while using the collar and controller. you give verbal command at the same time you push the button on the controller using tone or vibrate. When we got in the truck to leave i noticed i forgot to turn the collar on!

Thank you for the tips!

Dogs and chickens can live together. In fact you can get dogs that are trained to guard chickens, or you can train dogs to do it.
It seems from your post that you already had chickens when you got the dog.

The most informative part of your post is this.


and to read later that while your coops are secure, the run isn't.

Say you were successful with breeding your dog. How were you going to cope with a litter of excitable pups running around and the chickens?
True, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but then again, so is a bit of planning.
Everywhere I've lived where there has been livestock or even pets, if a dog kills an animal then you shoot the dog. Harsh perhaps but in the long run it's the only sensible option. Once a dog has done it once it is unreasonable not to expect it to do it again. If you give, or sell the dog to someoone else, you are just moving a problem dog on, not addressing your responsibility as the owner.

There are a few posts where people have written that they never let their dog have access to thhe chickens. One day someone will forget. It's almost inevitable.

For others who read this post who have chickens and want a dog, get a farm dog who is farm animal trained. Better still, get a young dog from parents who are farm animal trained.

There is no such thing as a completely secure coop or run. You can deter most predators with security measures but accidents and carelessness happen. Better by far in the long run is to have dogs that know not to bother the other creatures where they live.

The puppies will be contained until they go to a new house. Her parents were good with animals, and I think she would/can be, we just didn't train her at a young age (our bad) and it will be harder now.

 

[Folly's place]

I've used a good shock collar when training our pointer and retrievers, and agree that it's a great tool when used correctly. Think of it as a very long leash!
Mary

 

[PioneerChicks]

I would certainly train her until she is the right pet for you, before actually breeding her. That would include some solution to the chicken issue.

The reason: you should not breed an animal that has something wrong with it. A dog that cannot be a good pet has "something wrong" when you want pets. So if you train her properly, you know she is ABLE to be be properly trained.

(There are other things to consider when breeding dogs, but this is the only one I notice that seems related to your current chicken-and-dog problem.)

She can be trained, but doesn't like treats much. But we figured out she loved kind words and touch, so she is definitely trainable and it should go more smoothly now.

Please, I'd love more breeding tips! Our cousins have bred dogs a bit but mostly we're just researching and doing it ourselves. We also have a friend who's a vet and he's giving us advice.

We're planning to put temperament first on our priority list when searching for a stud dog. Is that a good idea?

We'd appreciate anything!

@PioneerChicks what are you attempting with dog now? You have had lots of time to try something. I work / train my dogs around the chickens a lot. it is not end of world or end of dog just because it has killed or eats chickens. My dogs still eat chickens but no longer kill them. I'm finally knowing how to do it successfully and consistently.

We're working on basic obedience and she's getting pretty good, when she wants to. I'll start training around the chicken coop (while they're locked in) soon!

 

[PioneerChicks]

Simply this, your dog is a chicken killer and will always be. It wasn't trained when a pup and it is too late now. Tying the dead chicken around the neck of a dog that doesn't care just gave the dog a bird to eat and reinforced the behavior. The dog doesn't care about pleasing you it seems. Put the dog in a fenced enclosure and keep it there. Your other option is to put the birds behind a proper electric fence. But the dog is still an issue and always will be. If the dog is out, then keep her tied up. If it isn't your chickens, it will be someone elses. It appears that you just bought the dog to breed her, not because you really wanted the dog. Designer mutts are not worth what misinformed people pay for them. You decided to fork over hard money for a designer dog made of bad breeds. The Australian Shepherd is a working dog that is bred to be independent. It is a herding dog and is compelled to run after and herd things. A poodle is a hunting dog and bred to go after birds. Probably the worst mix you could have around chickens. You have already said that you would get rid of the dog and keep the chickens. Best suggestion is to rehome the dog to a family with kids and no other pets and no other neighbors with small pets or chickens.and take your losses.

I know hybrid dogs are a controversial topic so I will not argue with you about that. Thank you for sharing yours!

The main thing I want to tell you is that we did not just get her for breeding! We wanted a pet and my parents wanted us to get the doggy experience. Her personality fits right into our lifestyle (minus the chicken eating) and we all love her. A lot!

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

My dog is a German shepherd lab mix, and a great farm dog. He is hell on predators. And is great with the farm animals... till they run. So he is only allowed into the pasture when I am out there.

 

[esme13]

The dog you have sounds like a wonderful mix breed. Both breeds are highly intelligent and working breeds. She has the potential to be nicely trained and conditioned. However since it’s a family dog, it needs to be a whole family dedication. I have two small dogs , a Yorkie and a yorkie/ papillon mix. My girls were older 4/5 years when they were introduced to chickens. They wanted to eat them .. they wanted to chase them. It was fun in their eyes. We introduced them to the chickens every time we’d let them free range, we were there with the dogs. There was a lot of come here, treats and good girls when they started ignoring the chickens for the treats. I highly recommend training, buying a book and taking classes. The breed you have is high energy , but a wonderful breed. Love and patience and you guys will have a nice dog. She is still very young. And intelligence means you have to really predator proof the run. If she can get in, than a really nasty predator can take all your birds.

 

[NatJ]

She can be trained, but doesn't like treats much. But we figured out she loved kind words and touch, so she is definitely trainable and it should go more smoothly now.

That's good news!

Please, I'd love more breeding tips! Our cousins have bred dogs a bit but mostly we're just researching and doing it ourselves. We also have a friend who's a vet and he's giving us advice.

We're planning to put temperament first on our priority list when searching for a stud dog. Is that a good idea?

We'd appreciate anything!

I have no actual experience breeding dogs, although I've read about it and have a bit of experience with some other kinds of animals.

For any kind of animal, I think it's important to not breed an animal with something "wrong" with it. That could be wrong temperament, not able to be trained, physical problems, and so forth. For animals that are supposed to be a certain size, shape, and color you should consider those points too. You should also consider what the animal is used for, and make sure it is suitable (a laying hen that is a good layer, a meat chicken that grows fast, a sled dog that can pull sleds, a herding dog that does herd sheep, a farm dog that behaves properly toward livestock, a pet that behaves properly as a pet, and so forth.)

I know there are some health tests recommended for dogs, and I know that the list varies a bit from one breed to another, but I do not know the list for any specific breed. For a mixed breed, you should probably check the list for both parent breeds, and also check whether there is an extra list for that mix.

For me to breed an animal, there are several "most important things," and I will not breed the animal unless I have all of those points. For a dog, it would include temperament and health and trainability, and likely some details of appearance as well. There are so many good dogs in the world, I see no reason to breed one that is lacking in any major point.

Before breeding her, I would also learn about the necessary steps: how old the female should be before breeding, how the actual breeding works, how long she'll be pregnant, whether you will need to care for her differently during that time (food, exercise, vet checkups, etc), how the birth is likely to go, what the most common problems are, what to do about those problems (which vet is open in the middle of the night on a holiday?), how she should feed the pups, how to feed the pups yourself if she does not, what age to introduce other foods, toilet training/cleaning, when to wean, what age the pups should go to their new homes, what vet care they need at what ages, how to recognize what things are problems and what is normal, and so forth.

I would also consider how to sell the pups.
You will need to find people that want the pups (word of mouth? sign by the road? sign on a bulletin board in a store? craigslist? online puppy-broker site? personal website?) You might take deposits in advance, or wait until the pups are old enough and sell them then. If you take deposits early, you need to decide how people will pick which puppy, and you might spend time photographing each one and sending updates to buyers. You might let people pick their own puppies, or you might ask what traits they want in a puppy and try to match puppy temperaments to buyers' needs.

Also check the laws in your state, because some have minimum ages at which pups can be sold, and some might have other conditions as well.

The owner of the male will probably charge some kind of stud fee, so find out what that is (might be in dollars, might be pick of the litter, might be something different.)

Some of these have a "right" answer (like the usual length of a pregnancy), but many of them have several possible answers, so you need to find the answer that works for you. Many people have strong opinions about some of these points, which usually go against someone else's strong opinion, so take that into consideration too

I've researched the matter a bit, thinking I might at some point want to breed a litter of puppies, but so far I have not actually done it. There are too many points where I do not yet have an answer that satisfies me. But that's why I've got such a long list of points to consider.

We're working on basic obedience and she's getting pretty good, when she wants to. I'll start training around the chicken coop (while they're locked in) soon!