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

[NatJ]

...breeding a doodle is not responsible breeding! There’s a lot that goes into proper breeding, health testing, genetic testing, lineage/pedigree tracking, titles, finding a sire and so much more.

And all of that can be done with a mixed breed dog just as well as with a purebred dog, except for the kinds of titles that are restricted to purebred dogs (and even then, breeding titled dogs of different pure breeds would produce a mixed breed dog with titled parents).

So I do not see how you decide that ALL breeding of doodles is irresponsible.

There are tons of online resources as well as books and first hand experiences about ethical and responsible breeding

I do agree that learning and researching are a very good idea.

 

[agold23]

So I do not see how you decide that ALL breeding of doodles is irresponsible.

The point of ethical breeding is to produce a purebred dog which is an exemplar for their breed and it’s capabilities. Doodles aren’t a breed. There are so many doodle variations (think poodle mom golden dad, vice versa) too that it cannot guarantee the same sound behaviour and physicals of a responsibly purebred. There is no purpose to the doodle except companion dogs which I would argue isn’t a good enough excuse for a doodle to be considered a purpose bred designer breed. Working at a dog kennel has just further confirmed my opinions about designer breeds as a whole and from what Ive noticed they’re the most neurotic or fearful (nature vs nurture does come into play here though) but there is no consistency between the dogs who are supposedly golden doodles either. There’s too much discrepancy between the dogs for them to be considered a breed, so they shouldn’t be bred in my opinion, especially by people with no breeding experience. Whatever traits you want in a doodle can be found in a responsibly bred poodle, especially because a lot of doodles I find are like 75% poodle.

 

[centrarchid]

I've known a few farmers that have shot their own dogs, usually a young dog from a litter of an established farm dog, because they killed livestock. I know they found it a very hard thing to do.
In many countries if a dog strays on to your proeprty and chases livestock or kills livestock the law states you may shoot that dog.
I know from some similar dog kills chicken threads here on BYC that in some states you can shoot/kill a dog that pesters your live stock. There is even a abreviation of SSS (shoot shovel and shut up) I think that is recommended by others on this forum. Many of these people have dogs.
The main difference here is that the owner of the dog is also the owner of the chickens; this doesn't make the principle wrong, or the law a fool.
I know you're a dog lover and I can understand why you might find my view unacceptable but it is not just my view, it is the view a many farmers and smallholders that have to deal with untrained/unsuitable dogs killing their livestock.

I have seen similar, and it can make economic sense. Even LGD's bred and raised for guarding can be dispatched. It usually done reluctantly and also involves cost.

Where I have seen it, dog manager did not put a lot of effort into dog before and during troubled times.

 

[ninja333pirate]

So like a person said earlier it's never too soon to start training a dog. What I would do is start teaching the leave it command. With leave it you want the dog to not pay any mind to whatever you tell it to leave alone.

To start the training you take a piece of food (like cheese or lunch meat) and have treats on hand. Set the cheese (or whatever you use) on the ground in front of the dog. Then you keep your hand hovering over/near it so you can stop the dog from eating it.

You then make the dog sit then try removing your hand from over the food if the dog goes for it then put your hand over it quickly and say no. Keep doing it till your dog waits for even a second, as soon as your dog waits instead of trying to get the cheese say yes! And then give them a dog treat and pick up the cheese off the ground so it does not tempt them.

After you praise the dog then repeat everything again. Once you see your dog waiting for that one second reliably then increase it to 2 seconds, then 5, 10, 30, one minute, 2 min, 5 min so on so fourth till the dog leaves it indefinitely.

You can also increase the temptation over time as well. So start with little piece of cheese then when the dog leaves that for 10 minutes try a bigger piece, then move up to a piece of meat etc. But every time you increase the temptation go a step back to waiting only a second at first before rewarding. The key is to set the dog up for success and make sure its easy for the dog to succeed. If the dog seems to be getting frustrated move back a step or 2 to make it easy for it. And also make sure to end the training session with success. So end it before the dog loses interest in training. My rule of thumb is leave them wanting more.

 

[ninja333pirate]

So like a person said earlier it's never too soon to start training a dog. What I would do is start teaching the leave it command. With leave it you want the dog to not pay any mind to whatever you tell it to leave alone.

To start the training you take a piece of food (like cheese or lunch meat) and have treats on hand. Set the cheese (or whatever you use) on the ground in front of the dog. Then you keep your hand hovering over/near it so you can stop the dog from eating it.

You then make the dog sit then try removing your hand from over the food if the dog goes for it then put your hand over it quickly and say no. Keep doing it till your dog waits for even a second, as soon as your dog waits instead of trying to get the cheese say yes! And then give them a dog treat and pick up the cheese off the ground so it does not tempt them.

After you praise the dog then repeat everything again. Once you see your dog waiting for that one second reliably then increase it to 2 seconds, then 5, 10, 30, one minute, 2 min, 5 min so on so fourth till the dog leaves it indefinitely.

You can also increase the temptation over time as well. So start with little piece of cheese then when the dog leaves that for 10 minutes try a bigger piece, then move up to a piece of meat etc. But every time you increase the temptation go a step back to waiting only a second at first before rewarding. The key is to set the dog up for success and make sure its easy for the dog to succeed. If the dog seems to be getting frustrated move back a step or 2 to make it easy for it. And also make sure to end the training session with success. So end it before the dog loses interest in training. My rule of thumb is leave them wanting more.

And eventually you can upgrade the temptation to full on chickens, maybe put a chicken in a dog crate and teach the leave it command with the chicken.

 

[NatJ]

The point of ethical breeding is to produce a purebred dog which is an exemplar for their breed and it’s capabilities.

If you always limit yourself to purebred dogs, new breeds will never be developed. And yes, I think there is room for new breeds, because there are certain combinations of traits that do not exist in any current pure breeds of dog. (Obvious example: if you want a poodle-type non-shedding coat, and you want a purebred dog, you have very few choices about what other traits that dog can have.)

I agree with many of your other points (doodles are not a breed, doodles are not consistent, many existing doodles have problems, dogs for breeding should be carefully selected.) But I disagree about "purebreds only" being the solution.

 

[ninja333pirate]

If you always limit yourself to purebred dogs, new breeds will never be developed. And yes, I think there is room for new breeds, because there are certain combinations of traits that do not exist in any current pure breeds of dog. (Obvious example: if you want a poodle-type non-shedding coat, and you want a purebred dog, you have very few choices about what other traits that dog can have.)

I agree with many of your other points (doodles are not a breed, doodles are not consistent, many existing doodles have problems, dogs for breeding should be carefully selected.) But I disagree about "purebreds only" being the solution.

Plenty of mix breed dogs can do just fine. My dog is 1/8 rat terrier, and 1/8 American bulldog rest is too muddled to tell on dna test, but I can 100% trust her around my chickens, cats, small rodents even though she shows a lot of terrier behaviors, she was even a rescue from a neglectful situation (her moms owners had starved her and her brother so badly the vet said she had 10% chance of survival), and even after being adopted from the rescue her previous owners (the ones that adopted her) had a house fire and the dog was trapped inside for several hours (which is when I took her in) Dispite having fear and anxiety issues she turned out to be a wonderful dog, and she is 99% healed from her past traumas.

 

[agold23]

If you always limit yourself to purebred dogs, new breeds will never be developed. And yes, I think there is room for new breeds, because there are certain combinations of traits that do not exist in any current pure breeds of dog. (Obvious example: if you want a poodle-type non-shedding coat, and you want a purebred dog, you have very few choices about what other traits that dog can have.)

I agree with many of your other points (doodles are not a breed, doodles are not consistent, many existing doodles have problems, dogs for breeding should be carefully selected.) But I disagree about "purebreds only" being the solution.

I agree with your points. There is definitely more room for breeds but the sudden interest and uptake in doodles is the issue why there are so many bad examples of this kind of dog. Until it isn’t the norm for people aren’t breeding their mutts of a family pet for a quick buck with no other experience then I will open my mind to designer dogs. I still believe what you’re getting in a doodle you can find in a purebred poodle or any other dog (eg non shedding breeds include lagottos, portuguese water dogs, schnauzers, certain terriers etc) but my field of work and the interactions I have with hundreds of different breeds has helped solidify my opinions. Thanks for helping open my mind a bit!

 

[agold23]

If you always limit yourself to purebred dogs, new breeds will never be developed.

That being said I have a 1/2 irish wolfhound 1/4 mastiff and 1/4 lab, she’s an angel but she does have severe dog reactivity which is a pretty even toss up of nature vs nurture. We got her a year ago and she was pretty isolated in her home before so we’ve had to make up for a lot of her socialization. I would never limit myself to purebreds but the dogs I will own will either have come from a shelter/rehomed or be purebred and responsibly bred.

 

[Folly's place]

Well bred purebreds should be more predictable, both behaviorally and physically. Right now we see zillions of poodle mixes, all madly expensive (they are mutts!) and wildly unpredictable is size, type, and often temperament. And usually not exactly as advertised as far as their actual breed mix, either.
Yesterday, a large rangy 'goldendoodle', who growled and attacked when approached. Lovely!
And the coat care! A lifetime of professional grooming or the owner learned to do it at home. Most don't.
Most are cute, and the whole thing is a lesson in great marketing, nothing to do with responsible breeding.
Rant over!
Mary