My dog just killed my chicken :(

[RedneckGurl]

More than likely you will get a couple in the yard every now and again. My chickens will forget about the dogs and fly in every so often and it usually ends in a bad way. In my experience if you have one dog that kills they will teach the other one how to also. Best of luck. Do you have netwire or chain link fence? As long as they can't fit through a hole in the fence into the yard I find it doesn't happen as often.

The backyard is enclosed in 5' chainlink fencing with a tension wire along the bottom so the dogs can't squeeze underneath.

 

[Fentressfarmer]

You may not have as big a problem as I do then, I only have net wire and mine just hop through it. The only thing I would say is if you give the chickens scraps carry them away from the fence so they don't get use to standing by it to eat cause that's when mine are most careless is when they're scratching around. Unfortunately I don't have any great solutions for you and remember chicks aren't the sharpest tools in the shed!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Even if you plan on keeping them separate you should train your dog. It is not hard, it just takes a time commitment. Patience and consistency and more consistency. Spend 30 minites EVERY night until your dog is trained. If you keep them separate but they can see each other every day and you do not do any training you are creating an environment in which you are basically guaranteeing yourself to lose birds to your dog and it's really not your dog's fault. At some point the dog will get in or a bird will get out.

Yes, some dogs have more prey drive than others but these are domesticated animals with a HUGE desire to please. They are extremely trainable. I have trained a dachshund to be safe around chickens -- with just a leash, stern, calm words and patience. It's do-able.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

We have a lady in our town with chickens geese and ducks that end up outside her fencing sometimes and one day I saw her with a corgi mix rounding them up. Corgis. Are herding dogs I believe and with time a leash and calm assertiveness its possible you could train both dogs. I would say train them seperately. Our dog is Labrador a submissive breed but she hunts w dh ducks and pheasants and leaves the chickens alone. Pretty good dino training a hard headed doxie...that's impressive!

 

[RedneckGurl]

Even if you plan on keeping them separate you should train your dog. It is not hard, it just takes a time commitment. Patience and consistency and more consistency. Spend 30 minites EVERY night until your dog is trained. If you keep them separate but they can see each other every day and you do not do any training you are creating an environment in which you are basically guaranteeing yourself to lose birds to your dog and it's really not your dog's fault. At some point the dog will get in or a bird will get out.

Yes, some dogs have more prey drive than others but these are domesticated animals with a HUGE desire to please. They are extremely trainable. I have trained a dachshund to be safe around chickens -- with just a leash, stern, calm words and patience. It's do-able.

I worry less about the corgi in him than I do the Jack Russell...they were bred to assist in fox hunting and like his ancestors, Hercules is relentless in his pursuit of small furry things. I've even seen him in the backyard digging at things he can hear under the ground -- cocking his head and listening then digging madly. Their breed is the very definition of stubborn and he is the "biggest" little dog you'll ever meet. He is afraid of nothing. If I could ever get him trained he would probably make a good protector but I don't know if there is enough time left in this world to train him to leave them alone. My shephard loves to chase things...anything -- frisbee, tennis ball, the cats, birds, rabbits. I'm afraid that the chickens will just be another "thing" for her to chase. Unfortunately, she has a nasty tendancy to rip apart anything that she catches. She can destroy a tennis ball in about 5 minutes. I can't even imagine what she would do to a poor chicken.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

If it were me, I would work very seriously every single day on impulse control training. "wait" and "leave it" should be your dogs new best friends. Start by identifying what best modivates your dog -- every dog is a little different it could be food, toys or praise -- and tailor your approach. You want to get to the point where if your dog starts to chase something you can say "wait" one time and he will stop and if he starts to tear something up "leave it" and he stops. Be very careful that you are not unintentionally rewarding undesirable behavior, this can be the biggest hurdle in training.

Practice with everything and practice every single day without fail. When I am working with my dogs on impulse control everything becomes a practice opportunity. Every single time they eat anything I make them wait and then after a few bites I make them leave it, then wait again. In the beginning when training a new stubborn dog, dinner time may take an hour or two. So be it. This is temporary and the results in the end are completely worth it to me. I would make the dogs wait in every door way. I would make them leave it to every toy they started playing with. The message becomes all of these things in this house are mine and I decide what happens to them. You do not get to do the first thing that pops into your head whenever you feel like it. If you are not a good listener then you do not get to participate nor do you get any of my attention.

Once you have this down then introduce the dogs to the chickens on a leash and use all of the tools your dog has now mastered. These things are also mine. The training is not focused on do not kill chickens it is these things here are an uninteresting part of the yard just like a fence and all of them belong to me.

 

[LavendarFeather]

If it were me, I would work very seriously every single day on impulse control training. "wait" and "leave it" should be your dogs new best friends. Start by identifying what best modivates your dog -- every dog is a little different it could be food, toys or praise -- and tailor your approach. You want to get to the point where if your dog starts to chase something you can say "wait" one time and he will stop and if he starts to tear something up "leave it" and he stops. Be very careful that you are not unintentionally rewarding undesirable behavior, this can be the biggest hurdle in training.

Practice with everything and practice every single day without fail. When I am working with my dogs on impulse control everything becomes a practice opportunity. Every single time they eat anything I make them wait and then after a few bites I make them leave it, then wait again. In the beginning when training a new stubborn dog, dinner time may take an hour or two. So be it. This is temporary and the results in the end are completely worth it to me. I would make the dogs wait in every door way. I would make them leave it to every toy they started playing with. The message becomes all of these things in this house are mine and I decide what happens to them. You do not get to do the first thing that pops into your head whenever you feel like it. If you are not a good listener then you do not get to participate nor do you get any of my attention.

Once you have this down then introduce the dogs to the chickens on a leash and use all of the tools your dog has now mastered. These things are also mine. The training is not focused on do not kill chickens it is these things here are an uninteresting part of the yard just like a fence and all of them belong to me.

I really love this approach, and plan to work on my own dogs in this way. My small dogs are no threat to the chickens, but I have two large ones who have each, at separate times, managed to get hold of a chicken. Once was when I had left a gate unlatched, the other was when my puppy suddenly realized, to both her surprise and mine, that she could jump the fence separating her from the chickens. Both chickens survived, though one lost her tail feathers, but I had to physically intervene. My male dog is two years old and has had a great deal of obedience training, but needs a refresher. The pup just completed her first 6 week class. My dream is to be able to work out in my yard with the chickens out, and my dogs with me. Thank you for posting this, and helping me believe it can be done. They both already sit before they eat, and wait for a release command. Tonight I tried stopping them in the middle of dinner and to my surprise they both obeyed. Again, thank you for the positive message and clear instructions!

Betsy

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I really love this approach, and plan to work on my own dogs in this way. My small dogs are no threat to the chickens, but I have two large ones who have each, at separate times, managed to get hold of a chicken. Once was when I had left a gate unlatched, the other was when my puppy suddenly realized, to both her surprise and mine, that she could jump the fence separating her from the chickens. Both chickens survived, though one lost her tail feathers, but I had to physically intervene. My male dog is two years old and has had a great deal of obedience training, but needs a refresher. The pup just completed her first 6 week class. My dream is to be able to work out in my yard with the chickens out, and my dogs with me. Thank you for posting this, and helping me believe it can be done. They both already sit before they eat, and wait for a release command. Tonight I tried stopping them in the middle of dinner and to my surprise they both obeyed. Again, thank you for the positive message and clear instructions!

Betsy

Yay! I'm really glad. I try to continually work with my dogs, even my older, really well behaved one to keep everything fresh. I am glad it is working out for you.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Dogs, particularly dogs such as scent hounds, sight hounds, and terriers, have a very strong prey drive, and sometime that can't be trained out of them. I should know, because I have tried with some of my dogs, and failed. A prey drive is, as dlongterry explained it, a voice in the dog's head saying "Omigosh! Lookit that thing moving! GET IT... GET IT NOW!!"

The chances of training this out of your dog varies, depending on how good a bond you have with your dog, whether or not your dog has the desire to please, and whether or not your the alpha, or "pack leader".

If your dog sees you as the "pack leader", then he would see the chickens as yours.

Also, you should try to train him. Dachshunds are very hard to train, I should know, since I have been trying to train three of them. They are very stubborn, and easily distracted. But, if they are trained, it gives you an advantage. For instance, if you tell your Dachshund to sit while your out in the yard with him, then he cant go attack your chickens. You see, for a dog sit means "butt on the ground", and if they have their butt on the ground, how are they going to go attack a chicken?

If training fails, you should build a fence that restricts your dog from getting to your chickens: either make your chickens' fence stronger, maybe bury it, or build a fence for your dog. Since he is a digging dog, you should bury the lower part of the fence so that he can't easily dig out from under it.

Whatever you do, don't try to spank him for killing your chickens. Your dog really wont learn anything from this, it will just give him a negative experience with you. You can't spank the bad behavior out of a dog.

However, if you don't want to build a fence, you could always get a shock collar, stand from afar, let him start bugging the chickens again, and give him a good shock... I find this method horribly cruel, but it can be used as a last resort, and the dog won't be able to relate the shock to you, which will ensure that he won't be afraid of you.

Hope that helps!
Hannah.

 

[CAjerseychick]

Just wanted to say after despairing of ever getting my Giant Schnauzer to quit killing chickens, I think SHE FINALLY GETS IT -- we got chicks in July 2012 and as of Nov 2012 SHE HAS NOT KILLED ANYMORE (she killed a few as chicks, we did stupid things like left them outside in a cardboard box and a few as adults, totalling to 8 out of 21 birds)--
I had, finally resorted to putting a tire on her (its a giant dog toy about 5lbs mini tire) so that she has to drag it around and the chickens (and our new kittens ) have at least a chance..... and also I had interrupted her last 2 attempts back in Nov and yelled at her and put the tire on her -- and I think she finally got the message// (She wears it early am and then I get up and take it off her about noon or so, I work at night so am up later in the day)..
Shes even been breaking into the chicken yard (its our back yard within 2 larger acres, and the chickens have an exit they go out under the back fence through the berry bushes to range out further in the back pasture-- and the dogs leave them alone now even when they are out )... to eat their mash-- and ignoring the chickens! SO I just wanted to say that I thought it would never be possible, but my giant high prey drive dog would ever be able to stop, but she has (now we want to get a cow so that should be interesting)....
So hopefully you will find some combination of aversion/ praise that works in your situation for your dog(s) (sorry didnt read all the way through the previous posts)-- but wanted to give you some encouragement....