My Dog turned Killer

[nzpouter]

what's the first thing you do when the dog tries to grab the chicken from you..?

 

[littlequail21]

wow, if my dog attack my chickens, well i wouldn't be to shocked (never grew up around them this is all new) he has been around 1 Chicken that got out of her run and Shockingly he did great around her. However if my dog EVER tried to bite me for ANY reason....i love him to death...i do anything for him.......but that would change are relationship 100% good luck with your dog, because i would have zero tolerance for that kind of behavior for biting me.

 

[jak2002003]

She is a beautiful hen and will be again. I have no advice but wonder where you are and in your picture, are those woven domes for the chickens?

Yes they are woven domes for some of the chickens. The others live in a large metal dog crate at night. I am in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. most people don't have chicken coops here. They keep the chickens under these baskets or just let them roost in the trees or (if the people have a traditional wooden house), under the house.

Here is another pic. I am glad we have the baskets as they are really cheap and I can also move them around like a chicken tractor with my young pullets or any new chickens I get, before they get integrated into the rest of the flock.



The smaller basket on right has a broody hen in it. She hatched out 6 lovely chicks. The chicks can run out through the holes in the basket and if another hen tried to peck them they can run back in easily out of harms way.

My hen looks much better this morning, just rather scruffy and missing a lot of feathers. How long do they take to grow back?

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Jak, very sorry about your birds. You've gotten some great advice, and sounds like you know this is a trainable and manageable situation. Many owners are disturbed to find out their pets have prey drive, but this is perfectly normal in dogs, cats, and other animals. It does not mean the animal is aggressive (prey drive is a different matter than aggression both in areas of the brain stimulated and in how to address it), or not the same animal that is completely gentle and loving with humans. I hope you will be able to be comfortable with your dog once more as you gain more control over the situation with training.

I just wanted to address this quickly:

Quote: Animals, especially smaller animals, attacked by dogs will often not have any wounds on them. Dogs have crushing teeth and jaws, and much or all of the damage can happen internally. There is a really common misconception about this, with many expecting a dog to only cause very bloody, open injuries. Just think it is important to highlight this for others who may run into the same thing.

Best of luck to you both.

 

[chickenmommy1]

Not an expert here but maybe your dog got to close and was pecked on the nose by the rooster??? I am only saying this because my rooster that I had last summer until the coons killed him pecked my big rottweiler right in the nose for sniffing around his lady friend. Now my rottie is scared to death of chickens period. When I let my silkies out to free range he hides anywhere he can get. Its actually pretty funny to see a big rottie scared to death of a little chicken but he will run from them and even let them walk around in his box to check for bugs. I will have to post a pic of it for a few laughs. In your case maybe your dog is pretty POED and has some anger instead of freight if that happened,,,? just my guess. Hope your hen is going to be OK

 

[Tigertrea]

I stumbled across this thread the other day and saw you had good advice so didn't reply.

How has the dog acted since then? some dogs will have a change in behaviour if they begin having seizures. Just something to think about and watch. I have seen behaviour changes with other medical issues also. Bladder stones, dental problems and other issues are painful and often dog get grumpy. unspayed females can get grouchy around a heat cycle.

More than likely it is behaviour and an "incident" that needs to be re-trained for. But, I wanted to mention the possibility of a medical reason behind this.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I missed this part the first time over:


Quote: What does 'tried to bite" mean in very precise wording? Did she do an excited play nipping, something like this:

What the boxer does at 0:52...typically mouth is held open, may be a play growl, head turns back and forth rapidly), an aggressive growl and snap to the air, a bite that would have broken skin had you not stopped it, or something else? This also sounds trainable given the situation, but it sounds like you need to work on respect and focus pronto. I really like starting with the suggestion for NILF, as that often is all it takes, and is the least risky program I can think of. NILF stands for Nothing in Life is Free, and a google search or youtube can get you started.



Quote: I can sadly personally attest to behavior changes with seizures (non-convulsive seizures that often have no obvious physical signs to show they are occurring). Signs my dog showed were running into objects (to his left side in his case), increased aggression after heavy exercise, odd/extremely explosive aggression that did not have any sort of pattern or predictability to it, and aggression emerging at about the age of 1-2 years. I can stress how unpredictable and explosive the aggression was though. He also began to have convulsive seizures as well as he deteriorated. As Tiger said, there are several medical issues that can cause behavior changes. The good news is, this sounds like much more predictable and trainable prey drive and possible aggression at this point.

 

[Baymule]

Sorry about your dog and I hope your chicken makes a full recovery. I am facinated by the big baskets. It is plain you do not have raccoons in Thailand.

I bet those baskets are MUCH cheaper that the $$$$ we sink into our coops here in the USA, trying to keep predators out and the chickens safe. And your chickens are very pretty.

 

[jak2002003]

Thank for everyone's interest in my situation. You have all given me such great advise!

the baskets are a lot stronger than they look. I think they are made from rattan or bamboo and then cured with some sort of stain. They are very tough. When they get older they get more brittle, but its very difficult - if not impossible - to break the new ones. They are also heavy. I put a rock over the large hole at the very top to add more weight. When I am not using them I can stack them one top of each other.

We get different predators here. Last year my ducks were picked off one a week from the pond outside my house. Then I found a huge snake skin. Next week I saw the python on the bank a few inches away from the sleeping ducks! I had to re home the last few ducks. One of my friends chickens was bitten by a cobra, and I have see a few around my house. I also get mongoose in the garden, but they don't seem interested in the chickens. Street dogs can be a big problem for any hens that fly out of the garden. But if a particular dog gets a reputation for killing chickens then someone usually poisons it. There are many poor families here living nearly a subsistence life, so their animals are very valuable to them.

The biggest threat is to the chicks. We have a large bird that looks like a cross between a crow and a pheasant. Its black with red eyes and a long tail and orange wings. It will smash and eat any eggs it can and also kill and eat the chicks and ducklings if it gets the chance. My dog was good at keeping them away.

As for my dog.........She is acting normally again. As long and the chickens are in the run she is not interested. Phew. I had ideas she was going to try to dig in under the fence. I will never let them free range when the dog is out. I now even shut the dog in the house when I go out to be safe. (although I hate the idea of her being bored indoors).

She was crazy the day of the attack and when she tried to bite me she was not playing. It was like she reverted to a wild animal - like a fox. I think she was just so wound up with the excitement. She growled and showed all her teeth and tried to bite my hand, but I was quick and she just scratched my skin. I am sure its not seizures and she has been spayed. The hen will make it, but she has lots a lot of her top hen confidence now.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[dainerra]

She was crazy the day of the attack and when she tried to bite me she was not playing. It was like she reverted to a wild animal - like a fox. I think she was just so wound up with the excitement. She growled and showed all her teeth and tried to bite my hand, but I was quick and she just scratched my skin. I am sure its not seizures and she has been spayed. The hen will make it, but she has lots a lot of her top hen confidence now.

Thanks again everyone!

yes, she was wound up in the moment. As I said, she wasn't thinking past "That's mine! I had that!! Give me give me give me" That she actually growled means that you need to really step up the training with her. I would find a good animal forum and start working on basic obedience with her and starting her on NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free)